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What do you other grenade collectors think of this repair

V

vinnyw

Well-Known Member
On a level 1 to 10 how would you accept doing this.
Im old school I would rather have a grenade or for that matter,any piece of ordanace that I buy to have 30 percent orginal paint than have a fully restored one.With that in mind,I have a early mk2 grenade,,with the rounded top and the short fuse spoon but the screw on the bottom is missing.
Would you rather have a screw made of lead that I can make and age,or not have one at all,or nothing but the orginal would do?
Thanks for your opion.
vinny
 
i don't think making a good repro will do any harm, i have some repro parts on some of my grenades because i'm 99% sure i'll never find original spares.
cheers, Paul.
 
I think this is personal choice really. I can't help but shun a piece or ordnance with a repro part, but that's me.
 
My opinion-

I would never have an item that was 100% repro - however I can see that if something is way over budget or simply unobtainable that there is a market for such things. Personally I really dont see the point in pretending that something is something else - a reproduction item will never be what it 'pretends' to be and never will be - repro is repro - end of....

....however; I believe that it you have an item within a collection that lacks a part, which is not readily available to complete, then I think it is acceptable to add a 'replica' piece, in lieu of getting an original. Now whether that additional piece should be aged to look like original is another question?

heres my issue; what happens when these things get passed on intentially or not. We all know that some people have so little regard for history that they intentially try to decieve by passing on replica or fake items as original - hopefully as collectors with suitable knowledge we avoid such items (though as in a recent thread on Mills bombs, posted by Millsbomber, these are getting to be a very high standard!!).
Now there is another situation; a collector adds a replica piece to an original item, unforseen circumstances means the collection is passed on - the aged replica bit is not acknowledged, and now forms part of what is classed as an original item. Now we have a situation where an item has been added with good intention, but which now forms part of someone elses collection as an original bit. In future years this 'repro bit' also may become recognised as a 'slight variation' or 'another type' to look out for.

I have a battle with my own concience about what is right or wrong in this respect....I dont think by adding a replica part you are doing any harm within your own collection - BUT in doing so are we unintentially doing an injustice to what, in all intense and purpose, we are trying to preserve????

(I myself have had some screws made for the SD2's to attatch the arming rod to the fuzes - as these are impossible to locate on their own. I have also purchased some M83 arming wires - in lieu of getting originals - as again finding any at present on their own has proved fruitless. HOWEVER, I have not finished these off to the standard of original pieces and made all attempts to catalogue them as Repro so as to prevent them being passed on as such.....they are not of a standard to fool anyone - just good enough as representatives!!)

.........hope this helps, though I feel may just add to your concience, like mine!!!

regards Kev
 
If you were making these in quantity with the intent of making money off them I would frown on that. If it's for yourself (as you stated) and you do a good job, in other words a "restoration", I think it is perfectly acceptable. Here in the States people spend thounsands restoring old auto's. Firearms restoration has been around for ages and no one quibbles over a new parts for the old guns as long as it is done properly. Furniture, paintings, antiques of all kinds all get restored. Why not a grenade? I'd say go for it!

Robert
 
When it comes to shells I never repaint or include reproduction parts. The most I do is treat the rust.
With butterfly bombs the ones I have in the collection are all in very good condition and all original.............which leads me onto the difficult bit........I do have a bit of a fascination with how butterfly bombs work and seem to end up restoring relics to save them from rusting away entirely. Depending on the degree of damage they'd usually get repainted and sometimes dare I say it filled although occasionally they get varnished. I don't usually keep these and often end up parting with them as swaps or selling for much less than a mint condition one but part of the fun is doing them up.
My son collects WW1 grenades. He doesn't have a lot of spare cash so gets relics and does them up and why not? That's how a lot of us started out.
Personally I'd always try and get an original part but a repro would do to fill a gap until then as long as nobody tried to pass it off as original.
Dave.
 
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