Today we'll be taking a look at an interesting, US, T-Handle shovel cover that recently picked up, and restored.
I have had my eye out for another T-Handle cover to pair with my 1942 dated Mountain Troop shovel cover, but finding one that is in good condition, and at a good price, can be a real challenge. I recently spotted one paired with a WW1 vintage, T-Handle shovel. The price for the pair was great, probably because of a damaged buckle on the cover. I'm always up for a restoration and repair project, so I picked it up at a bargain price.
You can read about my M-1910 Mountain Troop T-Handle cover here:
http://sharky-fourbees.blogspot.com/2020/06/us-model-1910-shovel-cover-m1910.html
This cover is what I would describe as a "transitional cover". All of the pre-WW2 canvas gear was made in Khaki colored canvas and webbing. The use of Khaki continued into the early WW2 war years. At the start of WW2, the Army officially changed the color to OD #3 (a bit more of a green-tan color). The transition from Khaki to OD #3 was made over a period time. As the old Khaki material was used up, the new OD #3 fabrics were added in. It is during this "overlap time", where both Khaki and OD#3 cloth is sometimes seen mixed together on canvas gear.
This particular T-Handle cover comes from this multi-colored, "transitional period". The cover is made from a mix of Khaki and OD #3 fabrics.
The main body of the cover is OD #3, but the rear belt hanger tab is Khaki, as well as the buckle strap on the front.
The long, strap is OD #3. So this cover was made in the narrow transitional time frame when both fabrics were being used by the manufacturer.
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| Three variations of color, all on this one cover. |
This cover is dated 1943, and was made by the W. L. Dumas Manufacturing Company.
During WW2, there were two variations of the Model 1910 shovel covers. One was the standard, ground troop version, with the belt hanger at the top end of the cover, and a "mountain troop" version, with the hanger at the lower end . This cover is the standard, ground troop version, with the hanger at the top end.
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| Mountain troop on the left, ground troop on the right. |
As you may recall, from the first part of this posting, I said that the cover needed "restoration and repair" work. Here is what that entailed. The cover originally had a cast metal, double bar, tightener-buckle. At some point, the cast metal buckle snapped in half, as they were known to do. These double bar tighteners were made in cast metal, stamped brass, and stamped steel. The various packs and covers from WW2 can be found with any of the three versions of tighteners, it just depended on their availability to the manufacturers at any given time.
Since this cover had a broken, partial tightener, I needed to track down an original buckle. This is not quite as easy as it sounds. I did not want to cannibalize an old pack or cover, so the hunt was on for a loose one. As luck would have it, I found a shop in Georgia that happened to have a whole box of loose buckles! The seller said that they had been removed from damaged USMC and US Army packs from WW2. This was exactly what I had been looking for, so I picked up a handful (it's always good to be prepared for future restorations!). All of these old buckles were the blackened brass type.
To make the repair, I used original WW2 issue components. I headed down to the bunker shop and pulled out a spool of original, WW2 vintage, OD #3, heavy thread. I carefully removed the stitching on the web strap, back just far enough to remove the damaged cast buckle. I slipped on the original brass buckle, and then carefully sewed the web strap back on, using the original OD #3 thread. I followed the original stitch holes and stitch pattern. The repair-restoration is as close as you can come to original. The only thing not authentic and original, is the date the repair was made! The repair is nearly undetectable, and all the components, including thread, are original.
The thread that I used was manufactured by the Dean and Sherk Company, of Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. The Dean and Sherk Company made military threads in the 1930's, 1940's, and into the 1950's, before they went out of business. The label on the spool of thread I have is a WW2 label, listing the military specifications and descriptions. It was a lucky find at a local yard sale quite a few years ago.
Before we get into the album photos of this cover, let's take a look at both of my T-Handle covers, side by side, so you can see the variations in colors and fabric textures. It is interesting to note that the "US" stamps are slightly different as well. The earlier, 1942 dated cover, is Khaki, and the fabric is a lighter weight. The OD #3 cover is dated 1943, and has much heavier canvas for it's construction.
Now lets take a closer look at this Model 1910, 1943, T-Handle shovel cover.
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