Hot barrel glove(mit)

[biochembri]

Here are photos of a hot barrel mit. I do not know if it is postwar or wartime. Were these even used during the war? I thought it was postwar until I saw a vendor stating it was war time. I could not find any markings. I purchased this from a reenactor in Georgia, USA. It does have the smell of oil and appears to have been used. I do not think this is a recent reproduction. Any insight?

Brian

[Artie in Miami]

I checked all my books and did not see any bbl mits that looked like your mitten type...the infantry used the square type that attached to the gunners kit (on belt). That may have been for a stationary type mount, but I have never seen or heard of that type before...if it wasn't too expensive, you may want to hang onto it, and take it to Folke (wrote the book on mg34) at knob creek and ask him about it....believe me...if you take it too the creek, someone will know. You could also send a pic to mgdave@sarcoinc.com and ask him...he will probably know.

It looks alot like the mits we used in the chem lab in graduate school at UM to handle really hot items from the drying ovens...does it appear to be asbestos or some type of synthetic fabric ?? If it is not asbestos...it is not ww2 issue...synthetic fibers did not come out until after the war. Put it under a black light (ultraviolet) and see if it glows...ww2 made items do not glow under uv...only synthetics do...you can get a cheap black light bulb at any home depot. Test some fabrics or thread that you know is synthetic (polyester, nylon etc) then compare it to the stuff the mitt is made of. Most high lever WW2 uniform collectors have a battery operated black light (hand held like a flashlight) to test fabrics and threads in garments before paying big bucks for uniforms, headgear etc...it is difficult today to get 100% cotton thread..so most of the repro stuff has synthetic threads or fibers in it. I used to test the P.38 pistol holsters with the black light...the thread used to hold the leather pieces together were synthetic in the repro holsters. Good luck!!

artie in miami

[Bil]

Artie-Thank you for the black light idea-I had never heard of it,but it is a good thing to know! ---bil

[Schnee]

Those gloves came with the Yugo cleaning kits imported by IMA in 1995-1996.

As far as I know, the Germans issued the small square one and no other official issue design.

Ryan


http://www.zwillingssockel.com
reschnee@earthlink.net

[biochembri]

Thanks for the responses. I suspect it is post war but when I saw this advertisement by the Collectors Guild I was not sure any longer. Here is the link. I really dont know much about The collectors guild reputation, just that his prices are out of this world.

http://www.germanmilitaria.com/Heer/17MG's.html

PS: I am a chemist as well. I think it is made of Asbestos but have not checked it. Not a real priority now.

Brian Abela

[bergflak]

CG is one of the best dealers out there. He normally checks his stuff thoroughly with collectors all over the world whenever he is in doubt. This one must have slipped past though, as it is clearly NOT a German WW2 item (he has been tipped and I guess it will be removed very soon). Yes, the prices on CG can border to insane some times, but it is the vendor that sets the price, and not the site-owner! If an item is too expensive it will not sell, and the vendor will not profit. He either adjust or waits.....name of the game!