Saxon machine battalion m1915 tschako

[PlaceOfBayonets]

Is this any good?


http://www.ebay.com/itm/151389854458...458%26_rdc%3D1

[RoyA]

Yes

[PlaceOfBayonets]

I was told this helmet sat on a web site for a very long period and has ended up on ebay.

[Jareth]

Seller is Collectors Guild

[pzrwest]

I see the sale has ended was it pulled or was it purchased? I see it is still for sale on their website....http://www.germanmilitaria.com/Imper...s/G011266.html

[timp_be]

Hello.

I don't like the fact that the cockade is coming lower than the edge from the shako and the stitching from the liner who looks made by points (I hope you understand...).

Best regards

timp_be

[PlaceOfBayonets]

I see the sale has ended was it pulled or was it purchased? I see it is still for sale on their website....http://www.germanmilitaria.com/Imper...s/G011266.html

Word on the back channels is it's bad and this is the reason it's sat on the site for some time and then went to Ebay.

Maybe is was pulled because it was posted here I don't know.

[Tony & Kaiser]

The biggest “problem” with these felt Ersatz Tschakos, is that everyone is spooked by them. The one that was being sold on ebay is not at all like the countless replicas on the market that are believed to have been UK made. The copies I see for sale everywhere have leather sewn around the circumference to replicate the oilcloth found very rarely on original Landsturm Tschako. Never have I seen a copy that was hand-sewn or machine sewn around the circumference. They typically have no ventilation grommets on the side, or tiny modern screened vents (se photos below). They smell funny (yes) and there is just something weird about the liners. Below is a typical replica.

The one on ebay that Collector’s Guild was selling is not at all like the replicas. It is assembled absolutely correctly. All parts appear to be original. It is made from a colour of felt I have never seen on a copy, it has the correct and original metal Tschako ventilation grommets on the sides, and the interior has been coated in a tar-like waterproofing which I have never seen on a copy. Its functional. The Feldzeichen is the correct Ersatz pattern over a correct wooden base with correct steel rod found on an original.

What happened to this Tschako, I think, is it was squished or got very wet at some point so it is not as stiff as a Preußen felt Tschako is, but comparing a Saxon Tschako to a Preußen Ersatz felt Tschako is apples to oranges. As I said, I see the copies in the photos below everywhere. If the one being sold on ebay was a copy, why have I only seen one in 35+ years of collecting Imperial?

The seller, Peter of The Collector’s Guild is a close friend and his reputation and honesty are beyond reproach. He would rather step in front of train than knowingly sell a copy.

Another good friend of mine gave me wise advise once. If you don’t like it, don’t buy it.

BELOW IS A REPLICA