[Guest]

Trying to determine if this broomhandle is authentic,i have my doubts.But on the chance it maybe id like any info i can get, have a few pics and will post them.Should it be otherwise i wonder how much itd cost to encase it in acrylic?

Download Attachment: c96 side markings.jpg
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Download Attachment: front of barrel top.jpg
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Download Attachment: front side barrel mark and serial number.jpg
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Download Attachment: front under barrel marks.jpg
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Download Attachment: broomhandle.jpg
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Download Attachment: side panel marking.jpg
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Download Attachment: 4 marks either japanese or chinese.jpg
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[Navy]

Your 'broom is the pattern 1930; is authentic and was exported to China. It appears to be in slightly better condition that most Chinese service pieces.
I have no idea what putting it in acryllic would cost.

Tom A.

 

[oldguy]

Why would you want to encase it in acrylic? That would make a nice display I am sure, but would / should permanently destroy any collector value, as I can't imagine ever getting it out of the stuff once encased?

 

[Guest]

Thank you for your help with my broomhandle.After years of living in Europe,both as a dependant and as a soldier myself,I had built a fascination for the military history there. As a young man I lived 1 block down the street from Franco and his palace in Seville Spain.As a soldier I had the chance to spend off duty time investigating famous battle fields of WW1 and WW2. In one of my trips to the Siegfried Line, myself and a small group of friends found a 7-storied bunker. I discovered that I was sitting near a hydrolic gun turrent that raised an 88mm 50-foot out of the bunker. The bunker and its guns covered a rail-line coming from Belgium and Luxemburg into Germany through the Siegfried Line. While eating lunch in one of the gun turrents, I sat down on a small pile of rubble and found a discarded Broomhandle. The pistol grip had long since corroded away leaving only the magazine and the barrel. Since that day I have always wanted one. This one will fire but goes out of battery shooting 7.63 ammo, have tried replacing main recoil spring, but it didn't help it at all. It could use rebarrelling and a new safety, however there could be a few other things that could be wrong with it. Because of my health I'll never be able to have it refurbished. So my thinking was to have it encased in acrylic and pass it along to my grandsons.

 

[Ron Wood]

Do your grandsons a big favor and skip the acrylic...it accomplishes nothing. You have a pretty nice collectable item that is long past its days as a shooting firearm but remains an interesting bit of history. Putting it in acrylic is somewhat akin to giving the Mona Lisa a good lacquer job to "preserve" her.

 

[Navy]

Could not agree more with my esteamed colleague, Mr. Wood. Why spend money to destroy something that has intrinsic value and historic worth?
Do you know why so many 'brooms went to China?
A history lesson: Because the League of Nations forbade the export of rifles to China by member nations. A C-96 certainly ain't a rifle, but it can become a carbine quickly.
Pls, do not destroy this nice piece of history.

Tom A.