Reworked 6x30 binosculars?

[david stone]

I don't know much about binoculars except you should see a magnified image through them...but I bought a set at a junk store today. They had the typical flared eyecups of wartime style binoculars and I thought they would be good for reenacting. However, I think they may have been at least partly made as service binos. First, there is a milled depression on both side plates - the left one a little short, about where the three letter code would be, and the right longer, where it might have said "Dienstglas", or whatever they say on them. Left side, in the depression, is a DSW logo, the S shaped like two lenses, superposed, the D in the upper part and the W in the lower. Right side there is a lens shaped shield in the depression with a 6X30 in it. There is also a serial number, 177877, but no other markings. Covers are held with three screws. Other odd thing is on of the front plates has tan paint underneath the black, but this is the only part that has any tan paint....except for the studs that hold the strap. One looks very much like orndance tan, the other is rusted.
What I'd like to know is - who was DSW? Could these be made from some wartime made parts? - and how common are they?

[david stone]

Well, I think I might have a lead. I think DSW might stand for Daniel Swarovski, Wattens...apparently they moved shop about 1948 to a different location and I assumed the name might have changed then. So I think I might be right about these being, at least in part, German service binoculars. They are also, mostly, immediate postwar Austrian binoculars too. Now I'm off to find what I can learn from the serial number...

[benutzer]

6x30

If can post some pics or you send the pics to me I can tell you what you hace

cheers

[david stone]

Thanks for the offer, but I don't have a working digital camera at the moment. I did discover today that the bino does have a reticle pattern in the right side. I hadn't noticed it before because there is no pigment in it anymore, and there is a circular pattern of fine bubbles or specks on that side. Perhaps it was removed when they were denazified? I'm tempted to crack them open and fill the etching with black again. I have collimated a couple pairs of junk-store French and Japanese binos...but I've no idea where the scale actually is and these look harder to tamper with than cheap ones.