Borchardt double mag pouches

[laoshi75]

A few years ago I found out in Germany a strange and unknown double mag pouch that I suspected would fit the Borchardt magazines. My suspicion was correct since, with the help of my french friend Dr Claude Aubert who owns some Borchardt pistols, we could verify that the Borchardt mags fitted perfectly my pouch. A few weeks later I sold this pouch and I forgot it. End of the first part of my story.
Second part: Recently I found out another same pouch (in Germany-Nürnberg), in better condition, and I verified again that it fitted perfectly the Borchardt magazines. The internal side of the leather wears all the so specific marks (traces ?) of the Borchardt mags: on the closer flap, and inside the two tube-emplacements.
There is really no doubt that these pouches have hosted Borchardt magazines. Or I am willing and anxious to know which other existing pistol do have a magazine with exactly the same special size and specifications as the Borchardt magazine !
I sent at the time privately these photos to Mr Ron Wood, George Anderson, and to Joel G. who has several Borchardt pistols in his important collection in France.
My second pouch is pictured on the 3 last photos (all the other photos are of the first pouch that has been sold). My 2nd pouch has been recently repaired (stitching of the closure strap) but I do not have yet the photos of the restored pouch.

christian

[laoshi75]

more photos..

[laoshi75]

3 photos of my second pouch before repairs. The stitching of the closure strap has been restored recently. It is in a much better condition than the first one, and the marks inside the leather are very clear, and fit perfectly with the special features of the Borchardt mag.
christian

[Norme]

Great find, Christian! What repairs did you have in mind? Best regards, Norm

[laoshi75]

Norm, thank you ! I believe this item is extremely rare.
I did not like the stitching of the closure strap, I think it has been (badly) restored at a time, and I asked my german friend and expert Axel Zimmermann to deal with this problem and to clean and treat the old leather properly. Maybe I should have let the old and bad stitching untouched ? christian

[alanint]

Christian,

By "marks inside" do you refer to wear patterns caused by specific magazines or actual manufacturer's marks?

(trying to learn something here)

[laoshi75]

Doug,

Excellent question ! There are no stamp or marking on the two pouches, no manufacturer's marks. Sorry for my bad english...I wanted to say "wear patterns" ( I was looking for the correct english words, thank you for the precision !).
christian.

[Norme]

Originally Posted by laoshi75

Norm, thank you ! I believe this item is extremely rare.
I did not like the stitching of the closure strap, I think it has been (badly) restored at a time, and I asked my german friend and expert Axel Zimmermann to deal with this problem and to treat the old leather properly. May be I should have let the old and bad stitching untouched ? christian

Hi Christian, Do you think it's possible to restitch the closure strap without opening up the back? I would guess that that was how the first repair was done, which might explain why it looks so clumsy. Best regards, Norm

[laoshi75]

Norm, very interesting question !..I don't know how Axel restitched the strap. The previous repair was very clumsy, you are right, I suppose the guy who made the job at a time did not have the proper tools and the expertise to do the job, or this is a home-made repair.. (a professional leather-master would never have done this bad repair I presume), and I guess a leather-master is able to restitch without opening the pouch, but I really don't know, I will ask Axel. The Borchardt pouch is shorter and the tube-emplacements are larger than the Luger pouches, that might help to restitch without opening ? Thanks again for your question.
christian

[cirelaw]

Can we maybe get a picture of the firearm that goes with your mags... Beautiful!!

[laoshi75]

Eric, thank you !
I do not have a Borchardt pistol unfortunately, and I guess I will never have one. That's why I asked some fortunate friends of mine to lend their mags. A Borchardt pistol cased is worth in average €15,000++ I think ? Too expensive, and too late for me now !

[Douglas Jr.]

Christian,

That's an outstanding find. The wearing marks really match the Borchardt magazines.

All the best,

Douglas

[alanint]

Not to highjack this thread, but whatever happened to the Borchardt pistol being built from scratch by one of our members??

[Ron Wood]

Another Borchardt double magazine pouch with gun.

[Olle]

Originally Posted by alanint

Not to highjack this thread, but whatever happened to the Borchardt pistol being built from scratch by one of our members??

I haven't talked to Bill in a while, but as far as I know he's tuning springs and getting it ready for live ammo testing right now. Might take a while though, kind of a slow and tedious process when you don't have any drawings or material specs to go by. I have had the pleasure to see this project, and his pile of discarded springs is good proof of how much painstaking trial and error he has put into it.

[alanint]

The body of accumulated knowledge, once he is done, will be priceless!

[TennBill2]

Hi Olle, and Gents! Wondering how these pouches would have been worn? Appears they would go on one's belt, as opposed to worn on the shoulder strap. Were they included in a 'cased set'? As far as my project, haven't done much since cold weather set in. Fired one round with about 3.4 grains of original 30 Mauser ammo I unloaded. Didn't cycle, so I'll increase the load slowly. Was fun to shoot though! I started on a new breechblock, but haven't done much since November. I still have to remake the ejector, learned more of the exact shape from the recent 'eBook' I downloaded. Also need to fit the dust cover 'pins' and holes. The 'staple' bolts are yet unmade. Still owe you a visit, Olloe! Bill

[TennBill2]

Looks as though the stiching in the second photo would fit on the shoulder strap. The pic of Dr. Carl Peters showing proper Gentleman's attire!

[laoshi75]

Bill, my 2nd pouch has been worn on the shoulder strap, the wear patterns on the back are very clear on the attached photo. I verified the pouch myself and there is no doubt on this point. I will post other photos of this 2nd pouch when I am back home. Also, thanks for posting again this excellent photo of Dr. Ron Wood.

and Ron...Thank you very much for the wonderful photo you have posted. I am really voiceless !

christian

[Olle]

Bill,

You're welcome to swing by and test fire any time! Also got some new shop equipment you might want to look at... I'm sure it would give you some new ideas.