Burnishing on EKs/RKs

[coastie]

On another thread about EK frames made by the Gablonze method, where a wire is wrapped around a template and then stamped with a die as opposed to a piece of sheet metal. It was mentioned in Bowen's book "The Prussian and German Iron Cross" he states that due to the high sheen of the Gablonz stamped frame there was no need to burnish it.
FOr those of you who are not familiar with burnishing it is basically a hand process where soft metals like silver is rubbed with a hard wood to compress metal and to aid in the polishing. Burnishing can be identified by fine lines usually running parallel along the frame. This would have been done on a stamped sheet metal frame.

Here is an example: On the left side is a "26 MM" on the right is an "L/56" circled in yellow on the L/56 is evidence of burnishing. Notice there is no evidence of any Burnishing on the 26.

[coastie]

To continue on:

There could be arguement that the Galbonz stamped frames were burnished too, but personally I doubt it.

There are members with un-touched EK's that haven't been polished by anyone other that the factory that turned these out. Please take time and look over your crosses and look for evidence of burnished/non-burnished frames, if you need more explanation on this method please drop me a line.

To state again the purpose of this exercise is maybe we might be able to identify manufacturers who used the Gablonze method and maybe to ID fakes down the line. For example I don't think Floch's are burnished, however a 333 EK2 that I have is.

[Dave Kane]

Charlie...help me here


I've been suggesting forever that the 'burnishing' was accomplished utilizing a "jeweler's stick". I got this info years and years ago and at the time the 'type' of wood was mentioned but I have since forgotten.

The 'burnishing' process came after the Cross was generally finished and that is when the 'excess' frosting was scraped/pushed/rubbed off of the flanges.

Others have suggested metal tools were used for this application but that seems so far fetched because of the 'striations' left behind....

Do you know what wood was used? Almond keeps comming to mind....

[coastie]

Don't quite know any specific wood except that it should be a dense grained wood, almond sounds like a good choice. I've used bamboo and even hard plastic for burnishing. But you can also use a highly polished rod that has been shaped so as to not gouge the metal. Sorry I can't elaborate much more.

Looked at you thread again, I would agree about metal not being used for frames considering the stirations you've pointed out. My working with silver is that it scratches easily, but due to the mallability of it you can work a lot of mistakes out.

I would really like to see an unfinished EK frame someday, I don't think they were perfectly formed (the sheet metal ones that is) I think during the cutting and the frosting will distort the frame and some re-shaping is required.

I know in coin making the dies are highly polished and "proof" coins not only the dies but the planchet is polished before the striking.

[Dietrich Maerz]

Charlie...help me here


I've been suggesting forever that the 'burnishing' was accomplished utilizing a "jeweler's stick". I got this info years and years ago and at the time the 'type' of wood was mentioned but I have since forgotten.

The 'burnishing' process came after the Cross was generally finished and that is when the 'excess' frosting was scraped/pushed/rubbed off of the flanges.

Others have suggested metal tools were used for this application but that seems so far fetched because of the 'striations' left behind....

Do you know what wood was used? Almond keeps comming to mind....

The German source I have mentions a "Blutstein" which translates to bloodstone. I have no idea what that is but don't think it's a piece of wood (which I thought it was, too)

Dietrich

[Dave Kane]

Yes, like a (woman's) cuticle stick.....but I imagine much more dense.


'Bloodstone'.....yep, sure suggests hard, dense and sharp!

[coastie]

Just found this on a German site, Bloodstone in German is Hematite, Bloodstone I know is a green agate with red spots:

Blutstein (Mohshaerte 5.5-6.5) is a mineral, which also haematit is called. It is the metal-shining Varietaet of the red iron ore. The more dunkeler the color, the harder is the stone. Blutsteine are used to pressure foremen by metal surfaces (usually silver goods), which cannot to be polished by machine or be supposed. Particularly with Feuervergoldungungen blutsteine are used for polishing. They polish better than burnishers. The advantages of the stone polishing are not the higher gloss of the polish, the structure of the surface consolidate themselves and one have a metal loss, like with the machine polish. The disadvantages are the necessary large experience for polishing larger surfaces and the substantial expenditure of time. One uses blutsteine always with something spits (with small surfaces), or with seifenloesung as lubricant, but without polishing agents. Blutsteine are set in the specialized trade in many forms in brass cases, offered at wood booklets

Babel fish is good s o m e t i m e s

[Dietrich Maerz]

Okay, that solves that problem Fit's like a glove!

Dietrich

[Marc Garlasco]

I knew it was good to look at Bowen - may be older info, but sometimes that starts the juices flowing! Great stuff!
Marc

[VIPER]

Strong work guys....I bet most if not all the postwar fakes lack this feature if it was present on their wartime pieces..........Just a guess

[coastie]

This morning I had a chance to look over one of my few EK2's which is unmarked. It appears to me that this one is a Gablonz produced. There are no burnishing marks. Along the edges there are file marks to indicate hand finishing. I suspect that even using this method there must have been some excess material to cause some hand trimming. But the unique thing that makes me think this is a Gablonz frame is that there is virtually no seam suggesting that by using this method of manufacturing the tolerances are closer to allow a tighter fitting frame as opposed to a sheet metal frame that would get slightly out of "plumb" during the cutting out phase.
Also on the inner frame there isn't any tool marks, jewellers saw, snip marks or file marks, it is pretty uniform throughout.

I'm hopping you all can look closely and tell use your observations to help determine the differences in the manufacturing process.

Some of the crosses we can focus on are the EK1's with L/11, L/12, L/15, L/54 if I'm not mistaken these are the ones that are faked the most? Besides the die differences might include the burnishing techinque as an identifier?

[Rich G]

I assume with the Gablonz process, the frame was constructed around the core so it was assembled as the frames was pressed out, all in one go?

[coastie]

I assume with the Gablonz process, the frame was constructed around the core so it was assembled as the frames was pressed out, all in one go?

From Bowen's book:

"The prepared centre plate made of black stoved enamelled malleable iron, was then automatically inserted between the rims pressed from the machine stamped wire, and after a further pressing operation, was firmly enclosed within the rims.

[Dietrich Maerz]

I trust in this case Gordon more, since he got his information directly from a contemporary "Spaten" issue.

Dietrich

[coastie]

Time to move this back up.

Dietrich I have no question about either way Williamson or Bowen describes the Gablonze process. I looking more for the end result, are Gablonzed made crosses burnished or not?