Educated guess ?

[Degens]

Hi all,
I would appreciate it if somebody could take a look at this EK1 and have an educated guess as to the maker. It is an unmarked and from what I can tell looks genuine. I have also posted pictures of a "65" marked 2nd class which I would like verified if possible. Both look ok to me but I am far from being confident enough to make a call. Many thanks for looking

[Darrell]

Degen .... based on the hinge assembly ... I'm sorry to say that the EK1 is one of those Eastern European fakes

The 65 EK2 looks fine though

[Darrell]

You can take a look here:

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=101955

A good array of similar configurations.

Interesting to note on above EK1 .. the abundance of flaws on the beading, which is very haphazard and uneven.

[Degens]

Degen .... based on the hinge assembly ... I'm sorry to say that the EK1 is one of those Eastern European fakes

The 65 EK2 looks fine though

Many thanks for the reply, I must admit after trying unsuccessfully to match the catch assembly to anything in the reference gallery I was a little suspiscious, what I would like to know on the other hand is how the hell can they age a piece with such accurracy and make it so damn convincing. Luckily it was not expensive but as you can see from the high res pictures it is even pitted!!, easy enough to bury in the garden for six months I suppose .
Glad the second ones a winner though

[Peter Wiking]

Hello. The EK1 is a reproduction. They have changed the hardware on it. It is often found with the L/54 marking in an arc on the needle. Shown below is the L/54 reproduction with both types of needles placed on top of it. I will place this in the fake gallery.

Degens.
Focus on the ribbing/coils ((((( in the frame.
The hardware (hinge, needle and catch) and the markings are constantly being changed on reproductions.

Cheers.
Peter