Leather M-1911 Magazine Pockets
Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2025 2:12 pm
"Pockets, Magazine, Double, For M-1911 Magazines."
Class 20, Division 2a, Drawing 21.
It's not the "WPG" inspector stamp, it's the stitching. The stitching and the thread itself. Both weak thread and gimpy stitching.
Leather items were made by harness makers. They used saddle stitches. Two strong needles and two strong threads.
That is zoomed in on a McKeever made at Watervliet in the late 1880s. That it's two threads is clear. Strong thread.
Even in a low quality image, the saddle stitch is clear.
One made by Rock Island Arsenal. Even from here the saddle stitching is obvious.
The contrast between an original, and reproduction, is stark. Most of all in the stitching. Inspected by Thomas C. Carroll. He worked at Watervliet in the 1880s, when the McKeever zoom above was made. Is that 1916? The workers are detected from those other initials. W.W. and C.K. Those are normally the harness makers. As a rule, the stuff has the inspector's mark and date. Sometimes, not always, the harness makers stamp also. Here we have two. The question is: are the initials unique for that year?
No guarantee but the W.W. is Willard Wing. I'd pin that tighter if that pocket was mine.
C.K. is Charles Krieger.
Somebody on a message board, long ago, claimed those couldn't be cracked. Yes, they can. Just took some work to prepare the tables.
Class 20, Division 2a, Drawing 21.
- p-1.jpg (41.8 KiB) Viewed 421 times
It's not the "WPG" inspector stamp, it's the stitching. The stitching and the thread itself. Both weak thread and gimpy stitching.
- p-2.jpg (11.03 KiB) Viewed 421 times
Leather items were made by harness makers. They used saddle stitches. Two strong needles and two strong threads.
- p-3.jpg (26.37 KiB) Viewed 421 times
That is zoomed in on a McKeever made at Watervliet in the late 1880s. That it's two threads is clear. Strong thread.
- p-4.jpg (77.68 KiB) Viewed 421 times
Even in a low quality image, the saddle stitch is clear.
- p-5.jpg (23.76 KiB) Viewed 421 times
One made by Rock Island Arsenal. Even from here the saddle stitching is obvious.
- p-6.jpg (51.28 KiB) Viewed 421 times
The contrast between an original, and reproduction, is stark. Most of all in the stitching. Inspected by Thomas C. Carroll. He worked at Watervliet in the 1880s, when the McKeever zoom above was made. Is that 1916? The workers are detected from those other initials. W.W. and C.K. Those are normally the harness makers. As a rule, the stuff has the inspector's mark and date. Sometimes, not always, the harness makers stamp also. Here we have two. The question is: are the initials unique for that year?
No guarantee but the W.W. is Willard Wing. I'd pin that tighter if that pocket was mine.
C.K. is Charles Krieger.
Somebody on a message board, long ago, claimed those couldn't be cracked. Yes, they can. Just took some work to prepare the tables.