Maker marks on rifle slings

[dave.ib_walker@ntlworld.co]

Good afternoon Forum chums!

Usual caveat: I'm neither buying nor selling. However, seeing a rifle sling on an online auction site sporting a well-aged "MECo 1916" ink stamp raised a question. Years of collecting told me it was wrong; all the Great War period slings I've seen are maker-marked and dated on the brass furniture. However, when the vendor ( who was very polite and seemed totally honest) asked if I had a source for that being the single truth, I came up short. It's a sub-niche that isn't explicitly covered in the almanac that is Karkee Web.

Do any Forum experts have experience of genuine wartime slings with ink stamps, or know when the location of maker/date marks moved from the brass to the web...?!

Thanks in advance.

Dave

[4thGordons]

Like you, my immediate thought is WWI vintage (stamped into brass tab) WWII and later (both British and Canadian) ink stamped on canvas.

I have not seen a WWI ink stamped sling, I have a dozen or so WWII-1950s dated ink stamped slings on No4 rifles - without checking I believe the earliest ink-stamp I have is 1942.

Not much help other that to confirm that I too would question an 14-18 ink stamped date -- but I suppose "never say never"?

Chris

[Pete_C]

Great War era, pre-war, and up to the 1930’s, web slings were maker marked and dated (only) on the brass tabs. I have never encountered a confirmed GW era sling that was dated only on the web. Several slings have recently sold online, some for high prices, with conveniently faint GW period date stamps on the web, while others, with clear date stamps can be easily identified as fakes because the ‘ME Co’ font style is clearly incorrect. 
A selection of tabs, Somme relics included - I’ve previously owned many more relic examples, all of which were maker marked and dated on the brass tab.

Never say never, but the evidence points overwhelmingly to dates and makers on the brass tabs only up to the 1930’s - WW2 and beyond, on the web only.

Pete

Edited 12 July , 2022 by Pete_C

[dave.ib_walker@ntlworld.co]

Excellent, thanks both - my thoughts exactly. I've got a couple of war-dated Wright's slings and a 1912 MECo, which currently adorns my 1912-dated ShtLE III; all stamped on the brass. 

Great montage Pete - fascinating to see the font variations even amongst slings from the same maker!

[Pete_C]

10 hours ago, dave.ib_walker@ntlworld.co said:

Great montage Pete - fascinating to see the font variations even amongst slings from the same maker!

Yes, I’ve noticed that. The shiny ME Co 1915 sling (from Karkee Web, third row) looks irregular, like it’s been hand stamped and a bit fake, certainly compared to the elegant form of the 1914 sling alongside. However it’s exactly the same as the other 1915 example on the same row so I’m confident it’s genuine.

I’ve never seen an ME Co Great War era sling dated after 1915 ?

Pete

[battle of loos]

good afternoon,

here is that find in Loos aera :

M&A.HESS
1913

M.E.Co
1914

WRIGHT LT
1916

regards

michel

 

[Pete_C]

13 hours ago, battle of loos said:

good afternoon,

here is that find in Loos aera :

M & A Hess, I've never come across that maker before. The number of surviving examples would suggest that Wright's Ltd were the most prolific maker by some margin. I'd always assumed it was Wright's as in  Michael Wright & Sons Ltd / MW&S Ltd, the 'other' big maker of Pattern 1908 Web Equipment, but I could be wrong ?

Nice examples, thanks for sharing Michel.

Pete

 

Edited 14 July , 2022 by Pete_C

[paulowen]

Here's my contribution. Found while rooting through a box of slings on a saturday afternoon many years ago. I think I paid £2.50 for it!

[4thGordons]

Some nice examples posted - many thanks  -- I did just see an example on an auction site which was dated 1949 but stamped on the metal tab. Maker was WH and 1949 stamp was clear. So clearly tab stamping continued at least with some makers after ink stamping was introduced.

Chris

[Pete_C]

6 hours ago, paulowen said:

Here's my contribution. Found while rooting through a box of slings on a saturday afternoon many years ago. I think I paid £2.50 for it!

Very nice example.
Waring’s as in Waring & Gillow, furniture makers, I’d guess - also makers of SBR bags and web haversacks, that I’ve personally come across, in addition to vast quantities of other materiel.

Pete

[Pete_C]

15 hours ago, 4thGordons said:

Some nice examples posted - many thanks  -- I did just see an example on an auction site which was dated 1949 but stamped on the metal tab. Maker was WH and 1949 stamp was clear. So clearly tab stamping continued at least with some makers after ink stamping was introduced.

Chris

Just spotted that one Chris, indisputably genuine and shooting down my assertion that post WW2 slings were ink stamped on the web only. I'll stand by my advice on GW period slings though - as they left the factory, should be maker and date on the brass and that's all.

Pete

[Wardog]

The maker marked metal work has been faked. Worth looking carefully on a doubtful sling for any trace of a later WWII ink marking on the sling, Regards, Paul.

Edited 18 July , 2022 by Wardog

[dave.ib_walker@ntlworld.co]

Thanks to all for the contributions.

[Robert Missinne]

Sling of a Ross Rifle, found two years ago in a filled up pre-war basement at St-Julien (Flanders)