Cleaning a German Canteen

[jaeger]

Hey Guys,

I recently got an original German canteen. It needs a bit of work. The main thing I am worried about right now is cleaning out the inside a bit. There appears to be a bit of staining as well as small bumps of calcification inside the canteen. I have been trying out hot water and baking soda and well as hot water and vinegar. Anyone have any advice or ideas for cleaning an aluminium canteen like this? Also, does anyone know where one can buy a repro canteen strap with cap (I can't seem to find them anywhere for some reason)? Thanks again!

Nick

[odinfish]

What I did was: scrub out as much as you can with dish detergent and a toothbrush - one preferably that can reach as many angles as possible. Rinse. Next make a school volcano: some baking soda and vinegar with the addition of some dried beans-- that's your abrasive, acid, and scrubbing agent. Next, throw on some Slayer and give a good thrash and shake to the bottle for a few minutes with only your hand to cover the opening...do not screw on your cap. Afterwards, rinse, hit it with soap (some lemon juice wouldn't hurt either) and a toothbrush and rinse. That should do it, although you may have to repeat the baking soda and vinegar treatment...each case is different.

Did your canteen come with a cap? Just wondering as not all do because you will need one. The cap with strap combos are difficult to come by nowadays. Most places seem to sell the repro straps only. The best place to get your straps, imo, is 1944 Militaria. You will pay a little more but you can get an original metal clasp. Unfortunately I believe they are sold out. Bayonet Inc. has them, but shoot an email first to be sure they're in stock before you order...as with all businesses you deal with.

To attach a strap to your cap you will need a rivet and rivet setter...or small screw, washer, and nut to fit...after you remove and wash the rubber seal of course

Hope that helps,

Mike

[jaeger]

Thanks mike,

I tried a number of things. I first washed it out a number of times with dish detergent. Then, I tried vinegar and baking soda, but forgot to try the beans. I then tried some real lemon juice with water. I also bleached it as well. I tried the vinegar and baking soda over night, but it still seemed to leave the stains and white bumps unaffected. So then I got a metal rod and attached some fine steel wool. I scrubbed the inside out a number of times. This seems to have done the most. The canteen is for the most part clean except for a few spots where I couldn't get with the wool. Does anyone know what the white bumps were? I figured that they were calcification. Also, the canteen came with a bakelite cap and straps. The problem is that the leather straps are dry and cracking. In addition to this, the section of strap with the bread bag clip is torn off (I still have it though). I wanted to remove the cap from the straping, but then I found something and decided I might not want to. The cap, strap and canteen all have matching numbers and markings. It just seemed like a shame to rip a hole in the leather to remove the cap. Plus, the bakelite cap has a metal washer holding it in the leather. I know I have seen the straps with caps before and figured that a new strap and cap would allow me to save the original straping and actually use the canteen in the field. Thanks again for the help!

Nick

[odinfish]

I agree...it sounds as if there is some calcification going on in your canteen. To help remove it, I believe there's stuff available like Lime-Away which may or may not do the trick...always be careful with what chems you use and always do a little research on the particular product you might want to use because sometimes the residue left from the solvent does more damage than good. Also, you have to take into consideration that sometimes your canteen bottle should not be used...it is very old and has taken a beating, has tiny pits that bacteria love to thrive in along with a propensity of surviving a chem wash, etc...so use/drink at your own risk.

Matching numbers even on the strap sounds kinda weird to me unless it's a year. Bakelite caps I'm not familiar with either, unfortunately. If you're able to find a replacement cap w/strap combo to ease your mind, that's great, but also keep in mind that if you're going to use the bottle there is a good chance that you'll bash it all to hell if you fall on it or whatever. Just stating the obvious. Collections are worth more intact and your canteen strap has already taken a hit according to your description. Just something to ponder upon...

Check around tho'...you may find what you're looking for at Bunker Militaria or The Collector's Guild Inc., but it'll also be original items and you're going to pay for that fact.

Mike

[jaeger]

Thanks again Mike! I think the inside is clean enough at this point to be used with at least some confidence. Also, you do have some good points about the use of antiques. As reenactors, I think it is a risk that we often must take. I foresee myself being quite careful with the canteen. As for the numbers, the makers marks do all match on this canteen. It came as no surprise to me that the cap and bottle match (although they are becoming more and more scarce), I never knew that the cover and leather straps were stamped as well. I don't know how, but they all essentially match. I may have found a cap and strap for sale. We'll see. Also, as for the bakelite cap, I think that the majority of caps were metal. However, some were black bakelite. On Ebay, there is one for sale at this point. I am going to try my best to save mine from being used, because it is still in good condition.

Nick

[odinfish]

Yeah if the numbers match on the cap and bottle with little denting, you may want to think twice on even reenacting with it unless it's like a barracks situation. You may want to get another canteen altogether. Personally, if I'm taking any gear out for airsoft I have it in my mind that I'm not going to go easy on my stuff except for my gun ...I feel that that may take away from my immersion. There are a few places, such as 1944 Militaria, who sell refurbished, unmatching canteen sets for $60 to $80 but that would depend on whether or not you'd want to spend more on another one...it's actually cheaper to go this route sometimes than shopping per part!

Or...and this is something I'm working on,(along with 20 otherthings) is converting Czech canteens like this broad is selling here:

tinyurl.com/2dy36d

In fact I purchased 2 from her with the intention of using them for hiking or canoeing. Then I realized that they are the proper size to fit a German canteen cover except that it's a little fight to get the top snap closed, but why bother when the Czech version comes with a wool cover that already fits and only needs some leather bits in the same style as the German counterpart to make it work. The lid is wrong as it is only a fitted stopper but not way off from appearances. Dremel the 2 metal tabs on the neck of the bottle as well and you've got yourself a cheap alternative...then all that's needed is a cup. Well it's worth a shot.

This hobby covers a lot of ground and it certainly doesn't hurt to allow some creativity to flow.


Mike

[jaeger]

Thanks mike! I think I'll use the canteen carefully and try and get the repro cap/strapping in order to save the original.

[jaeger]

Well, I managed to clean up the aluminum canteen and it came out quite well. I got my hands on a repro strap with cap and it really works well. Now, I managed to get my hands on a red enameled German steel canteen, cover, bakelite cap and strap for 16.99 shipped! The strap is damaged, however still very plyable. I plan on cleaning it up as well. The inside and outside are red enameled as I said, however, there is some minor surface rust around the mouth. The inside is rather clean still, its just the mouth that I wanted to clean up. I was thinking about using some steel wool. Any other ideas for what I could do to take the rust off and preserve it? I should also mention another interesting thing I noticed. The canteen is unmarked/dated, however, the cap and strap are. What I found strange was that while the strap was dated CFL 43, the cap does not seem to match. It looks like the cap and strap were originall issued together as the cap is rivited to the leather. The cap has the usual symbol, but has the number 46 and S on it. Could this possibly mean that the cap is from 1946? Any ideas/thoughts? Thanks again guys!

Nick