LtRGFRANK Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 Yes it is different. Its marked with the big US kind of crooked. I've never seen another and can find no Info on it Heres the mark Link to post Share on other sites
earlymb Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 Heres the mark I have the same early type shovel with the same kind of marking. As far as I can see it isn't marked on the wood anywhere, but it has seen some heavy use so that may be worn off. Greetz David Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Corvette than in a Yugo. Link to post Share on other sites
General Apathy Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 Hi Jon & fellow members, What appears to be a totally unpainted M-1910 shovel has just been found in a barn in my Normandy village. I have posted more details and photos about the shovel in my ' Norman D. Landing, Reports from Normandy' in the dealer section. Please check it out in that section Cheers ( Lewis ) . Young enough to care and enjoy militaria - Old enough to remember as surplus " Life's too short for reproductions " Life is like a tank of gas, the closer you get to a quarter tank, the faster it goes . Link to post Share on other sites
jgawne Posted July 23, 2008 Author Share Posted July 23, 2008 More proof of my insanity. I actually was able to track down an archives that holds the papers of one of the companies making shovels in WW1. So far I have just found where they are, but I am already expecting to go spend a day (at least) wading htrough a few hundred pages of unorganized stuff. Just to look for shovel stuff. If only this type of work actually paid off! Link to post Share on other sites
LtRGFRANK Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 Maybe we finally find out about what we all have questions Link to post Share on other sites
jgawne Posted August 7, 2008 Author Share Posted August 7, 2008 Well, I spent a while looking through endless useless papers in the Ames shovel co archives, but found something interesting. They did not have a full set of blueprints, but they had a few different ones with dated changes. I noticed that up to Nov 1917 there was a comment above the data box on the lower right that said painting instructions were on drawing "thus and such" (which is in my notebook downstairs- and if anyone thinks they can find it from the numbers let me know). But this comment vanishes on the Feb 1918 blueprint. This leads me to hypothesize that the painting ran up to Nov 1917, and some time before Feb 1918 it was stopped. I can't say for 100% on this until I find a document saying that, but the evidence is reasonable for this to be a good working theory. What this does jive with is the rush to get stuff make in the winter of 17/18, as well as the time period when the east coast was socked in by snow, railways lines were jammed, and coal could not get anywhere- so probbly neither could paint. And I have found mentions of shortages of dyestuffs- so that underwear and socks etc were undyed to save on OD dye. My brain hurts. Link to post Share on other sites
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