GAB for review

[Bowietx]

All,

Bought these from a member on this site in the e-stand. Appreciate any comments/insights that you may be able to provide.






Thank you in advance!!

[upbeek]

Here’s mine I think of the same manufacturer with a different hinge

[Bowietx]

Very interesting, which manufacturer are these attributed to? As a learning point how common are the differences in the hinges from the same manufacturer? Are these attributable to supply issues over time or just changes in the production process due to noticed deficiencies in the badges?

[Bruce Simcox]

Hi Bowietx

......These are attributed to unknown manufacturer RK. No one(as far as I know) has been able to conclusively link the initials RK to a particular manufacturer at this time. Needless to say there are opposing points of view. Search this forum using the initials RK and you can read the information available to enable you to draw your own conclusion. I hope this helps somewhat.

Happy collecting!

[Thomas Durante]

Fine original RK with the chromed finish.

Most collectors know these are Rudolf Karneth, but its possible the maker is Robert Kreisel. Both have initials RK and located in Gablonz, so either maker is a good possibility.

Tom

[Bowietx]

Gentlemen,

Thank you for the information and references!! It is very interesting to me to discover the possible manufacturer attribution of this badge. I have tried to find some more detailed discussions as suggested using the search feature and have found many threads with comments, but no in-depth discussion. Are there any threads that you are aware of the look at RK badges in depth? Also are there any books that discuss attribution of these badges? These are exactly the insights that I was looking for and really appreciate the help!!

[Yubari]

nice badge indeed

[Stepdale]

Here's a few for you below. Prepare yourself for your eyes to start hurting and your head to spin; these can lead to other Gablonz threads that can go on forever.

Not complaining, the search for answers is fun but the process to get there can get a bit frustrating at times!
Dale

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...0&highlight=rk
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...2&highlight=rk
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...4&highlight=rk

[Bowietx]

Dale,

Many thanks for the links!! The search and pursuit of knowledge is where all of the fun is at, although it is never quite as fun as the Indiana Jones movies would lead you to believe (LOL). Starting to look though these links now and really appreciate the data!!

[Bruce Simcox]

Hi Bowietx

......Here is a bit more information for you to digest. This was originally posted by WAF member Norm F:

In the the KM badge world, there are "R.K." U-Boat and Minesweeper badges (and in other spheres there are also other R.K. marked products like the PAB, numbered GAB and RO/AG, not to mention metal breast and cap eagles, etc.), all showing typical features of Gablonz production.

For some time, collectors have jumped to the conclusion that the mysterious "R.K." was mostly likely the initials of "Rudolf A. Karneth & Sohn" whose Gablonz Metallwarenfabrik was assigned the Präsidialkanzlei Lieferant number 61. However, in more recent years the competing theory arose of "R.K" perhaps representing Robert Kreisel, another known Gablonz manufacturer with the same initials who was assigned the PK number 67.

But furthermore, given that there are no less than 9 sets of tooling for the R.K. Minesweeper badge, one also cannot rule out the possibility that the "R.K" mark appeared on products produced by a consortium, similar to the situation with "A.G.M.u.K." marked products.

Pavel Strej, who has done the most Gablonz-based research, has noted:

:
Originally Posted by pavels_2005
I studied all the Karneth company documents that I have available, .... The documents don't show many war records. The records start mainly after the war when the Karneth factory was confiscated by the Czech state. But what I can definitely see there is, that Karneth supplied to AGMuk, to Heeresgruppe Mitte Liberec ( Reichenberg) and to Rüstungsinspektion Liberec (Reichenberg). He worked also a lot with Julius Pietsch (Gablonz) but this is not strange as they were neighbours - their factories were next door.

There is also a record that R. Kreisel was customer of Karneth. But this is no big surprise usually the Supplier/Customer lists of Gablonz companies show many other Gablonz names, as the cooperation between Gablonz companies was very common also in the in the times before war.

So that's where we stand today. There is no proof yet for the RK attribution to any one maker (as duly noted in the KM reference books in the context of the "RK" U-boat and Minesweeper badges), and it's even possible that RK-marked products were produced by a number of subcontracted firms.

Happy collecting!