OK. I'll preface this by saying I'm infatuated with WW2 German field gear, and I was (and may be again) in love with WW2 "reenacting". I love the gear; machine guns, rifles, pistols, battle rattle, clothing, and all other things related to the WW2 German Heer "rifleman". I've enjoyed both collecting and "reenacting" for at least half of my life. I've seen lots of vendors of original and repro come and go. I've always strived for the best in both worlds. Dealers in original militaria that I've known will NOT even consider anything repro. I've personally found dealing in both (and striving for the best in repro) that having or at least seeing and touching the absolute best repro gear out there gives me a huge advantage in seeing the bull shite fakes. I have a very small realm of guys that I deal with in both original and repro, and for the most part they all know one another, and get along well. They support each other if you will. Now, may I present you an "original" item, made in the late 90's through early 2000's, a standard German folding etool. I purchased this for $125 as a repro, but these were originally sold to vendors as "real". Made in Europe, of presstoff and leather, with iron hardware, some original components (steel), and exact craftsmanship. The guy I bought this from is a long friend of mine, and he has no interest in screwing people on militaria, and he's got to be in the top 5 world wide of repro vendors. The shovel itself is of Dutch or Norwegian manufacture, and is damn near identical to German WW2, just a few mm's narrower. But someone went to the trouble to scrape it and blue it, then age it. This is what collectors are up against. Please take note of materials, construction method, dyes and lack of dye used on the leather components. Believe me, every time I look at this particular item, I almost fail to believe it's not original. But the guy I bought it from is a true pro who has had way more of this stuff through his hands than I ever will. If you care what I think (which isn't important or special), I'll happily give a run down on the best repros versus original. I know nothing (literally) nothing about medals or anything SS (maybe camo a little bit). This may be nothing new to a lot of you, but if you're new to collecting, and hate getting fucked, I may be able to help (a little).
