Date: Fri, 29 Nov 2013 14:50:04 -0600
Reply-To: Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: trenching shovel - GDR or GBR?
In-Reply-To: <5298E041.8020705@turbovans.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252
Interesting stuff. My lifetime of accumulation normally yields nothing so
interesting, though lately I have found an old evinrude motor, a brass
WWI-style trench lighter and a folding camping lantern with mica windows,
all three now lovingly restored. No catapults, though. I think on the day
Alastair was making his catapult I was burning plastic army men with the
trench lighter.
And Scott's 80's clothing! Makes me want to put on some Spandau Ballet and
drive my diesel Westy to Applbees (the last holdout of the 80s, besides
Sears) and chat about baud rates on a bag phone.
Jim
On Fri, Nov 29, 2013 at 12:43 PM, Scott Daniel <scottdaniel@turbovans.com>wrote:
> Wonderful Fridae fodder, lol.
>
> Interesting about the GDR markings.
>
> I have a Folboat ..that I think was made in the late 50's. ( a Folboat
> is a skin-on-frame take-apart kayak like boat. Plywoood frame, hypalon
> skin.
> This one is 15 feet long, has a rear trasom and is flat bottoemed at the
> aft end, and has a kayak style bow and cockpit coaming. )
>
> anyway ..it says Made in Western Germany on it .....something I never
> see anymore. Nowadays things just say 'made in germany.'
>
> I believe the more correct term is 'entrenching shovel' , as in fox
> hole digging in combat.
> Here's Wikipeida on 'entrenching tool'
> where they say it dates back to Roman Times even.
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entrenching_tool
>
> a fast search on entrenching tool turns up one made by the Glock company
> ...yes, the gun company. Priced at $ 50.
> On sale now for $ 40.
>
> for those that care about origins of words ..
> sure seems like a French word to me 'entrench' . In a brief search I
> couldn't determine that..
> but I see that the word dates from about 1563. yes, 1563 according to
> dictionary.com.
>
> and then I see...the word 'trench' ....of course that's french.
> 1350–1400; Middle English trenche path made by cutting < Old French: act
> of cutting, a cut, derivative of trenchier to cut < Vulgar Latin
> *trinca-re , for Latin trunca-re to lop; see truncate
> <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/truncate>
>
> What fun.
> I looked at my shovel ...no markings that I can find....lots of patina
> though.
>
> about loosing stuff ...maddening of course. I can go get something 40
> feet away, and loose it on the way back to where I'm going to use it.
> I do spend a lot of time on organizing ...as much as 2 hours every day
> on average.
> Heck ...if someone maybe is going to be a used framis or whatever from
> me for their vanagon ..
> I end up going through all 5 of them that I may have ..
> seeing exactly what I have ..
> and usually nearby there's something else that needs checking over and
> organizing and it just grows.
>
> And it sure is fun to discover something you forgot you had that's neat
> ...or haven't seen in years and years.
> Happily I recently gave away an old chainsaw ...a middle vanagon seat ,
> and a high tech fleece shirt and vest from the late 80's in perfect
> useful and cozy condition.
>
> thanks for the esoteric subject matter !
>
> smiles to all, Scott
>
>
>
> On 11/29/2013 8:46 AM, Alistair Bell wrote:
>
>> Made a rubbing of the stamp and I think it removes any doubt about that
>> “D” that some say is a “B”.
>>
>> Pic at end of post here:
>>
>> http://shufti.wordpress.com/2013/11/28/trenching-tools-east-meets-west/
>>
>>
>> alistair
>>
>
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