Webbing frog.

[Patrick Dempsey]

Hello all,
recentley i had the good fortune to cross another item off my "Wants" list. As part of a late war uniform project i'd wanted a webbing frog. Over the past few months some particularly bad fakes had popped up on the UK scene, which as luck would have it, bore no resemblance to previously posted examples. And then, on a dealers table (whom i never buy off) i saw this. Being ignored by everyone . The bayonet came with it (can't say that it's always been with it), and is dated 1944. Which helps the display out.
Sorry for the first bad quality shots....

[Patrick Dempsey]

Rear.

The back.

[Patrick Dempsey]

Detail shot 1.

Re-inforcement stitching and webbing close up.

[Patrick Dempsey]

Detail 2.

Re-inforcement stitching and webbing close up.

The same from a different angle.

[Patrick Dempsey]

Strap detail 1.

Here is the retaining strap, showing typical German re-inforcement stitching on the ends of the strap. The colour of the webbing is different to the main body of the frog too. I have an "A-Frame" which shares this trait.

[Patrick Dempsey]

Strap detail 2.

The other side of the retaining strap.

[Patrick Dempsey]

Profile shot.

Here is an interesting detail. The extra stitch on each side of the frog.Still need a tan leather entrenching tool cover...and webbing "Y-straps".
The madness never ends

Patrick.

[Infanteer]

Why was everyone ignoring this set? Looks great to me...

Steve

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Steve, I was with Patrick at Malvern show where he bought the webbing frog. As Patrick mentioned it was with a dealer well known for his dodgy stuff. A case for this peice of "death by association". This will put off the less knowledgable collectors from buying from him. Even bad dealers have good stuff sometimes.

Cheers, Ade.

[hcliffe]

Patrick,

Thanks for providing the excellent close-up photos. This thread will serve as a guide for future potential buyers to study before spending.

[Patrick Dempsey]

Hi all,
glad the frog was to your liking (incidentally does anyone know the origin of that particular term?). I'm just trying to give something back to the forum,so hopefully this thread along with the other two that exist (to my knowledge) on these items will be benificial to those on the cusp of a purchase.

All the best,

Patrick .

[Infanteer]

Since we are on the topic, would someone care to comment on the frog I have had in my collection for about 10 years?

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-...picalfrog1.jpg
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-...picalfrog2.jpg

Cheers,

Steve

[Steve in Florida]

Patrick comments: "glad the frog was to your liking", then asks "(incidentally does anyone know the origin of that particular term?)."

liking - preference, pleasure, or taste Root word being like - to take pleasure in, find agreeable to one's taste. It comes from Old English licien

That's if I had to venture a guess Oh "frog"

Well, the ancient Sumerians found the brown speckled desert frog to have particularly tough skin, in fact, almost leather-like. Instead of sheaths, they would run a sword through the frog's mouth til it came out its backside and tie its legs around their belt to hold the sword on the belt. This practice continued with the Romans and spread across the whole of Europe. As frogs were used, the term "frog" stayed with this device (although innovations in leather processing led to the all but the most primitive cultures using leather for frogs as opposed to real frogs).

...and that, my liege, is how we know the Earth to be banana shaped.

This new learning amazes me, Sir Bedevere. Explain again how sheep's bladders may be employed to prevent earthquakes.

[Infanteer]

That's a great story Steve !! I had never heard an explanation for the use of the term "frog" before... now if I can only remember all the details the next time someone asks "Why do they call it a frog?"

Cheers,

Steve

[Infanteer]

Since we are on the topic, would someone care to comment on the frog I have had in my collection for about 10 years?

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-...picalfrog1.jpg
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-...picalfrog2.jpg

Cheers,

Steve

Not too many people on the forum this weekend... any comments on my frog?

Steve