I bought this exact bag from James on Etsy and it is every bit as amazing as in the video. Getting to see how the bag came back to life is a unique experience, and for what the bag is and the efforts and time James put into restoring it what James charged me is more than reasonable. Thanks for the amazing bag and video James.
James, thank-you very much for this. I'm a leather worker and Army veteran based in London, your videos on these have inspired me to buy a couple of ratty 60's examples from Etsy and restore them, my wife already has one earmarked as a handbag!
Great video James. It’s really cool to see such a great piece put back into service. I would love to find one and restore it myself. Great job on the restoration!
I could get you on of these in very good condition. But they sell for 100.- chf plus shipping. if you live in North America, then the shipping has gone up sadly. it would be around 35.- chf
Hi James, I would love to get one if you have one available? Maybe we could connect on a Dm and you could send a picture. I would be excited to restore one and put it back into service as a personal bag. Thank you for you reply! I really enjoy your videos. I would use the same steps as are in your video! Very helpful and informative.
Hello james! I Believe that the carrier straps are from a pair of y straps. On the round ring on the strap there should be one more strap connected to your belt on the back, the two straps used for carrying the map case now are to be used on ammo pouches. You can se d rings on ammo pouches
hello there. I am Swiss an my grandfather was actually using one of these while he was serving. I never hold one of these bags in my hands but i there was some sort of attachment for the "weird" ring (3:15) in the middle of the straps. in that way one could have used it as a backpack. i am not a 100% sure if every model was built that way or even were meant to be a backpack. but that is what i heard from stories. there are many of these flying around in swiss fleemarketsites. mayby you´ll find an other one.
Nice video! Actually the R stamp is the mark that the inspector of the army would give a bag if it was qualified. These bags were made bij civil saddlers and they had to meet the standard of the army. The sling I think is from the same time period, but not belonging to this bag. I have only seen these bags with a very slim strap (adjusted to the back and not to the sides), or with no strap at all.
Thank you so much for the message, it's so hard to find relevant information on these bags especially as I don't speak German and a lot of the official documents are in German. If you have any sources I can dive into I would love it if you could share these with me :) Someone has tentatively identified the straps as belonging to French military harness straps...
I really enjoyed your video. I have a Swiss ammo pouch that I did a poor job of trying to restore. I did not see the alcohol step you used here in the previous video, thus is it safe to start all over? I used neatsfoot oil and the leather is supple, but it is not darker than expected and still has a very waxy feel. Thanks!
Ive got exact bag from 50. My have original belt attached into back side of bag (22mm wide). It's interesting because I do not have mounting holes drilled on the sides but back side. Yours do not have any holes at the back side. It means they had two belt mounting systems.
Thanks for your message, I'm always curious to hear about the variations in these bags! I wouldn't be surprised if they had different versions of this bag for different uses, or maybe it evolved over the years and was adapted... or maybe the user themselves modified the bag to suit their specific needs. Anyhow, great to read yours is still in use :D
Ah do you think this could be a mismatch from different pieces of equipment? That would explain the "homemade" adjustment cuts on the pieces. Wish I knew what the original was supposed to look like...
@@kajuslementauskas Thank you!! Any chance you could share your sources with me for future reference? I often have a difficult time finding the proper equipment name for that period, let alone picture I can reference x) Thanks again for your help :)
@@JamesBerry www.etsy.com/au/listing/643657226/swiss-army-brown-leather-bag-1945-swiss Here i found a similiar bag, i think its a same type of bag, but a bit different model
Nice video, thanks. Want to restore my fathers army map-case(same as yours), which is in pretty bad condithion. What kind of alcohol exactly have you used, what kind of saddle soap exactly have you used? Thanks and best , Rolf from Switzerland
Don't know why you completely un-stitched every piece as it appeared that most of the main seams where in pretty good condition. The only ones that should have been replaced were the high stress ones. Just my opinion. And would have saved you a lot of stitching work.
At 3:26 the strap looks to have a bit of mold on the piece where it gets narrower...what did you do to treat that part? Anything in addition to the rest of the process? Thanks, great work btw!
The mold wasn't too bad and came off easily when scratched with a blade. I then cleaned it up with alcohol to make sure there was none left. Thanks for your message, glad you like it :)
great job. I wanted to mention that if you have trouble finding the cream used you can also use Skidmore's which is essential the same thing. as far as oils like you said neetsfoot oil is most common but a lot of saddle makers swear by extra virgin alive oil. you said that cooking oils can go rancid which is true, though all oils including neetsfoot goes rancid if over applied. my experience with using evoo it to just wipe on and rub it in, then wipe off any excess. don't apply to heavily. I've used it before without any problems but I do prefer neatsfoot oil and Skidmores.
Thanks for this, I did not know of Skidmore cream but will keep an eye out for it so I can test it out! True, all oils can go rancid if over-applied. I've always stayed clear of extra virgin olive oil though but it's certainly better than leaving the leather to dry out :) Thanks for your message!
Better late than never...yes, essentially. A box stitch will go through at least one of the panels at an angle, or both depending on if they are butted (one overlapping the edge of the other) or mitered (both cut at 45 degrees to create a corner.) As with normal seams, however, there are other stitches that can be used besides the traditional saddle stitch.
