BowlofRice Posted October 13, 2013 Share #1 Posted October 13, 2013 Hello, The other day I purchased a USAF Commander's BDU. But the name tape and collar rank were missing. The store had a pair of Lt. Col rank insignia and a name tape so I bought those. I sewed the rank on the collar myself, but removed them because I was unsatisfied with my sewing work. And the edges of the patches are heavily frayed. I could easily fix this problem by cutting off all the excess material surrounding the oak leaf. But every, and I mean EVERY BDU I've ever owned ALWAYS has the excess material under the rank patch folded underneath it, then sewed on. I've never encountered a BDU that has only the rank patch sewed on without the excess material underneath. So...would it be wrong to get rid of the excess material surrounding the patch? Would anyone have cared? Would this actually have been done? Or did everyone always sew on the rank like I described it earlier? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linedoggie Posted October 13, 2013 Share #2 Posted October 13, 2013 I know in the Army sometimes Joes would cut away excess on ranking and sew it in place. I had it done with SP/4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m1ashooter Posted October 13, 2013 Share #3 Posted October 13, 2013 My wife always folded under the material for a clean edge. I believe AFR35-10 once said you could wear pin on black army rank on USAF BDU's. I know I did on my BDU Cap and Gortex Jacket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowlofRice Posted October 13, 2013 Author Share #4 Posted October 13, 2013 Black metal ranks instead...I'll consider those. My question now is...WHEN did AFR35-10 say that? My BDU has a date of 2003, so I'm guessing it would have been worn during the mid 2000s. Oh and I should have clarified myself. I didn't mean to literally cut out the oak leaf. I just wanted to cut the material surrounding the square which contains the oak leaf. So it would just be a single layer of fabric sewn onto the collar, instead of folding the rest of the material underneath it. m1ashooter, you have a point though, it does make the edges a lot cleaner that way... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sigsaye Posted October 13, 2013 Share #5 Posted October 13, 2013 Black metal ranks instead...I'll consider those. My question now is...WHEN did AFR35-10 say that? My BDU has a date of 2003, so I'm guessing it would have been worn during the mid 2000s. Oh and I should have clarified myself. I didn't mean to literally cut out the oak leaf. I just wanted to cut the material surrounding the square which contains the oak leaf. So it would just be a single layer of fabric sewn onto the collar, instead of folding the rest of the material underneath it. m1ashooter, you have a point though, it does make the edges a lot cleaner that way... The reason the fabric is folded under is that it WILL fray if it isn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SergeantMajorGray Posted October 13, 2013 Share #6 Posted October 13, 2013 I have a special forces BDU with all the patches except for the collar ranks but the name tape is even still on the uniform. It doesn't look like any ranks were sewn on but at least to me it looks like metal ranks were pinned on. So I put some metal ones on it is it correct for display or no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32sbct Posted October 13, 2013 Share #7 Posted October 13, 2013 I've never seen one done without the edges folded under. I'm not AF, but I have seen a large number of Army BDU's over the course of my career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowlofRice Posted October 13, 2013 Author Share #8 Posted October 13, 2013 Won't get into details but I accidentally destroyed one of the patches... I only paid a dollar each for them so I didn't lose too much, but Air Force officer rank is hard to come by here in Toronto... I know a surplus store that sells metal pin-on rank. I'll just find a pair of Lt Col ones and attach them. At least THOSE don't fray! And it will be a unique touch to this uniform. But before I do...would it be correct for use on a 2003 dated BDU? I've seen some Army BDUs from this era with pin-on rank, and also a picture of an Air Force BDU with pin-on 2nd Lt insignia. But I don't know what era the latter came from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DutchInfid3l Posted October 13, 2013 Share #9 Posted October 13, 2013 Seems to be a matter of preference. My husband was convinced it looked better to have the pin on rank on his collar, but at the same time, every time you had it washed, you had to line them up correctly. Not to mention the paint would get scuffed and rubbed off, having to have them replaced. I surprised him once, before the BDU wear out date, and had them sewn on. He loved not having to remember to pin them back on. His ABUs are now sew on as well, but again, I've seen them being worn around with pin on rank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted October 14, 2013 Share #10 Posted October 14, 2013 I've never seen one done without the edges folded under. I'm not AF, but I have seen a large number of Army BDU's over the course of my career. Right 32s, though I have seen this done on mid 50s to early 60s Army officer fatique shirts on occasion, the Rank and Branch trimmed to the quick and sewn on the collars, normally hand sewn on, kinda of a fashion in mimicking or to mimic the metal badges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowlofRice Posted October 15, 2013 Author Share #11 Posted October 15, 2013 Ok. I'll get some pin-on rank. The only reason I didn't know if it was authorized was because I never saw many USAF BDUs with pin-on rank. The "ghost" of the former rank patches are still visible, but not too much. I guess if I put the metal Lt Col rank on top it will be as if he was just promoted and decided to replace his sew-on with pin-on rank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VMI88 Posted October 16, 2013 Share #12 Posted October 16, 2013 Sew-on rank was the norm for officer uniforms in the 80s & 90s, but pin-on rank was authorized and used. Pin-on rank seemed to be more common for NCOs (Army, I mean - AF NCOs wore chevrons on their sleeves). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowlofRice Posted October 16, 2013 Author Share #13 Posted October 16, 2013 Makes sense. The two BDUs I've seen that used pin-on rank were enlisted, and from around 1999. So they would have been worn in the early 2000s. I'm going to buy the pin-on rank tomorrow, either Lt. Col or Col. Just to confirm, black pin on rank is totally acceptable for a 2003-dated USAF BDU? I kinda wish I didn't buy this one though (the missing rank and name tape are proving to be a hassle)...but I bought it for its Space Command patch (I'm trying to collect BDUs with all of the MAJCOM patches). I also liked the Space and Missile Systems Center patch...not to mention the Commander's insignia. Is it difficult to find Commander's BDUs? I've only seen one other one, a while ago, at the same store. Should've just gotten that fully patched JAG Major's BDU instead... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin B. Posted October 16, 2013 Share #14 Posted October 16, 2013 I assume metal pin collar rank was made in Air Force subdued colors, blue instead of black? I've just never seen any, just the blue embroidered type. Justin B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easterneagle87 Posted October 16, 2013 Share #15 Posted October 16, 2013 If they (Army, which I was) chose to use black pin on rank, branch insignia and badges it was a personal choice over having everything sewn. Easier too, as someone ele said, as it was wash and go or drop off at the cleaners for a clean and press. Metal pin on always were scuffed and any metal showing through was a gig. IMO, those who did half and half (badges sewn but rank pinned) always looked like they were half put together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowlofRice Posted October 16, 2013 Author Share #16 Posted October 16, 2013 I assume metal pin collar rank was made in Air Force subdued colors, blue instead of black? I've just never seen any, just the blue embroidered type. Justin B. I assumed that too...but when I look at sites that sell black metal insignia (Vanguard and Cobra Tactical), they say it is for both Army and Air Force. And the photo of the Air Force BDU with metal rank insignia? It doesn't show any evidence of blue metal insignia existing - it has 2nd Lt rank which is bronze-colored for both the Army and Air Force. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowlofRice Posted October 18, 2013 Author Share #17 Posted October 18, 2013 Well, went downtown today, wanting to buy the black Lt. Col pins, but it turns out they had Major as well! Since insignia for Major is the same color in both the Army and Air Force, I can't go wrong with using it. So I bought them and pinned them onto my jacket. My husband was convinced it looked better to have the pin on rank on his collar Your husband was right, they DO look better...and no sewing required! And that JAG Major's BDU was still at the other store, so I got that too. But that will be in another thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowlofRice Posted October 18, 2013 Author Share #18 Posted October 18, 2013 Sorry to reply again but...are the oak leaves supposed to be the same? Or are they supposed to be reflections of each other? Because I looked at them and they're the same, while many other sites that sell these insignia show them as mirrored reflections of each other. Worst comes to worst I just exchange these for Colonel. Turns out the AF DID use black metal rank...I found this picture from an online museum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cefiler Posted December 17, 2013 Share #19 Posted December 17, 2013 Consider starching/sizing the item, then ironing into the shape you want. I've also used a light amount of white school paste to shape it. You can also pre-sew it into shape with a contrasting thread and wide stitches that you remove after permenantly sewing it on. Dont hesitate to cut some of the bulky overlapping material away (don't cut too close to the edge though...). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Third Herd Posted December 18, 2013 Share #20 Posted December 18, 2013 When the Air Force adopted subdued insignia, the metal rank insignia was blue. I can't find out when it was changed to black, but it was changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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