SMM 34 Kochgeschirr 31

[JPhilip]

Hello Gentlemen,
Here for you is the earliest mess kit 31 i kept for the collection. The condition is not great but for a 88 yrs old lady it's not too bad i guess...i know younger people who look worse...
The features are consistent with the period, all made of aluminium, except for the wire handle.
I got it in 2009, no one was interested to buy it, so i was happy to pay 60 euro for what i consider as a decent example of an early production, 1934 dated mess kits were not very common in 1945 (IMO), so in 2022 !?....
Hope you like it as much as i do...(sorry for the photo that shows the markings on the body, could not do better with what i had in hands).
Thanks

[BodhiEtheridge]

JP that’s a killer! I’ve seen a very small handful of 1934 dated examples and nearly all are worse condition then this one. That is definitely an example to be proud of!

-Bodhi

[JPhilip]

Hello again,
Proud is a word that is too strong, yes the condition is still good and both date and paint make it interesting.
Now, my grails are somewhere else as far as mess kits are concerned. Early dates don't attract me anymore, the two mess kits i want for the collection are already localized, they both belong to friends, if i find one or both of them somewhere else it will be ok as well i guess, but at least i know where these examples are. The first one is a Schindler's example in mint condition, with blue enamel, the second one being produced by the helmet maker hkp and being marked as such, in very good condition.
This SMM34 was close to go when i sold many mess kits, but the ESB35 went away instead...
Thanks

[BodhiEtheridge]

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a blue enamel Schindler Messkit, usually a dark green. If you get it please do share! Same for the hkp Messkit, I’ve seen maybe 1 or 2 complete examples they are very scarce indeed.

[JPhilip]

I already own a green enameled example from Schindler's factory in very good condition, but i'm still looking for a blue one which has been shown on the forum in the past. I also have a black enameled mess kit also in very good condition. Concerning the hkp, i have a talk about it with my friend each time we meet but until now he never accepted to part with it. One day, he'll receive an offer that he won't dare to decline and we'll have a deal thru a trade. It will be expensive, that's the law of business but a hkp at 95% is worth it.
Thanks

[JPhilip]

Hello,
It took me some time to finally find the thread, but here it is......The blue enamaled messkit 31
The one i have an eye on has a handle in better condition, the enamel colour is exactly the same.
Thanks


A german mess kit

[BodhiEtheridge]

Are we for sure these came from the Schindler factory? Looks very much like the AWC messkit enamel to me. Just my observation of course still a very beautiful Messkit by all means.

[JPhilip]

Hello again,
And here is green enameled example...
It needs its blue sister...
Thanks

[JPhilip]

Are we for sure these came from the Schindler factory? Looks very much like the AWC messkit enamel to me. Just my observation of course still a very beautiful Messkit by all means.

Schindler or AWC, i don't care for makers here, all i'm interested in is the enamel, so seldomly seen during WWII, while being so common in WWI.
Thanks

[BodhiEtheridge]

Absolutely it’s a very rare enamel to see! And a good looking one.