Repair temptations

[Petr]

Hi friends,
Since i have started uniforms collecting i have this dilemma:to repaire a hole or not...
Just tell me this honestly: when you get some uniforms with a tears or moth holes do you repair them as best you can as possible or you just leave them just as they are.
My point of view is this: if the repair is done with a sence using original materials and methods the final view on what i have done is much satisfying than the pants or parka with 3 big holes..
Thanks for your replies !!

Greetings
Petr.

[Paul R.]

Petr, That's an ongoing question. I feel that is more a personal choice. Yes, people feel that you change history by repairing, cleaning, or altering anything. From the original state the item came to you in. As other people have noted it shows the signs of war.

If you do choose to do so use original thread. If and when you sell it. You may want to state it was repaired post war. Paul

[Petr]

Petr, That's an ongoing question. I feel that is more a personal choice. Yes, people feel that you change history by repairing, cleaning, or altering anything. From the original state the item came to you in. As other people have noted it shows the signs of war.

If you do choose to do so use original thread. If and when you sell it. You may want to state it was repaired post war. Paul

You are right Paul,
but when a damage is done post war by using an unused uniforms for various civilian activity?

[MeinhardcFJR2]

Hello,

Unless you have accompanied the item since it's date of manufacture you will never know if the damage was pre or post 1945.

IMO I would leave the damage.

Regards,

Mark.

[Stahlhelm]

Again, it is ultimately your choice. However, if you want opinions, I would leave it as it is. Whereas a hole doesn't generally need to be explained, repairs generally do, and I hate explaining things. Also, it always personally bugs me knowing I've messed with something. I can think of few times that I messed with something and didn't thereafter regret it. The lessons in this hobby are learned the hard way and equally hard to forget.

Chris

P.S. I'm also suspecting that such repairs might ironically lower the piece's value somewhat.

[CWP]

I prefer to leave things the way they are.

[Jean-Loup]

IMO, also leave things the way they are, except maybe if there is huge and obvious postwar damage. Even then I would say just put a few stiches of thread just to keep a tear from getting bigger, or from hanging.

[Petr]

We can see the collectors vote just leave it as it is..the question is if the soldier would leave his pants with 4 tears or just fixed them by himself or the pants would be collected and send somewhere to military or nonmilitary workshop to get it repaired..does anyone know a system of damaged uniform fixing -best told from a vet?
I met an opinion if the wartime repair is not done in certain "prescribed" way of sewing it is not an original wartime repair.Yes most of wartime sewing repairs were done very nice i would say professionaly but many repairs were done as that person was able to .Nice example: last week a very nice old lady nearly next door told me /and gave me her arbeits buch/ she worked for local W SS unit as a civilian .Her everyday task was to repair any clothing exept uniforms for this unit,for ehample :bed sheets,curtains,table cloth ...but soldiers shirts,underpants etc. too . I asked her about her way of sewing and she answered:we did it as we wanted -no rules/ even shirts collars were turned over..just wanting to show there were nonprofessional even ugly repairs made in the war.
<img src=http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/8180/thhitlerbx9.gif>

[Shenkursk]

Hi Petr:

The primary guideline for any conservation / repair effort is that the work that we do must be reversible. If it can be reversed at a later date without leaving more damage, then you proceed asking yourself the next set of questions about the work that you are considering:

Is it absolutely necessary to stabilize the artifact, or just a matter of making the item more appealing to you?

Will it distance the item from its historical context?
(For instance, there is a big difference between a bullet hole or tear gained during use in the field and a moth hole that happened a few years ago.)

Will the repair be obvious or inconspicuous?

Do you have the skills to accomplish the repair that you want?

If you hire someone - do they know what they are doing and understand exactly what you want to be accomplished?

How much time / money will the repair cost?
(I have friends who can repair moth holes in most wool uniforms to the extent that you could not tell that it was ever damaged in the first place... however if you paid them by the hour they would soon own your children!)

Will the repair help or hurt the value of the item if you should decide to sell it later?

In most cases the answers to the questions lead me to conclude that items are best left alone. There have been some notable exceptions, though, where repairs were absolutely necessary and I was glad to have them done. Other than question #1 (Is it reversible?), all others are somewhat subjective, so you must decide for yourself.

[Petr]

Hi Petr:

The primary guideline for any conservation / repair effort is that the work that we do must be reversible. If it can be reversed at a later date without leaving more damage, then you proceed asking yourself the next set of questions about the work that you are considering:

Is it absolutely necessary to stabilize the artifact, or just a matter of making the item more appealing to you?

Will it distance the item from its historical context?
(For instance, there is a big difference between a bullet hole or tear gained during use in the field and a moth hole that happened a few years ago.)

Will the repair be obvious or inconspicuous?

Do you have the skills to accomplish the repair that you want?

If you hire someone - do they know what they are doing and understand exactly what you want to be accomplished?

How much time / money will the repair cost?
(I have friends who can repair moth holes in most wool uniforms to the extent that you could not tell that it was ever damaged in the first place... however if you paid them by the hour they would soon own your children!)

Will the repair help or hurt the value of the item if you should decide to sell it later?

In most cases the answers to the questions lead me to conclude that items are best left alone. There have been some notable exceptions, though, where repairs were absolutely necessary and I was glad to have them done. Other than question #1 (Is it reversible?), all others are somewhat subjective, so you must decide for yourself.

Hello Jeff,
very nicely explained!!!Thank you very much for your time!!

My subjective conclusion is this: moth holes :to fix
big holes with a possibility to damage the piece even more: to fix
rest:a soldier did it :leave it as a natural wear


Indeed any repair must look authentic...

Jeff, by the way do you know the secret of an invisible moth holes repairing?
Keep well


Petr

[Military]

leave them as they are unless the holes are beginning to become bigger because of age and loosing of the thread.

[Valter Gorenc]

Jeff, by the way do you know the secret of an invisible moth holes repairing?
Keep well


Petr

The "secret" is quite simple - the same method is used to fix i.e. a cigarette burnt hole in an expensive suit: get some threads from the same cloth (from invisible parts, like near the seams, or from the cloth of exactly the same type, quality...) and then manually insert them into the cloth, so you re-weave the missing part of fabric. On the inner side, a few loose threads and/or knots are visible, but from the outside, it should be almost invisible. But this is very hard to make, only few skilled taylors manage this technique.

Good luck with your efforts!
Valter