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 -.

Phenolic oilers

  The phenolic oiler, also know as "Bakelite" oiler by collectors, was introduced in 1941 -more likely towards the end of that year-  and used practically unchanged all through the war. The only changes were related to the type of pressing compositions used in their manufacture and some minor simplification. The pressing composition was made from phenol-formaldehyde plus a sort of filler.
Diverse phenolic oilers from several manufacturers.

  It seems that the use of phenolic oilers gradually gained ground to the use of machined ones, although it never replaced completely.

A late war phenolic oiler. Note the irregular manufacture.

In many late war oilers only two holes were drilled, although also in some oilers from early and mid- war manufacture it can be observed, even with a single hole.
 
  Everyone interested in learning more about the plastics or "Kunststoffe" in Germany during WWII must read the W. Darrin Weaver's book "Kunststoffe, A Collector's Guide to German WWII Plastics and their Markings".

Markings found on the oilers:


    For the Rg34 collector may be interesant (and necessary !) to know a little about the markings that generally are present on the "Kunststoff" made parts of the oiler. The markings that we can find are:
  1. A stilized "MPD" stamp, that stands for Staatliches Materialprüfungsamt or State Materials Testing Office -that was located at Dahlem-. This marking was incorporated on the parts to indicate that the piece was manufactured in accordance with the DIN  -Deutsche Industrie Norm- standarts. The stamp included information about the manufacturer of the piece (indicated by a numeric or alphanumeric code assigned by the Staatliches Materialprüfungsamt, located in the field above the "M") and info about the pressing composition (indicated by a letter or alfhanumeric designation, in the field below the "M").
  2. The military letter code assigned to identify the manufacturer. At some point the code assigned-marked inside the the MPD stamp- was omited by some manufacturers and left the space in white, marking -outside the MPD logo- their letter code, at this case assigned by the Heeresawaffenamt.
  3. Numbers. In some pieces single numbers are present and seems that were lot numbers. Also, the number 11555 is present in the "ehe" marked bottom pieces and it is presumed to be a requisition number or piece mould number.
  Normally, the pressing composition info was always included in the MDP stamp, although the MPD logo in some pieces was faintly stamped and at late war stages even simply omited, which perhaps would mean that the standarts of manufacture were not met.
 
  Types of pressing compositions and their markings observed into the MPD stamp on oilers were:
  • Type "S" ("Schnellpressmassen"): Phenolic resin with wood filler (sawdust).
  • Type "T2": Phenolic resin with textile fiber filler (schredded textile fabric).
  • Type "Z1": Phenolic resin with celulose filler (short-fiberd cellulose, -flakes-).
  • Type "Z2": Phenolic resin with celulose filler (cellulose shreds).
  • "41": New classification code for the Type "S", introduced in 1943.
  • "51": New classification code for the Type "Z1", introduced in 1943.
  • "54": New classification code for the Type "Z2", introduced in 1943.
Known pressing compositions.
New classification codes of pressing compositions introduced in 1943.

  The different firms involved in the oiler pieces manufacture and their markings were:
  • Preßstoffwerk H. Römmler Aktiengesellschaft, (Sprenmberg, Nd.-Lausitz), with the MPD designation number "32" and military letter code "ehe".
  • Preßmaterial-Werk Hermann Römmler & Schumman Komm.-Ges. (Berlin-Friedenau), with the MPD designation number "74" and military letter code "eqt".
  • Paul Jatow (Dodendorf, bez. Magdeburg), with the MPD designation letter-number "E4".
  • Futurit-Werk Aktiengesellschaft, Wien XI, with the MPD designation number "92".
  • Paul Kuhbier & Co., Fabrik für Präzisionspreßstücke (Wipperfürth), with the military letter code "geu" (in reality used "GEU"). 

Some letter codes found on the oiler pieces.

  I had observed several pieces marked with the code "ept", that corresponded to Hamar Jenstöperi & Mek. Verksted firm, from Hamar (Norway !), but I did not add it to the pieces manufacturer list, because in my opinion, it may actually be that it were a mistake in the markings on the molding die, where possibly the letter "q" was rotated. Of course, more research is needed for to confirm this.
 
  One thing must be noted about the manufacturers and markings is that not all pieces are always marked. You may even find an original oiler without any stamp or marking on their parts.

  Everything suggests that every Rg34 manufacturer assembled their phenolic oilers using parts supplied by the different Kunststoff firms, although can not discard the paticipation at some point of other firms - Kunstsoffe firms included -in the final assembly of the oilers. Also, more research in needed.
 
  I added some pictures of representative exemplars of the phenolic oilers and their markings. Please, take in mind the possibility of to find more variations or different combinations in the oilers. Consider also that the listings that appear before, are not a closed list and can appear more manufacturers and other pressing compositions.

Gustav Appel phenolic oilers:


Some phenolic oilers from G. Appel.
  Almost all the phenolic oilers observed in the G. Appel kits are assembled with pieces made by Preßmaterial-Werk Hermann Römmler & Schumann from Berlin. Some pieces present also the code "ept" (mistake ?).
  Many of the G. Appel phenolic oilers observed, have the washer from rubber - like their machined oilers - and some of them feature a T-shaped mouth piece.

Some G. Appel phenolic oilers with the washer made from rubber.
Three bottom pieces from G.Appel oilers, two with rubber washer at right and one with leather washer at left.
The T-shaped screw at right with the common one at left.
  Some examples of G.Appel phenolic oilers:

cnx.1: With gummy washer and T-shaped mouth screw. Early production oiler.
cnx.2: With rubber washer and T-shaped mouth screw.


cnx.3: Note the "ept" letter code in the bottom piece. A late war oiler.


cnx.4: Note the "ept" letter code also. A late war oiler.


cnx.5: Note the "ept" letter code in the body and bottom piece. A late war oiler.

Hawig phenolic oilers:


Diverse phenolic oilers from Hawig.
  The Hawig oilers were assembled generally from pieces from H. Römmler Aktiengesellschaft, although also from others firms like Paul Jatow and Futurit-Werk, even I have observed some early oilers with pieces from Preßmaterial-Werk Hermann Römmler & Shumann.
  It is noteworthy that Hawig at first marked their phenolic oilers on the body of the oiler with the letter code "cmr" - like their machined oilers-  although sometimes this mark is very hard to see. It seems that this practice was discontinued at some point in 1942.
"c m r" markings from Hawig.
Several Hawig phenolic oilers with the "c m r" markings. In some it is hard to see.

  Apart from their markings, the Hawig phenolic oilers generally have two external features that, although can sometimes appear in other oilers, are typical of Hawig ones: one is the presence of a thin upper ring onto the vertical grasping strips of the bottom base, and the second is that generally the slot on the top screw of the mouth of the oiler is a bit shorter because it wasn't cutted across all its head diameter.
Note the upper ring onto the bottom piece on these Hawig oilers. At the oiler in the middle barely noticeable.

Typical screw of a Hawig oiler.
  Some examples of Hawig oilers:

cmr.1: from a "cmr 41" kit.
cmr.2: from a "cmr 42" kit.


cmr.3: from a "cmr 43" kit. Note that has no markings


Mundlos AG phenolic oilers:


Some Mundlos AG oliers.
  The Mundlos oilers were assembled generally with pieces from H. Römmler Aktiengesellschaft, but also from Paul Jatow and Futurit-Werk. One characteristic of the Mundlos oilers is the presence often of the pressing composition "41" in their pieces.
 
  Some examples of Mundlos Oilers:
ab.1: from a "ab 41" kit. Note that the leather washer is missing.
ab.2: from a "ab 43" kit
ab.3: from a "ab 44" kit.

Braunschweigische Blechwarenfabrik GmbH phenolic oilers:



Some phenolic oilers from Braunschweigische Blechwarenfabrik . The oiler at right is from a "rco 44" kit, but was impossible to dissassembly due to the rust without breaking it !
  Most of the Braunschweigische Blechwarenfabrik oilers observed were assembled generally with pieces from Preßmaterial-Werk Hermann Römmler & Schumman. Many MPD and letter code markings on the body of the oiler are very faintly stamped and sometimes are unreadable.
 
  Some examples of Braunschweigische Blechwarenfabrik oilers:


arr.1: from a "arr 41" kit.


arr.2: from a "arr 42" kit.


arr.3: from a "arr 43" kit.

Other:

A phenolic oiler made with pieces marked "GEU" and "eqt".

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