Third Party Press

Caring for Your WW2 Memorabilia

Great articles! I think everyone interested in anything from collecting to the history of their family should read these. I volunteer at a local museum and can tell you that many people unintentionally destroy family artifacts through neglect or not knowing how to properly care for said artifacts.
 
Thanks for a very important thread. I have been successfully preserving old military leather since the 1950's, much of it pre-Civil War that I have kept or traded to some high profile collectors. When I attempted to contribute my preservative of choice and methods on a German pistol forum I got so much crap about it that those characters can stick their leather "where the sun don't shine." If these idiots read the contents of the polish, they probably wouldn't shine their shoes and that's assuming they do. At any rate, it's refreshing to read that serious collectors are concerned with the preservation of their collectible firearm accessories. Sadly, we all will continue to encounter broken slings, holster pull straps, closure straps, etc. at shows for the simple reason that they were neglected by those responsible for their care and allowed to dry out.
 
good stuff

the best treatment is nothing....easy.


Well i just bought a ww2 double barrel shotgun.. stock cracked in half nearly. Trigger broken.. safety spring broken.. Am i just to hang it on the wall and have it collect dust.. then call the cleaning lady to clean the dust off ? Na. Ill drill the stock.. dowel it. Glue it. Weld the trigger levers inside back on.. polish the grime off th3 metal.. degrease and reoil. Polish the wood.

Then clean the barrels.. and shoot it.


Well i already did thay.. cept shoot it. I guess for some things id preserve em and never use them.. but for guns. Id rather fix them and shoot them
 
There’s a difference between careful, targeted restoration/preservation and ham fisted fixin’. You can either do a quality repair or not, your choice, but ham fisted fixin’ destroys the value, collectibility and beauty for the future generations to enjoy.
 

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