Verschlusskappe für Kar 98k

[Sir Mortimer]

I've had this item in my collection for quite a while now. My literature (Richard D.Law: Karabiner 98k and Albrecht Wacker: Das System Adalbert/Der K98k) give only very sparse info regarding this item: It's an apparently short-lived action cover made from leather during the late 1930s made for the Kar 98a and 98k, that was either used by Police (Law/Wacker) and SS (Wacker). The photos depicting them were produced by either Max Rüdiger/Berlin or A.Fischer/Berlin, both being 1938 made. My example is made by Rüdiger. Wacker also mentions and classifies them as "Verschlusskappe 98 für Unberittene" (VK 98 U) for unmounted personnel and "Verschlusskappe 98 für Berittene" (VK 98 B) for mounted personnel, the latter one having a belt loop attached.

My questions are: Does anyone have more (and possibly up-to-date info) regarding these items and does anyone have a picture of the "mounted personnal" version to see what it looks like?

 

[pwcosol]

Can't say I ever ran across one of these before. I recall when the original rear sight covers came on the market in the mid-1980s. Unable to discern in the photo, but is the eagle acceptance stamp a Police one? Looks like the cover may originally have been natural leather and later dyed black. This happened to a lot of holsters which were subsequently dyed black by German directive as well.

 

[biggymu]

Looks like a police eagle. Please turn on some lights and retake the photos. Very dark. Interesting item

 

[CanadianAR]

Definitely an odd eagle to me. But I don’t know polezi stuff at all.

 

[Sir Mortimer]

Looks like a police eagle. Please turn on some lights and retake the photos. Very dark. Interesting item

The capital "B" right in the middle might've been used specifically in the Berlin area for Police. Here are some better pictures in daylight.

Can't say I ever ran across one of these before. I recall when the original rear sight covers came on the market in the mid-1980s. Unable to discern in the photo, but is the eagle acceptance stamp a Police one? Looks like the cover may originally have been natural leather and later dyed black. This happened to a lot of holsters which were subsequently dyed black by German directive as well.

The leather has indeed been blackened, on the inner edges you can see some "spill" spots of black leather dye. Photos unfortunately don't show it as good as the eye picks it up. Over the course of 80+ years, the natural leather has become quite dark brown on the inside, nearly black.

I found a polish repro stamp maker with the "B" Eagle, but the details don't match up at all and the stamped image in the leather is very crisp and higly detailed. Just look at how big the eagle's eye is on the repro stamp...

German Eagle Stamp B

waffenamt-shop.com

I also found in an old, digitalized address book (by coincidence from 1938, too!) the maker of this piece:



502d) Saddles and riding gear.
Rüdiger, Max, [Berlin] SW 68, Kommandantenstraße 47. T.

I guess this action cover is so rare, that no one here has any more info regarding distribution, history or possibly numbers produced?