Org todt buckle

[ebony]

Ok im going to throw the cat amongst the pigeons check this out. More later.

[regiment739]

Got any pics of the rear? Looks like it has been chromed at some point

[ebony]

I didnt want to post this pic so early but here it is.

[Ric Ferrari]

Hello,

the back pic shows how the buckle was originally finished : anyway the buckle itself is original

Best

Ric

[ebony]

Hello,

the back pic shows how the buckle was originally finished : anyway the buckle itself is original

Best

Ric

Ok thanks Ric, but are you saying that you think this was originally chrome or something else.

[regiment739]

Buckle is original like Ric stated it was not chrome when issued originally but at some point has been chromed, when who knows

[p38]

good buckle


I don't think it was chromed but heavily polished.

Perhaps the owner thought it was better than most of removed paint.

best
Emmanuel

[ebony]

Ok, I would please like to know why you think this buckle was not issued chromed. And when where these buckles issued.

[John T]

I will give my opinion as to why it was not issued chromed. Well, we know that these are supposed to be issued in painted steel, but let us disregard that for a moment.

If you look at the front in areas inside the main "circle" you will see spotty areas where the chrome has poorly adhered. In my opinion if this were a factory job you would not see such a poor application as this would not be up to German standards...you would see an absolute perfect application of the chrome to the front of the buckle with no minute bubbling, pimpling or the like.

In my view the chrome was not factory done based on my observations and having seen a lot of buckles that were plated at the factory.

Now, could it have been done in the field due to the nature of the chrome finish....well that is possible. Look also for signs of plating over wear and scratches....but again for me this is not a factory plated piece.

Best,

J

[ebony]

Ok thank you John for your information. Now I will tell you the full story about this belt.First of all I acquired this belt about 25 odd years ago. It came from I will say a gentleman not a vet as he was not a soldier but he was a engineer in Europe just before the war .Now the odd things I have always thought about this belt are:
[*]That it was chromed and it came on a tab that is dated 1938. [*] That in John Angolia's book he said that this belt buckle was most likely produced sometime after 1941. [*] The plating is on the hook side on the belt,so it must have surely been done before the leather was assembled.
These are the problems I have with this belt and buckle.
I am certainly no expert on buckles or belts but you can see why the whole thing has been such a bother to me. Nigel.

[John T]

Hi Nigel:

Well, that is interesting.

The men in this organization were technically inclined. The wrong tab does not bother me as the original owner could have picked up a tab from somewhere and added it, you will see this on SS buckles which never had tabs from the factory, but added afterwords with dates that do not correspond to the buckle.

Anyway, as the men from OT were engineers and the like the owner could have been inclined to have his buckle stand out and had the know how or known where he could have had it plated. These buckles are fairly scarce pieces as we know and I am not sure exactly who in the OT wore them, I would have to see if it was laborers, workers, engineers or who exactly, but at any rate it is possible that if you got it this was from a person who was there during the era that the original owner wanted his buckle to stand out and had it plated....and who was really there in the OT to tell him no.

You know if you look at the back, it is really hard from me to say from the pictures, but it looks like it may have plating too. I believe when it would have been chrome plated the whole piece would not have taken a shine right away but would have to have been machine polished to bring out the shine, same as when something is silver plated.....

John

[ebony]

Thanks John that is very interesting, You are correct there is plating on the back side, it's if like when you plate something but tell the plater that the back doesn't matter that much so it is just a thin plate, dull finish,and has semi rusted easier. Some have said to strip it over the years but due to the fact that this is how it was brought back I have not done so. Thanks John and all for comments. Nigel.