War Merit Cross 2nd Class with Swords and Ribbon Bar

Today's posting is a blast back to the dark days of WW2 and the Third Reich.............  Today I'll be showcasing an original WW2 German War Merit Cross 2nd Class with Swords, and a ribbon bar.

I received this cross as a gift from a friend of our family, about 30 years ago.  The medal was given to him by his father's uncle who served in France as an US Army Medic during WW2.  The medal was taken off of the uniform of a dead German soldier as a war souvenir and brought back to the states after the war.  The ribbon bar is a recent acquisition and as far as I can tell is original as well.

The War Merit Cross 2nd Class with Swords was given to soldiers for bravery, not necessarily in the face of the enemy.  6,134,950 of these medals were awarded during WW2.  Here is a great descriptionof this medal and all of its various details:
   War Merit Cross 2nd Class
The ribbon was often worn in the second button hole of the tunic when the medal or ribbon bar was not worn.

The ribbon bar displays the ribbons for the Iron Cross 2nd Class, War Merit Cross 2nd Class (without swords), and Russian Front Medal.  Here are two great pages that describe these medals, along with the link listed above:
Iron Cross 2nd Class    Eastern Front Medal

And here are a few historic photos from the era:

Luftwaffe Soldiers receive War Merit Cross 2nd Class with Swords.

US Army Medics in Normandy, France.

US M-67 E-Tool, Tri-Fold Shovel Model 1967

Since I've been running quite a few posts lately on the different e-tools, and folding shovels in my collection, I thought I ought to drag out my modern US issue E-tool.  

Today's post is on my US M-67, (Model 1967), Tri-Fold, E-Tool shovel.

This is the current model E-tool that the US Military is issuing out.  It was first issued in 1967, replacing the Model 1951 folding E-tool that had the pick-shovel combo, and the old style, long wooden handle.  Like all of the previous models of folding E-tools, this shovel can be used in the regular shovel mode or as a pick-hoe.

The shovel has s steel blade with aluminum shaft and handle with a spring loaded set-up inside the shaft to keep tension on the whole rig as it is folded and unfolded.  The blade has corrugated teeth along one side as well.

You will find the date stamp, and US stamp, on either side of the folding handle.  My shovel is dated 1987 and was manufactured by the Ames company.  It is stamped US on the side of the handle.  There are many aftermarket "fakes" out there, but you can always tell the authentic US issue shovels by the date, and US stamps on the sides of the folding handle.  Many other countries have adopted this style of e-tool for their issue as well, including Germany, so you may find identical versions of this shovel without the US stamps, as well as many cheap knock-offs from China...... but only the authentic US issue shovels will have the date and US stampings on the sides of the handle.

 There have been several versions of carrying cases for the M-67 E-tool, from nylon to had plastic.  Mine is a a hard plastic model with ALICE clips on the back.  It was manufactured by Skilcraft and is dated 1989.

Here are a few more pictures of the Model 1967 E-tool:

 Here is a quick comparison between my M-43 E-tool and the M-67 E-tool.

Here is a link to a more recent blog posting comparing the US tri-fold shovel to the German tri-fold shovel:
https://sharky-fourbees.blogspot.com/2019/10/us-tri-fold-m-67-entrenching-shovel.html

In keeping with my tradition of ending with a historical shot, here is a picture of a couple of US soldiers in Afghanistan with their E-tools in hand and in use.

Schweizer Klappspaten mit Lederhülle , Swiss Army Shovel / E-Tool with leather Cover

The newest edition to my ever expanding military E-tool collection arrived yesterday.  A vintage Swiss Army issue folding shovel and leather carrier!

I must say that this Swiss shovel is far and above the best made and heaviest duty of all of the military folding shovels that I have ever seen!  This baby is built TOUGH and is VERY heavy!  The leather carrier-sheath is very heavy, full grained, oiled leather.  Like all of the old Swiss military equipment, this shovel and carrier was built to last.............and last.........and last...............

The shovel (klappspaten), looks like it has never been used, even once, to dig in the ground!  The paint on the shovel blade is as new as the day it was painted on.  The adjusting nut is heavy metal, and the blade rivets and mount are VERY heavy duty.  The handle is heavy oak with octagon flats around the gripping portion.  I think this handle is the thickest and heaviest of all the other folding shovel handles that I've seen.

The blade is is set up to lock at a nice angle for use as a spade, and locks at at a 45 degree angle for use as a hoe-pick.  When the blade is locked in the closed position, the handle is held out and away from the blade by several degrees, like the WW2 German shovels.

The blade has a very small stamp mark that looks like it is possibly a "F C" in an oval.  Definitely a "C", but not sure about the first letter.  I can find no date on the shovel.

The leather cover is stamp dated 1958, along with the manufacturer's stamp and the Swiss cross.  The leather has a great patina and is in outstanding shape.  It was a bit stiff from storage, but after a light coat of leather oil, it limbered right up.

I would highly recommend picking up one of these shovels while you still can!  The very last of these shovels are quickly disappearing and they will be "rare" very shortly.  The military's of the world will probably never make equipment that measure up to these old-world standards again..........

Marble's Pocket Axe No. 5 and No. 6

Today's post will touch on a bit of classic outdoors gear that is rich with with history................  The Marble's Pocket Axes.  I have a vintage Number 6 head and a newer manufactured Number 5 complete folding hatchet.

The Marble's Arms & Manufacturing Company of Gladstone, Michigan , USA, started business in 1892 and began producing iron gun sights.  In 1893, they started marketing the Marbles Pocket Axes and later patented them in 1898.  They continue manufacturing the iron gun sights in the USA, but have moved the production of their knives and axes-hatchets off shore to China.

The pocket axe that I have is one of the later manufactured hatchets that was manufactured in China, a Number 5 model.  It's a great little hatchet for very light chopping, but too light to do any real wood splitting kindling splitting.  It would be perfect to throw in a backpack as an ultralight occasional chopper.  I would definitely move up to one of the larger headed pocket axes if you want a more useful tool.  One of the very cool features on these little pocket axes is the unique and integrated, folding metal, blade cover.

UPDATE 8/3/16:  I refinished the metal and wood on the No.5, using a Cold Bluing Paste and Danish Oil.  You can take a look at the finished results in my recent posting.  You can see the posting here:

http://sharky-fourbees.blogspot.com/2016/08/marbles-no-5-pocket-axe-re-finished-and.html 

I also have a vintage Marbles Number 6 head that does not have a handle.  As you can see from the pictures, the Marble's heads have a very unique slot for the handle to fit into, and as far as I know, replacement handles are not available........ I guess I'll be doing a little whittling to make a new one :)

Comparison of old and New