Replacement ribbon for Kriegsverdienstkreuz

[Adam M]

After purchasing a Kriegsverdienstkreuz someone noticed that the ribbon was a fake so I have replaced it. I was wondering how you can tell a ribbon is fake? I look out for aging that old smell and the newer ribbon seems stiffer than an original. The cut is also different the fake has jagged edges but I have also originals with these edges.

Before and after pics, also a comparison between the two, left is fake and right is original.

[SwePeter]

First of all, yes you're new ribbon is a good one.

And now how to check a ribbon:

The easyest way to spot a fake is if one side is stiched. Original ribbons always have looped edges on both sides (unless the ribbon is damage of course) BUT 2 looped sides dosent automaticly mean that a ribbon is good, there are dubbel lopped fake ribbons out there. Like this one:




Uv-test can also help. White threads in fake ribbons glow very bright but original ribbons can also glow if they have been in the washing machine for example. Note here that the white in original ribbon always shows a little light reflection but nothing like the bright discolight you get from fake ribbons.

Burntest is another way. Take a small piece of thread and burn it. Original silk/cotton ribbons burns while modern ribbons are made of fireprof materials and melt instead of burning. The diffrent smells here also helps.

And then there is the watertest. Old ribbons soak up water and modern ribbons dont.

And then you can count the threads per 3 cm, a good ribbon should have atleast 40 threads per 3 cm, preferably around 45. As you can see here the left and right ribbons are fine and the middle is a fake:



And the weaving should be nice and tight.

All of these are helpfull tests but never underestimate the in-hand felling. Sometimes you just cant tell by pics so the feeling when in-hand is priceless when you have handled enough of original ribbons.

Hope this helps

/peter (ribbon lover)

[Adam M]

Thanks for the info it is very helpful