WW2 Swiss Zeltbahn Pole Sets

I tracked down a source for early 1950's Swiss camouflage shelter-tent halves that did not include any pole sets. The price was fantastic and I ordered two. I then found 2 WW2 issued Swiss tent pole sets to go with them on eBay! I have the pole sets, but am still waiting a week or more for the tents.................... In case anyone is wondering, this will be the tent set up for the BGS bike :)



The Swiss camouflage pattern and shelter and nearly identical to the WW2 German army ones and many speculate that the Swiss were actually making the equipment for the Germans and just altered the gear a bit for their own army while they were at it! Anyway, it it wasn't for the Swiss cross stamp on the canvas, these pole and stake sets would be identical to the German ones.

Check out these great dates....... the stakes even have early 1940's dates under the zinc coatings!

More updates and pics when the tent halves get her next week.........

WW2 Japanese Katana Sword

Here is a new addition to my collection........... a genuine WW2 Japanese Army Katana!
This sword found it's way to me via a dear family friend who rececived it from a US veteran who returned from the South Pacific in 1945. As a boy, he played with it until it eventually found its way to a closet shelf where it waited to come my way :)

It is a very typical, field issue type military sword without any fancy work. The wood scabard is leather covered with two metal hanging rings. The pomel is plain bronze and the wood grip is wrapped in the original hemp cording. From what I can tell from my initial research, two sword hangers indicate it is a very early war sword. The army made a single hanger standard shortly after the war was on. The hemp grip wrap and leather cover indicate that it is set up for battlefield use.



Millions of Japanese swords were produced by Imperial Japan for their soldiers and civilians and nearly all of them are not considered overly valuable beyond their actual place in history. This one has great value, not because of its "Evil Empire" past, but because of the family history it gained in the hands of a kid in the good old USA.



Stay tuned for more research updates...................

Black Rock City Map 2010

The new city map for Black Rock City has now been officially released, along with this year's street names:

Here's how this year's streets will be named;

Esplanade

Athens
Baghdad
Cairo
Detroit
Edinburgh
Florence
Guangzhou
Hanoi
Istanbul
Jakarta
Kyoto

Road circling Center Camp: “Ring Road”

Hushville will officially be located at 4 o'clock and Edinburgh and will be sharing the highlighted half-block with a yet to be revealed theme camp........

After N8's graduation weekend, Sweet Pea and I each received a set of new-unissued, German Bundeswehr mess-utensils. We absolutely love them and I have been using mine every day for my work lunches............ well, a little research revealed that these sets are exact copies of the original issue WW2 German Army mess-utensil sets! The only difference is in the maker and date stampings. In fact, many appear to be manufactured by the same companies that made them during WW2, and probably using the same dies.

I found a source for early post-war sets and picked a couple more up. I have assembled a set for the BGS Bike with a great mix of early dates: 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962.

These things are GREAT!

Bundesgrenzschutz Bike Update

Here are a few shots of the BGS bike with the new gear strapped on and set up for "vintage military touring".
For your viewing enjoyment, I present the bike!

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.

Home after a wonderful week!

Hello to all my loyal Blog fans!

It's been awhile since my last blog update, so here's a brief run down of what I've been up to.....
We started out the week of vacation with a trip to Seattle on Friday, June 11th, for N8's University of Washington Department graduation and then his University Commencement on Saturday, June 12th. N8 graduated with honors from both his department and from the university! (Cum Laude in the top 6% of the school!). N8 now is officially graduated with his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Digital Arts and Experimental Media from the University of Washington Seattle! After the graduations, we had a wonderful party that was hosted at Nadia and Shawn's place. Shawn put together an amazing five star spread of pulled pork, beans, salads, and more! AMAZING FOOD was enjoyed by everyone. Good times................ and a Huge congratulations to N8!

The Graduate with his VERY proud parents!

On Monday the 14th, Sweet Pea, N8, Nadia, Shawn and I all headed out to Sol Duc Hot Springs in the Olympic National Park for a week of family vacation. Nadia and Shawn stayed at a cabin at the resort and the rest of us camped in the campground next door.......... I think N8 managed to cook nearly every meal on a stick and we even had a Cape Cleare salmon cooked over the fire. Hats off to the chefs!


Shawn and Nadia hit the road with the rest of the "bike gang"...... Nadia on her new Specialized and Shawn on my GT. Now that we've got everyone in the clan biking, we'll have to plan some new rides........

More great food! Hiking, biking, music, visiting, and a great time for everyone. Dianne made it out for the last night of camping and then headed off for La Push to camp for a few days when we packed up camp on Friday. Nadia and Shawn headed back to the city and N8, Sweet Pea and I made one last stop on the way home.........

We rode the Spruce Railroad Trail from Fairholm Campground on the West end of Crescent Lake and back, about 20 miles round trip. This is an amazing trail with incredible scenery and views.......... the trail is pretty "rustic" with some tough narrow sections, rocky areas, roots, bogs, streams, NARROW "deer trail along bluff edges........... in other words, a really fun ride! A great ending for the vacation.



N8 continued on to Seattle where he had an art opening at the Henry Art Gallery in Seattle where one of his short films was being shown.