Article about: Just picked up this late mint war printed armband. It's different from the multipiece examples that I own, in that the materiel isn't floppy, like you usually see, could this be down to the
Just picked up this late mint war printed armband. It's different from the multipiece examples that I own, in that the materiel isn't floppy, like you usually see, could this be down to the print on the cloth, it is unused. The top & bottom seams seem the same as normal, but what has 'foxed' me is the fancy stitching joining the 2 ends together,not seen this before, is this acceptable ? The white is not brilliant white, but but 'off white', the interior looks the same as other printed examples that I have seen, maybe the swaz is a bit more blacker, the dimensions are length 200mm & width 105mm. Never handled one of these before, wondered your opinions guys !
Regards
Paul
That was my gut feeling . It hasn't got that old smell to it either, the top & bottom seam thread colour is an exact match to the loose ends fancy stitching. Just received it today, one to send back then eh ?
Regards
Paul
Cheers guys, the materiel in hand lacked what I usually expect, plus lack of smell, strange stitching, sensed it but thought I'd check, ah well, back to the 'reputable dealer' it goes !
Regards
Paul
My late in the war, all printed cotton is also a stiff armband, not floppy, covered in patina. My roundel is also a bit off-white in color. I can see where the stitching on your new armband is worrisome, but in reality, we are also talking about the end of the war, regulations diminishing, and, we have all seen some pretty funky stitching on authentic armbands before.
.. Here is my problem. I am not a fan of how dark the roundel and swastika show through to the inside, displaying characteristics of modern day silk screening. I would expect the roundel and swaz to be more faded, as I have seen on authentic printed armbands before. Based on this alone, I would reject this armband as a reproduction.
One more thing, I would also expect to see some white material, trapped in-between the two ends at the back that are sewn together. / The ends of the armband escape the red dying process, remaining white, are then trimmed down, and then sewn together. I'm not seeing it. / I included a photo below showing the end of an untrimmed armband.
On my armband, under a blacklight, I do get a very slight glow on the roundel, but nothing even close to the glow produced by a modern T-shirt. I believe my glow is an effect produced by the excess of patina? As you know, the burn test is also an option. Only problem with this is, I can go to Walmart and buy a cheep pair of track paints from China, light a thread and it will go up like a fuse.
Anyway, good luck, take care, and happy collecting.
Paul the problem most obvious is those overlocked stitches that I don't believe were used in Germany during the Third Reich. If you observe the way cotton was sowed in helmet covers and combat uniforms overlocked stitches are never seen in wartime production. So I would say a post war job.
Thank you Anderson ! You're totally right, all that I own that's period TR, has that distinct sewing pattern, tunic, cap other armbands too. As soon as I got it out of the envelope, I sensed 'a wrong'un' , for all the reasons I've mentioned already, unfortunately I couldn't tell this until it was 'in hand', it's now on it's way back & I'll be re-funded ! Appreciate your comment, along with the previous ones, sure makes the 'world go round' this collecting community of ours &........ 'always' something to learn !
Cheers mate
Paul
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