Another General's Cap for opinions please

[Waffenreich]

a

[MarcoPennisi]

The eagle is not the best one I’ve seen , I’ll admit, but they may have not cared about a 100% textbook specimen. We often speculate according to our expectations how things should have been at that time according to our expectations .
Application of the gold piping doesn’t appear to me that mediocre job of an improvised hatter. I’ve got officer’s caps having the piping both with and without “tail” (ie the band that serves as the stitching area of the piping).
The fine silky fuzzy lining fabric is a quality I’ve seen before, the same goes for its green tint.
Lack of grommets ain’t the norm, but doesn’t scare.
All in all it appears second rate manufacturing.
Bob please don't get me wrong but I perceive more insecurity than convinced remarks (be they positive or negative).

[billbert]

I knew you’d come up with a suitable answer..a lil paranoia never hurts...RIGHT ?? Billbert

[stonemint]

Here is one that just popped up on the 'bay:

[PZKG]

The last one has been on the Estand for quite awhile too !

[PZKG]

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=948748

[stonemint]

Out of curiousity, what is the consensus on the Ebay/e-stand cap?

[pauke]

I would not be happy to receive either one as a gift. I'm waiting for the next one with a perfectly applied silver flat wire eagle to show up.

[Waffenreich]

So the two hats in question here both belonged to WAF members.

The hat that started this Thread came from Antonio Scapini, and this newest addition belongs, or belonged until recently to erikq. This cap is still on the E-stand as of the time of me typing this.

I will say this about the hat I have that came from Antonio. If Antonio was located in the USA that hat would have been fired back to him immediately. It is not because I feel with 100% certainty that it is bad, it's just that it is "non-standard" and I don't typically collect non-standard stuff.

That being said, in-hand the Antonio cap presents a much different vibe than what you can get from the pics. I know that soiling and wear can easily be faked, but the construction details, quality, and overall feel are superb.

The E-stand hat: this is what brought me to Antonio's cap. I was PM'ing with Tymi (erikq) about that cap and he sent me a link to Antonio's. Quite honestly, if the piping on Tymi's wasn't so oxidized, and the soutache tucked into its holes a little better I would have bought that cap. The wool is spot on for a standard "contract production" officer's overseas cap and it has a normal flat-wire bird sewn on which is more classic looking, which I liked.

In comparing the two caps from an originality standpoint, here are my thoughts.

* If these are fake, then they are total reproductions and made by the same individual (or same group of individuals) with the sole intent of deceiving. The piping could be added to an original cap with no problem once the cap is assembled, but I can tell you from experience there is no way to machine sew that soutache on as perfectly as it is on both caps once the cap is assembled.

Between the two caps they have used:

* different wools
* different eagles
* different partial sweatbands
* different linings
* same Soutache, same yellow thread to sew it on, and same length of each stitch between the two
* same piping, albeit the erikq hat shows an overall uniform patina to the piping whereas the Antonio hat does not
* lack of grommets

So now let's think about something for a minute. If one of these appeared on the market and was configured as a hat for an Oberst and below (just silver all the way around) we probably wouldn't be looking twice at it. Although we like the "textbook" types with grommets and "Qualitat's Marke" at the forehead etc., we generally accept manufacturer's variations/cottage production as the reason we encounter some believable "non-standard" examples. So my point is, if these were silver, would we even be having this discussion?

If I'm a faker, I'm going to at least make the item to the design criteria meaning I would have punched a couple of grommets in each so they pass a "first-glance" without much need for additional scrutiny, as well as "proper" components (flat-wire eagles, etc..).

So these are just some rambling thoughts to keep the discussion alive on both caps. If somebody was pumping these out I would think we'd be seeing a few more of them around, not only for the Heer, but other branches as well.

I can say that Antonio has been good about offering a return on it, but stands behind his example 100%.

Interested in hearing more thoughts on this.

vr

Bob

[Lenny W]

Strange goings on
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=955628