"European made Oak A Smocks:
These smocks are distinguished by a distinctly brick-red brown color and gray HBT pocket material. These are offered 90% of the time as original at militaria shows everywhere. The dealers will squall to high hell that their grand Daddy brought it back, but they're fake. How do we know they are fake?
1. Numerous re-enactors bought them in Germany in the early 1980's when I was a teenager, and they all paid about $150 for them. Their origin is uncertain. Some claim them to be from Czech film stocks, others just a good German repro.
2. Despite dozens of smocks, at least one at nearly every militaria show in the nation, no zelts have ever surfaced in the same peculiar red brown shade. The fabric is good quality, but it is not water proof, and you can see through it.
3. They usually sell for $800 to $1,000. Genuine Oak smocks start at $3,000."
OK I'm violating my promise to shut up. The above write up has been on the web for many years and it apparently the or one the basis for many believing that these smock can not be real. That is because a re-enactor is "outing" them as fake.
In fact there is nothing in the 3 areas discussed that give ANY indication that these are fake...absolutly nothing. One thing that is just plain wrong is that the fabic "can be seen thru", this is no more the case than any mic to late war zelt material and is in FACT just what true duck is described as when dry.
The rest of the points are the same tired old argument: there are a good many around and they are cheaper than the others.....end of points.
I have to say that in my experience in collecting and studying militaria, with the possible exception of the KC S&L flawed rim and 935 4 debate I have never out of hunderds of different types of items seen one more elusive to demonstrate as fake or original as these smocks....I would like to find out why.
These smocks are distinguished by a distinctly brick-red brown color and gray HBT pocket material. These are offered 90% of the time as original at militaria shows everywhere. The dealers will squall to high hell that their grand Daddy brought it back, but they're fake. How do we know they are fake?
1. Numerous re-enactors bought them in Germany in the early 1980's when I was a teenager, and they all paid about $150 for them. Their origin is uncertain. Some claim them to be from Czech film stocks, others just a good German repro.
2. Despite dozens of smocks, at least one at nearly every militaria show in the nation, no zelts have ever surfaced in the same peculiar red brown shade. The fabric is good quality, but it is not water proof, and you can see through it.
3. They usually sell for $800 to $1,000. Genuine Oak smocks start at $3,000."
OK I'm violating my promise to shut up. The above write up has been on the web for many years and it apparently the or one the basis for many believing that these smock can not be real. That is because a re-enactor is "outing" them as fake.
In fact there is nothing in the 3 areas discussed that give ANY indication that these are fake...absolutly nothing. One thing that is just plain wrong is that the fabic "can be seen thru", this is no more the case than any mic to late war zelt material and is in FACT just what true duck is described as when dry.
The rest of the points are the same tired old argument: there are a good many around and they are cheaper than the others.....end of points.
I have to say that in my experience in collecting and studying militaria, with the possible exception of the KC S&L flawed rim and 935 4 debate I have never out of hunderds of different types of items seen one more elusive to demonstrate as fake or original as these smocks....I would like to find out why.
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