early Cut-Out IAB in silver

[schwelch]

Hi guys,

if you have the IAB in your hand you can clearly see little saw marks on the marked areas, but traces like on the picture of Andreas can't be found. Some of the cuts look really good, that I'm not sure if they are really hand-made. On the other side I'm pretty sure that something was made by hand, because no cut looks the same.

Best regards
Sven

[Andreas Klein]

Hi Sven, that's what i say ... most parts were cut out by the die and afterwards finished by hand. This is different from the badge i showed were we have 100% hand cut out.

[Thomas Durante]

Hi guys,

Here is what I think was cut by hand on Sven's badge. The rest was cut with the die trimmer IMO. What do you think Sven, is that what you are seeing in hand?

Tom

[Panzercracker]

Just an jaw dropping collection of arguably the most desirable and rare IAB. The hand finishing gives that extra element of uniqueness from one to another. Seems to be a trait shared by some of the early makers, especially in Berlin.

P.S.: Hey Sven, thanks for taking the time to close in on the cut-out -and it could be further magnified with the aid of a Jewellers loop.

--Rgds, Ken

[scott3000]

Sven nevertheless a great badge and an even better collection. Graeme 's head will explode when he sees them

[Graeme]

Sven nevertheless a great badge and an even better collection. Graeme 's head will explode when he sees them

, you crack me up Scotty !

I have to admit those group shots can be impressive.

Have to congratulate you on super photography Sven, absolute clarity in those close ups. And a very nice badge indeed.

Regarding the topic of cutout areas, in my opinion, from the pics, I would guess that "probably" the whole area around and in the swas was done by hand, but I understand what Andreas is saying. Because that badge is a different die from the majority of those shown in the group picture, and these are very uncommon, it is difficult to say that it definitely was all done by hand. What all seem to agree, is that there was certainly hand finishing of some kind.

The most important thing is that you have a wonderful badge.

best regards
Graeme

[Cole Bush]

i like that rare stuff !!

[schwelch]

Hi guys,

thanks a lot for your kind comments - much appreciated!!!

@Andreas and Thomas: I can't say if the cut was initially made by the die and just the finishing was made by hand or if everthing is hand-made, but for sure the area Thomas has marked on the picture was handled by hand!

Best regards
Sven

[Thomas Durante]

Hi guys,

Here is a compare of 3 of these very rare, early Meybauers, which shows the variation in shape and size of the cutouts. This variation between examples can only mean hand-filing in my opinion. If this was done by a die trimmer, the gaps between the swastika arms and wings would be much more consistent IMO.

Tom

[Thomas Durante]

An additional point, notice one of these badges has a saw mark in bottom left swastika arm. More evidence that these cutouts were hand-done and there was a little slip up by the worker on this example.

Tom

[Jelle M.]

Those early meybauers have it all, still hoping to add one to my collection soon.

[Graeme]

An additional point, notice one of these badges has a saw mark in bottom left swastika arm. More evidence that these cutouts were hand-done and there was a little slip up by the worker on this example.

Tom

Tom

That little nick or cut that you pointed out could well have been made by a small needle file or small saw. We see these type of marks on many badges, so we know those type of tools were used. The cut you pointed out was definitely a mistake, as it is on a surface that likely did not need finishing.

Even without that "saw mark", from the inside surfaces, I thought the conclusion was already reached that hand finishing looked to be obvious.

The only thing we can't be sure of is the degree of cut out prior to the final hand finishing. There is the possibility that some of the gaps between the swas arms were cut out.

I can also imagine that small areas (like those we are discussing) do not cut out as cleanly as large areas, and would need burrs and rough edges tidied up.

best regards
Graeme