S.M.L.E. WIRE CUTTER ATTACHMENTS
IN THE GREAT WAR.................................
ON THE RIGHT
THE DISTANCE BETWEEN,
THE 2 ARMS THE WHITE LINE,
IS,
APROXIMATELY4.75"
ON THE LEFT THE,
WHITE LINE RUNNING,
FROM THE BOTTOM END,
TO THE LOWER ARM IS,
APROXIMATELY,
7.25"
ON THE LEFT IS THE MAKERS NAME,
C.H. PUGH BIRMINHAM,
THESE CUTTERS WERE MADE IN 1917,
THE NUMBER 7 IS JUST VISIBLE ,
BENEATH THE WORDS....
There is a lot of controversy over these particular items of kit,
wheather the arms have 4 rivets or three and it will rumble on for a long time,
so I've been searching the web for days in an effort to solve this one,
the first image is of the 4 known types as you can see the top 2 have 4 rivets on the long arm,
on the second row the first one has 3 rivets not 4,
what they have in common is the wing nut and bolt this is at the bottom on these 3,
the 4th on the other hand the "number4" MK 1 has 3 rivets on both arms like the one on its left,,
the crucial difference is " where the wing nut is!"
its on the top,
on the other 3 when you attach it to the rifle it goes on the left side,
with the number 4 MK1 as the wingnut and bolt are on the top part,
"it has to be mounted on the right hand side"
as shown in the photos below ,
there is an image of the hinged part which has the broad arrow mark,
it also shows the curve on that part of it,
the image under the one of all 4 types, shows how that part is hinged,
due to its dimensions it wont fit on the left side of the rifle,
there are other examples on the internet ,
I have included several images , to show this ones exceptionally original condition,
you will see it was made by C.H Pugh Birmingham,
in 1917, the 7 of 17 is barely visible under the words but visible non the less,
