UBB.threads Forums Edged Weapons German Sword & Miniatures Forum Scabbard Throat Numbers

Can anyone shed any light on the specifics regarding throat markings on Heer saber scabbards? I have a number of these. All which are marked contain numbers on the throat, and no corresponding numbers anywhere else. No wafamt marking or other property or state related marks. I cannot fathom why a personal purchase saber would typically have any type of scabbard marking. No need for inventory control.

T

Btt.

Whats up with my avatar photo?? Lets see how it comes in this tiem.

Ahhhhh, percection.

That`s been a puzzle for me too. Pack frequently has a 542 on there throats.

George, that is interesting. I havn't noticed that.

A recent Nr 1058 from WKC has a 776 stamp on her throat and a Puma model I have does as well, the 776. I hadn't noticed that both of these sabers from different manufacturers have the same number till just now.

Here's the Puma.

Here's the scabbard throat from the WKC Nr. 1058. Nutty isn't it? Difft. manufacturers, same numeric coding in the same spot.

Wierd. I wish I had an answer. Hopefully someone here does. Have fun searching the web for an answer. you won't find one. And reference books, no good either. I've checked 'em.

FP, any idea??

Tom, Two or three possibilities occur to me and there could be more than one solution to the puzzle. The first is assembly numbers where all components are fitted together before finishing and the numbers help in reassembly. And the numbers all match. Usually the numbers are hand stamped one at a time.

Another is subassembly numbers. Wherein all �XYZ� scabbards from a maker use part number �105� (or some other number) so that a lot of effort is not spent trying to assemble components not meant to be put together. It makes economic sense to use a stamping fixture because these would be done in batches - but that is not an absolute as labor back then was often cheaper than machines or tooling.

If the same numbers are found on swords from different makers that brings a third possibility into play. A subcontractor number so that for example �776� (or some other number) was made by the �ABC� company and sold to multiple end users. It makes even more economic sense to use a stamping fixture for large batches of parts - but once again that is not a given. (What might be helpful here is to see if under extremely close examination if the same die sets were used to stamp the characters versus a different set of stamps.)

From time to time I�ve mentally catalogued some of the numbers I�ve seen. But at the moment don�t have a clear recollection what conclusions (if any) there were. FP

Fred,
Thank you for the insightful response. All your answers are very plausible explanations for the stamped numbers. I fear that in order to determine what if any signifigance the numbers have will in and of itself be a labor intensive and time consuming project thats results will be all together trivial. Of course, i'm still curious, especially when you have sabers from different manufacturers bearing the same number sequence in the same location.

Thanks again,
T

If you notice,some MFGRS used the same stuff.WKC and PUMA generally will have the larger ring on the scabbard,while Pack usually has a smaller one.

George,
That's true. That certainly could account for the identicality of the markings. The thought had crossed my mind as did the possibility that perhaps the scabbard was not original to the saber...which coneseqently I think is unlikely.

All that being said, I'd still like to know what purpose the numbering served. I think FP might be onto it with standardized manufacturing. But the numbering is not ardently steadfast in the sense that they do not appear on all WKC and Puma sabers, in fact they only appear in smaller %ages.

T