Hi Guys!
In this thread, i'm going to try and explain a little about the blank core EK's that were made by Rudolf Souval in the 1950's/60's!
It will be quite a lengthy thread, as the EK's went through many changes, mainly in the hardware, as years went by. There appears to be a strong link between Souval and S&L, as will become evident.
As i'm sure we all know, Souval was a shrewd businessman, and was always on the lookout for opportunities to sell pieces, the most well known probably being the huge range of Third Reich copies!!
Souval saw a chance to make and sell EK's without a swastika to Austrian veterans, which could then be worn at re-unions etc. Its not known exactly when the first blank core EK's appeared, looking at the hardware, construction, finish etc. i would guess mid 1950's, certainly several years before the 57ers!!!
The majority of these EK's used Souval's own wartime frame style, either wartime leftovers, or new pieces struck from the original dies, as the same die flaws found on wartimers are still on these postwar pieces.
EK1..................
This first cross is a typical example of an early piece, the frames were glued to the backplates, using old animal glue, soldered pieces only appeared later!
049.jpg
Die Flaw.jpg
Cores were usually non-magnetic on EK1's, but some magnetic ones exist, the paint used on the core was usually matt, with a textured finish, frames nicely burnished to give a shiney finish as well as the die flaw, the frames also show other typical Souval features, such as the rounded inner corners, and the "claw" bead in the outside corners!!
In this thread, i'm going to try and explain a little about the blank core EK's that were made by Rudolf Souval in the 1950's/60's!
It will be quite a lengthy thread, as the EK's went through many changes, mainly in the hardware, as years went by. There appears to be a strong link between Souval and S&L, as will become evident.
As i'm sure we all know, Souval was a shrewd businessman, and was always on the lookout for opportunities to sell pieces, the most well known probably being the huge range of Third Reich copies!!
Souval saw a chance to make and sell EK's without a swastika to Austrian veterans, which could then be worn at re-unions etc. Its not known exactly when the first blank core EK's appeared, looking at the hardware, construction, finish etc. i would guess mid 1950's, certainly several years before the 57ers!!!
The majority of these EK's used Souval's own wartime frame style, either wartime leftovers, or new pieces struck from the original dies, as the same die flaws found on wartimers are still on these postwar pieces.
EK1..................
This first cross is a typical example of an early piece, the frames were glued to the backplates, using old animal glue, soldered pieces only appeared later!
049.jpg
Die Flaw.jpg
Cores were usually non-magnetic on EK1's, but some magnetic ones exist, the paint used on the core was usually matt, with a textured finish, frames nicely burnished to give a shiney finish as well as the die flaw, the frames also show other typical Souval features, such as the rounded inner corners, and the "claw" bead in the outside corners!!
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