Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Swiss Bags & Hungarian Straps

The latest acquisition of old military gear has arrived and is being processed in the "workshop" for the BGS bike outfitting.


I have been looking for two saddle bags for the BGS bike and found a great deal on a batch of Swiss Army bags that were exactly what I needed......... the only hitch was that I needed to buy a lot of 10!!!!! When they arrived they were pretty funky with mold smell and old surplus storage funk. They're better after a "hydrogen peroxide" scrubbing, and now that the leather's been oiled, they're pretty much ready to roll. They are actually "bread bags", which are utility bags that the soldiers would carry with their rations, either on a shoulder strap, or hung off their military bikes. All of them are dated in the late 70's or '80's.


The second addition to the gear is a batch of used, early 1950's vintage, Hungarian Army leather straps. I've given them a good oiling to limber them up and I am already using them to strap gear on the bike........ I'll also use them for mess kit straps on the extra kits I have banging around.



Great metal roller buckles, leather patina, and good markings on the back sides.

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