straight shovel question ...

[Sturmmann]

actually more about the handle of the shovel ... got a shovel with dark green painted handle - is that normal? i've never seen shovels with painted hanldes before

thanks!

[reidmuller]

actually more about the handle of the shovel ... got a shovel with dark green painted handle - is that normal? i've never seen shovels with painted hanldes before

thanks!

dark green painted E-tools are usually i think Dutch (or norway?) alot were wartime issue repainted for post war use
Adam

[Glenn Barbaritz]

Adam is correct.

[Wesley's Dad]

Shovel Handle color

If the shovel you have was sourced in you home country of Estonia, it probably is not Nowiegen or Dutch reissue. Odds are good that it is simply postwar paint on a shovel that spent some years in Soviet military stocks. Lots of equipment coming from the east in the last few years both Soviet and German often has what appears to be hastly applied paint to the metal hardware or often as your shovel to the entire item. This is classic Soviet conscript work, painting over metal to cover and prevent rust on stored equipment. I have seen scores of holsters and K98 pouches from these sources and a tell tale mark is paint on the metal parts. Even some of the recent K98k rifle imports have black paint on some of the metal parts. Often this paint is sloppy, and sometimes in odd colors. We got a batch of Soviet F1 grenade pounches once that had the metal hardware touched up in a sky blue.

Regards,
Mike

[Sturmmann]

thanks a lot