Description
The field bottle in the photo is for demonstration of the product, the strap described below is sold only.
The strap for a field bottle of the 1931 model is made in the best traditions of the pre-war German industry. Magnificent glossy leather, aluminum hook and buckle, new shiny cap with a pink rubber gasket. Made for an infantry (standard) flask (0.8 liters).
All the nuances are observed. The leather itself is vegetable tanned, soft beige, painted black on the outside (the cuts are not painted, but varnished). The aluminum buckle is original, painted black, like on early products. The hook is also original with traces of repair, various brands. In the hook fastening detail there is an additional piece of leather (reinforcement gasket), as it was on the originals.
The belt is ready for use, no additional straps are needed. To get a complete flask, you need this strap, the flask itself in a felt case, an aluminum mug.
There are no stamps on the strap. We can put an ink stamp MN or ESB on the leather (+140 euro). We do not put stamps on the caps. There are no straps without caps. You can replace it with your original cap (+160 euro).
Why such a price?
This is a strap of the highest (museum) quality, which can be put even on the original flask. We know that there are cheaper copies - but they are worse. You yourself choose what is more important to you: price or quality of the product.
Original straps, of course, can be used in reenactment, but they do not last long, believe me. Even an outwardly perfect original strap will tear or at least crack on the glossy side as soon as you wet it a couple of times during the game and try to tighten it on the buckle. It is also important to remember that the Wehrmacht soldiers used new equipment that was issued to them when they were formed into units. Using dug leather soaked in softeners - all black and shrunk in width - is quite strange in a reenactment. A new strap is needed.
Historical reference.
Straps to the German army field bottles of pre-war production were of very high quality. With the beginning of the war the cost of production began to reduce. First of all steel parts (painted in gray or light gray) began to be used. By the middle of the war more thin straps of leather with smooth surface and even pig skin appeared (pig skin has skin surface with pores). The steel hardware was painted in different shades of green and even black. At the end of the war there were straps of two parts (front and back), which allowed a little bit skin saving without making major changes to the product.
