GJ ice axe

[jacquesf]

I am interested in this gj ice axe on the estand link http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=738133 I know nothing of these coming from a country where there are no ice or snow, All comments would be appreciated as to this gj item in ww2 and its use as GJ equipment. Tanks Jacques

[jacquesf]

gfgf

[CWP]

There are many threads on these GJR 137 ice picks. Here is one: http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=125075 Many like them, some claims the markings are fake.

[jacquesf]

Thanx for the information Chris, the link was very informative. J

[FestungSpanien]

I do think they are genuine, though I have seen also postwar marked trying to replicate the original stampings.
I have both variations (long one and short one) GJR137 marked in my collection and they came from a good source
Have also seen one GJR136 and WaA-med that looked very convincing

[Gebirgsjgr]

Hi Jacques,

You have entered a rather difficult area of collecting, so you may take your lumps. Hiking, climbing, skiing and other adventure sports, were very popular in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France and Italy, and many of the items were identical and even manufactured by the same companies. The different militaries did not invent the specialized equipment, but simply continued to use the civilian models. Items like ice axes, pitons and piton hammers are (in my opinion) impossible to tell if they were issued to the military before, during or after the war - or at all. And - as we already know - a stamp is cheap if it raises the value of an item significantly.

I am not THE expert in this area, but I can see nothing wrong with the Ice Axe being offered. The markings look correct and there are no marks to contradict the Wehrmacht markings. The overall structure looks like the Ice Axes of the period. And the hardware and strap material look correct.

I can tell you that from time to time you can buy Swiss and Italian axes that look identical (in structure) for about $100, but you can usually find something about them that contra-indicates German or Wehrmacht issue.

Again - this looks good to me.

I hope this helps,

Matt

[jacquesf]

Thanks for all the replies. Matt, thank you for the detailed answer, it sure helped me a lot. I am now more comfortable with the piece for display with my GJ headgear and insignia. J

[soldon]

Jacquesf - I consider myself a generalist equipment collector with a special interest in GJ collecting. Last year I visited the GJ museum in Sonthofen, I've been on the lookout for a ice-axe the past couple of years, they had a number of ice-axes pinned on the wall. I asked the curator, how they distinguished between civil and military ww2 ice-axes of the period, differences in style or scale, whatever ? his honest answer was they could not, none of the experts who run the museum could, the only certainly was the ice-axes hanging there were from the 1930's - 1940's. I've not looked for one since.