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Buckles


Buster

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I took delivery of these  Very nice items  today! as can be seen they are both Heer buckles, one steel and the other alloy, both un maker marked but both in very nice condition .

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These would match your parade bayonet, which you recently showed. Are you sure that one is steel? The  second one in the first picture looks like bright Aluminium.
The one above looks like Zinc, with a silver wash, which has almost disappeared. These buckles are of course only for the walking-out dress. The field belts were usually of one piece construction, pressed in one piece, the early ones in Aluminium till 1940, thereafter in steel, these types with a fieldgreen finish, and always had a leather tab.

You can test if steel using a magnet, the prongbars are of course iron, these will magnetise.

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Yes the bottom one is  aluminium,  & you are right about the top one, I just tested it & its not magnetic so must be zinc after all . I have displayed the darker one with the bayonet & the brighter one with my medals for now . 

I have seen the field buckles with the tab , how does that arrangment work when worn ?

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Both buckles would match your parade bayonet, just that the one may have become slightly duller in time. Recommendable to keep an eye on zinc items, they can really deteriorate over time, and tend to oxidise, which I didn't realise when I first started collecting, as they were still almost "new" in those days, but noticing  nowadays, many zinc items tend to show a whitish oxidation.
The buckle with the tab is otherwise identical, the tab just serves to secure the buckle, especially when handling, after around 1943/44 tabs were omitted to save leather, and many buckles nowadays simply have the tab missing. The tab has the advantage of being dated and with the manufacturers details, sometimes also unit stamped.
The parade belt leather was also different to the field belt leather, which was more of a better quality and more robust, parade belts were simply decorative. Belt leathers were always a natural brown, only blackened on the outside.
Here, several examples of army belt buckles, the parade buckle usually had a separately applied medallion, the field variety should always be with a leather tab, at least till  1943/44, or has been removed, they should also be stamped in one piece, i.e., hollow, and always had a fieldgreen finish, on aluminium examples mostly worn off, but can be seen to the reverse, the tab I had to restitch many years ago, as the threads were almost completely gone (tab is also wrong way round). The steel buckle bottom left has lost all of its finish to the front (remains probably postwar removed/polished). The makers dates are usually still legible, unless very worn.
The rarest buckles are those of the Waffen-SS, and are usually very expensive, and very many fakes around, these were steel with a matt silver finish as from 1940, before that of aluminium with a natural finish. Other examples may be encountered such as the buckles worn with the old black uniform (Allgemeine SS), which were usually of Neusilber (German Silver), of iron with a nickel plating or of Aluminium.

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Thanks Fritz, as always very interesting & informative ! Is there anything I can use to preserve the zinc buckle  or even zinc medals ? .You have some beautiful buckles Fritz, i particularly  like the bottom right one ! Very nice markings on the tab.

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There doesn't seem to be any magic formula for protecting zinc. Best to keep it away from dampness or contact with other materials such as leather, any acid content of which may affect the zinc over a period of time. The exact cause of oxidation in the case of zinc seems unknown. Also finger sweat should be avoided. In museums and historical archives, old artefacts and especially paper are handled only with white cotton gloves, which must be clean. I've heard other militaria specialists say that brushing oxidised areas with a clean toothbrush may help somewhat, but it will only remove surface oxidation and pitting may remain. The best bet is not to handle too often.
Belts I usually store with the buckle separately. Belt leathers, etc. should not be treated with leather oil, which not only darkens the original colour but also eventually causes hardening and cracking.  A good quality leather wax (and / or a good quality saddle soap) is better for preserving. For patent leathers, a good quality patent leather dressing, but without "softeners", which are often included in modern products, some of the best products have unfortunatley been taken from the market in recent years.

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Very nice buckles , a very thin coat of vasaline which can be polished off should protect zinc, you can also use larger amounts and leave overnight to remove zinc rot  :thumbsup:   

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