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| Case shown with an Rg34 and G3 cleaning kit & BW hat. |
Recently a large quantity of these unissued cases appeared on the surplus market. As with all unique items like this, If you don't buy them when you have the opportunity, they quickly disappear! I wasn't about to let that happen, so I picked up one of these cases as soon as I spotted a great deal.
These "cleaning mops" are officially known as Waffen Reinigungsdochte. They are traditionally carried in the small Rg34 cleaning kits, and later in the plastic G3 cleaning kits. They have remained unchanged (other than the fibers used) since their inception back in the 1930's.
The mops I have were issued to the West German military and paramilitary troops: Bundeswehr, Bundesgrenzschutz and Polizei, etc. The West German mops are easily distinguished from the East German issued mops by their color and fiber content. The West German mops are white, and the East German mops are usually a "dirty dark color" due to their recycled fiber content.
The case of mops that I have has a date sticker on the label indicating that the case was made and packaged in September of 1990 (09 90). When I received the case, it was completely sealed and unopened. I will be using these mops "as intended" and as replacements for the various cleaning kits in the collection. (It never hurts to have a reserve of these in the bunker!)
These mops come in larger bundles that are meant to be disassembled into smaller bundles, and then issued out to individual cleaning kits. The soldier then opens the smaller bundle and removes the number of individual mop strands that are needed, based on the caliber of the firearm he is cleaning. Ingenious!
Let's take a look at the "Case Opening" photo album.
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