1942wannabe
New in Town
- Messages
- 7
- Location
- Casablanca
Hi, I am new to this forum so if I'm posting this where it's not supposed to be, I apologize.
I have been fascinated with WWII headgear for years, and have a decent collection of service caps. I am one of those reenactors though who has evolved to the point where I am paranoid about wearing my original service caps "out on the town" anymore. This is because I once went to a swing dance wearing a mint service cap, and when I left I discovered to my horror it was pouring rain outside. My nice wool service cap got drenched on the way to the car and shrunk.
Ever since I have been almost anal about my caps. I have discovered, however, that there are few decent reproductions out there to be had, especially the enlisted caps. Very few are "crushable" and fewer still have double stitching (as is found on some of the higher quality originals). I also think one of the problems with the reproductions is that the pattern is off, maybe because some of them look like they are patterned after a more modern design. So I decided to reproduce my own.
I had a ratty service cap, so I carefully disected it and made a pattern. After about 12 man hours of improving the pattern, it's finally finished. The original I copied was a private purchase cap, made of cotton twill, with no lining (as is common among summer service caps). It was also very crushable, since it had a leather frame instead of the wicker basket weave frames (you see these the most on USN, USMC, and post-war caps). Some of the photos were taken before the chinstraps were finished, so I realize it is missing in some photos. The final photo is a comparison of the reproduction (left) and an original (right).
I'd like to get some feedback. If enough folks are interested, I was going to make several up to sell. Price will be about $110. I will make them in khaki and olive drab serge for enlisted, and khaki, olive drab elastique, and pink elastique for officers. Any thoughts? I am open to constructive criticism.
I have been fascinated with WWII headgear for years, and have a decent collection of service caps. I am one of those reenactors though who has evolved to the point where I am paranoid about wearing my original service caps "out on the town" anymore. This is because I once went to a swing dance wearing a mint service cap, and when I left I discovered to my horror it was pouring rain outside. My nice wool service cap got drenched on the way to the car and shrunk.
Ever since I have been almost anal about my caps. I have discovered, however, that there are few decent reproductions out there to be had, especially the enlisted caps. Very few are "crushable" and fewer still have double stitching (as is found on some of the higher quality originals). I also think one of the problems with the reproductions is that the pattern is off, maybe because some of them look like they are patterned after a more modern design. So I decided to reproduce my own.
I had a ratty service cap, so I carefully disected it and made a pattern. After about 12 man hours of improving the pattern, it's finally finished. The original I copied was a private purchase cap, made of cotton twill, with no lining (as is common among summer service caps). It was also very crushable, since it had a leather frame instead of the wicker basket weave frames (you see these the most on USN, USMC, and post-war caps). Some of the photos were taken before the chinstraps were finished, so I realize it is missing in some photos. The final photo is a comparison of the reproduction (left) and an original (right).
I'd like to get some feedback. If enough folks are interested, I was going to make several up to sell. Price will be about $110. I will make them in khaki and olive drab serge for enlisted, and khaki, olive drab elastique, and pink elastique for officers. Any thoughts? I am open to constructive criticism.
