Black light challenge

[dhunter93]

Hi all,

So the black light issue come up again and again, so let put some group effort into it.

I say original black SS material (tabs/sleeve adler/etc) will stay black under black light and the fakes will turn a redish brown. Period correct thread will also stay black but modern nylon backed cotton will turn red. This has been my experience without fail.

Here is the challenge,

first: get a black light bulb and a drop light.

Second: get a fake tab.

Third: place the fake tab next to a known real tabs and post what you see in this thread.
__________________
GOD BLESS AMERICA!!


Please only respond if you have an original tab and a black light - this thread is for results based on a test of your own items not what you have been told or believe

[JohnnyA]

Drop light

Hi all,

So the black light issue come up again and again, so let put some group effort into it.

I say original black SS material (tabs/sleeve adler/etc) will stay black under black light and the fakes will turn a redish brown. Period correct thread will also stay black but modern nylon backed cotton will turn red. This has been my experience without fail.

Here is the challenge,

first: get a black light bulb and a drop light.

Second: get a fake tab.

Third: place the fake tab next to a known real tabs and post what you see in this tread.
__________________
GOD BLESS AMERICA!!


Please only respond if you have an original tab and a black light - this thread is for results based on a test of your own items not what you have been told or believe

Oh OK. How close should I place the drop light. I don't want it too close to the black light as that can make everything appear reddish brown, right?

[dhunter93]

JohnnyA, I believe you are a troll. Please stop.

If you are not a troll, but rather a very confused person, then here is you answer: It does not matter how close or far away the black light is to the item. Real black SS items will stay black and fakes will turn a redish brown.

[dhunter93]

P.S. the darker the room the better.

[merdock]

Hi,
By drop light I assume you mean pendent in English and were do you get a black light bulb from? can't find anybody that sells them?
Mark

[Seiler]

Hi Mark.Unfortunately There is little or no capacity in the UK for Uv light sources any more.They use a unique phosphor type (types)and with no production source will be tricky.I suggest you try Osram Germany Distrubutor (a lamp maker therefore a likely lamp /bulb source OR Philips (Holland) also a lamp maker or Any Lighting Distributor for guidance on sourcing or Tungsram in Hungary,a GE owned Co.and possible source for the lamp/bulb as GE still produce the phosphor used.I will check with former contacts in the Industry. Seiler

[N.C. Wyeth]

Interesting thought about how repros under BL will photograph - and will be neat to see what comes of this. I don't think there were any repros in these pics - but here are some old black-light shots I made, a few years ago . . . and posted in this topic:
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=293881&highlight=blacklight

[revi]

You could also try shops for ( postal ) stamp collectors, they sell the kind of tube/ tl / uv light sets as you would find in shops to check money on synthetic and coloured fibers etc. until recently. Although these seem not to be UV light as per definition they operate in a simular way. Synthetic fibers and color dyed materials as waffenfarbe light up as a christmas tree.

[dhunter93]

Black light difference in color will not photograph.

[ZAM]

As i see the black light/ UV test is still in the heads of the collectors... a myth that is still alive like that the "kokosnuss" is an "Afrikakorps"canteen, all yellow painted Wehrmacht/SS equipment is tropical aso.

Just some quick facts! Glow under UV light was a quality test for fabric since the 1930, optical brightner (which glow under UV-light) were used since the 1920`s...

I will post some scans of a book for fabric quality testing form the 1930`s soon!

Best regards
Dirk

[Bob Hritz]

Your local electrical supply house is a good place to try to find a black light florescent bulb and lamp.

If that fails, try any rockshop as mineral collectors use black lights to demonstrate florescence in minerals.

Bob Hritz

[brooksbz]

Yes I have performed your experiment many times.

Fake tabs can be made from period materials. Post-WW2 materials can show up as different colors based on the chemistry and time period they were made. Real tabs can glow and appear fake under UV.

The original hypothesis can be true but there are no are no universal rules when it comes to blacklights.

[revi]

Agreed. Human sweat glows, cloth washed in modern detergent can give a very bright glow but so too can brightness enhancers en cloth stiffeners used in wartime white waffenfarbe. Practically unused to very used linnen, cotton, silk, rayon, water resistent cloth, each has it's specific colour and appearence from dull to possibly glowing. You can check some coloured waffenfarbe ( f.i. Artillery ) on a war period Schirmmuetze, they sometimes glow almost bright depending on what dye has been used. Try the visor of a peaked cap, if schellack has been used, it lights up yellowish like a christmas tree. Still it is wartime natural material. I have used blacklight as a quick reference, as an aid or just control to be sure. Something glowing doesn’t always directly mean fake or past war. Using blacklight also requires getting the experience to interpret what you're looking at.

[jmcm]

I once had a tunic where the captain boards glowed just on the two center ribs????

[Gary Symonds]

As indicated in the article that I wrote about the Black Light Test, for the International Militaria Collector magazine, coal tar dies from the 19th century will glow, proving nothing.

The color that is important is white, that is the color that uses chemical brighteners available since 1929, that react to 365 UV light.

Go to Ebay and there are numerous UV lights available.

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=869611

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=869610