Identiying genuine military issue

[barber oregon]

I won some bids on Ebay recently that included a khaki military pistol belt (I want to use this as part of a B.O.B). The seller told me that it was the "exact same belt as issued to the U.S. military except without the tags" and is made by a U.S. gov't contracter. The buckle has markings "ITW NEXUS" and "Nx-1".

Is this item genuine military issue? I thought all current issue items came with identifying tags?

Also the terminating ends of this nylon belt are little frayed can I heat it with a cigarrette or lighter to "seal" the strands?

Thanks for your suggestions an comments.

 

[Robert H]

ITW Nexus is the manufacturer of the plastic buckle, which means nothing. Some of the pistol belts used to have metal hooks, now they are switching to a large plastic buckle, like a fastex. It could be issue, but when I see "military issue", I tend to stay away. It's usually made by the lowest bidder. If you have something really stout to carry on a belt, that may be a nice belt, but you could probably get aftermarket stuff that's better.

 

[bruce]

Anything of military issue will have a "National Stock Number, NSN" somewhere on the label. The format for such is XXX-00-XXX-XXXX or XXX-01-XXX-XXXX. Without this number, it is not a sure thing that it is an issue item. If the tags are missing on new items, it may mean a factory second of an issue type item that did not meet government specifications so was sold into the civilian market.

Bruce Woodbury
Former Army Logistics Officer

 

[Geoff in Philly]

Bruce, is there a data base we can use to see what products have a NSN? How bout a data base to see what the criteria are for any given product...ie all flashlights must light to 3' after 2 hours, or all knives must not corrode after 10 mins exposure to salt h2o, or all watches must be accurate to x mins/ month at 10 degrees C....that sort of thing... TIA

 

[bruce]

There is a database but is classified "FOUO" (For Official Use Only). This database only gives you the National Stock Number and a brief description. It sometimes gives you restriction codes as to who can order it, etc. It is not available to the public. A description of the item would have to come from the service and responsible agency within that service who decided the military needed to stock it.

Bruce