This website is dedicated exclusively to providing and collecting information about the cleaning kits used by the Germans in the Second World War from the point of view of a simple collector.

This blog has no sympathy or support to the Nazi regime that devastated Europe on the 40's. Also personally, when I see one of these kits manufactured on the war years, I think of the possibility that maybe it was made by a foreign forced worker under harsh conditions - more information about forced labor in Germany during WWII on the Links of interest page -.

Öltropfer

The Öltropfer in use.
  
  A Öltropfer or "oil dropper" was present on every Rg 34 and was used for to carry the Waffenreinigungsöl or cleaning oil.
  This type of oiler was patented by Gustav Appel in 1933. For to drop oil it is necessary to press the bottom (Lüftventil) at the same time that pushes the tip (Tropfventil) down to uncover two drilled small holes where the oil goes. It has a capacity of circa 12 ml (10 ml on phenolic oilers) and to fill the oiler, the base was unscrewed.
The patent of 1933 and with effect from 1931.
Cleaning some Kar 98b. Note two steel oilers onto the table at right, one is disassembled in parts.

The adopted model of the machined steel oiler with both ends unscrewed.

Pushing the tip down shows the small holes where the oil goes.
  At first were made in machined steel with high quality and like the cleaning chain it was a piece with high time-consuming manufacture. At the end of 1941 a phenolic oiler (similar to the metal oiler) was introduced and both were used throughout the war simultaneously. The machined steel oiler suffered some simplification during the war and at the end was introduced also a pressed or stamped type oiler.

The four type of oilers used in the Rg 34: (from left) machined steel, simplified machined steel,  pressed steel and phenolic.
  From the point of view of a collector, sometimes it's very hard to confirm if an unmarked steel oiler or a phenolic oiler correspond to a particular kit, although to observe in detail the oiler can give us signs,  for example, to know in what period was manufactured. Also in my opinion, the oiler must come and go out from the case (of course with no dents) without having to pull very hard, because this indicates that perhaps this oiler is not the original from this kit. A closer look inside the box can provide us sometimes clues, if a metal or phenolic oiler was provided originally with the kit (see the pictures below).

An "ab 41" kit provided with a metal machined oiler. Note the marks left.

Another "ab 41" kit provided with a phenolic oiler. Compare with the picture above.

You will find more info about the oilers here:

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