Fakes, reproductions and postwar
   
Sadly there are to much money to earn by reproducing, poor restoration or changing to collectibles. There are many dishonest people trying to make easy money by selling reproductions as originals. Fakebay is one of the places where you can encounter most fakes.Several militaria dealers also sell fakes as original or sell postwar items as original ww2 colectibles. The zcech postwar ZF-4 scope is almost sold as original ww2 on a weekly basis. Either they have been changed or the seller excludes the pictures showing that it is a postwar.

This Feltspaten was found "top, original german" at fakebay germany. The spaten is original but the carrier is clearly a fake whatever the seller states it as. It can easy been seen on the stitching wich doesnt show discoloring and aging. The smell if you had it in your hand would also easy state it as a fake. A feltspaten without a carrier is much less valuable than a complete one.
Here is another carrier wich is sold as a reproduction(very honest seller). As a comparison shows the color of the stitching is similar on both pictures. When the scoundrel start using coffe for discoloring, heat and buring in dirt for aging the fake is taken to another level. That can also be seen of corrosion to items wich has not been allowed to develop trough 60 years of storage. That has been observed especially on magazintasche for bot Mp40 and mp41 where the corrosion seems to have been developed with saltwater. A crunchy kind of corrosion. Coffe or other discoloring means can be used to age the cloth on the same item.
This is a postwar container bottle. It is clearly very similar to the german original ww2 canteen. As these are made some years after the war they have an authentic sign of wear, tear and aging. To determine this as a postwar the collector must look for markings, and if they are present compare them to the rest of the item.
This is a reproduction, not a fake as it has no production marking. Came over one of these stated as "original ww2". The item was clearly been overhauled with shoepolish as the thread in the stitching was colored the same as the actual frog. It had noe wear and tear o the seam at all.
   
  If you have any tips & tricks or pictures of fakes do not hesitate to send them and they will be posted here to warn other collectors.