Wuerttemberg Medal Bar restoration

[regular122]

Every now and then I start a science project just to see what the art of the possible is. This bar came to me as a complete disaster but the price was worth the parts. Then I got to thinking. Why not restore it? While not particularly rare, it had the potential, and filled a pre-1934 gap for me. So, for your enjoyment, here it is step by step.

The Wuerttemberg bar with EK2, Tapferkeit Medal in Silver, 9-Year Service Medal, and the Kyffh******228;user Medal.

[regular122]

Step 1

The first step was tricky. Salvage the EK2 or just ditch it for a complete one? I decided to keep it together and built a loop and then reworked the cross. While I normally do not clean EKs, I had to in this case to even out the areas that I worked on and give it overall uniformity.

[regular122]

Step 2

The Tapferkeit Medal suffered the same fate and needed a loop as well. Fortunately, no hole was drilled through it.

[regular122]

Step 3

Now that all the medals were ready for mounting, the bar needed some serious restoration. Only half of the ribbons were on the bar and the EK2 ribbon was in terrible shape. But the ribbons were original, so I decided to work with them.

[regular122]

Step 4

The medal bar was also in good shape with no broken loops or busted solder.

[regular122]

Step 5

By removing the original ribbon and reversing it, I was able to get brighter and sturdier material to work with and clean up the edges of the original ribbon on the mount. This also allowed me to match the replacement ribbons better.

[regular122]

Step 6

For the stitch job, I used original, period dark thread from one of my many spools.

[regular122]

Final product

From my parts bin, I found an original perfect set of swords for the Kyffh******228;user medal and stitched them in place with period thread. Now the final product fills the gap and is worth far more than what I paid for it, a bar believed to be only good for parts. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did restoring it. Steve

[redfaced]

Lovely Job. Well done.

[wh014d4394]

very nice steve i just love it when it all comes together you after my job?

[regular122]

Thanks guys and Jimmy, coming from you that is a great compliment. You are truly gifted and I love the 'back from the dead' threads. Steve

[panzercomander]

Very cool work!

Congratulations!!

Carlos

[Bernard]

Nice jobe mate ! I wish you lived closer. I would have asked you to restore some medal bars of mine

[regular122]

Thanks guys. If you get one in the future Bernard, PM me and I'll take a look. Steve

[VtwinVince]

Congratulations, Steve, that's excellent work. I've undertaken some similar projects, and they're always fun. If you have a set of swords for an Austrian WW1 commemorative, please drop me a line.