Club Obi Wan

I picked up a M17A1 gas mask bag...shows some promise, for a do-it-yourselfer. Found it in a surplus store for around $5, so what they heck.

I plan to remove the front extra strap, the cross panel stiching that made the front stiff, but other than it just needs one strap anchor moved to be pretty close - close enough for me, anyway, until I someday find a forgotten MKVII under one of the musty stacks...

Anybody tried converting one of these, and if so, I was wondering what they tried and if they had any luck?

The part I won't change but that is seriously innaccurate is really neat - to me. What would be the bottom on a MKVII has two cool exterior snap pockets, perfect for keeping the stuff you want separate and quickly reachable. Of course, they'll be on the bottom, so no putting MONEY in those...

I will post pics if this generates conversation, otherwise I'll save ya'll bandwidth and time.

Thanks - J

P.S. This is a vietnam-era US gas mask bag - plenty around, only 30 years old, so I have no problem w/ modifying this, I bought it cheap for just this purpose.

Jerry,

The M17 was my first bag, too. If I recall correctly, I ended up cutting off the strap that went around the side, and rivetted it (around an 'O' ring) to the side of the bag opening, so it looked proper. I then used a home-made strap. I eventually gave this to my nephew a few yrs ago, so I can only recall it briefly, but it worked ok, from what I remeber.

Good luck with it, it's a good starter bag.

Thanks, Gator, you read my mind. I was thinking of x-boxing a stitch when I moved that strap, but your idea might be a bit stronger...I'll keep that in mind.

I tried stitching it, but found the nylon material difficult to work with, and went with the rivets instead. Worked very well, and has so far lasted quite well. Glad I could help.

Nylon? What time period was yours made? This M17A1 is all canvas.

(Or did you mean something else, and I missed it?)

my M17 was made of a green material that was 'stiffer' than the material of ther older MarkVII. Not exactly nylon, but the straps felt more 'artificial' than cotton.

looked like this..

That's it, alright. But this feels like canvas to me - just like my uncles old jackets and his old army cot - man, I wish I still had that...even w/ the wooden frame going bye-bye, that was a lot of well-weathered army green canvas!

It is a tad stiff, but I was thinking of rolling it in the dryer on cold if normal wear/tear didn't do the trick...after pulling out the side inserts that keep it upright, that is.

J

well, to repeat myself, cuz I liek the sound of my own uhh..typing..

It is a good, solid bag, and it'll last a forever, and I do offer the suggestion that, in my opinion, rivets was the way I went, and they worked very well, and were very sturdy.

Whatever you decide, remember to post pics!

Before and after pics. Roger that.

And don't worry, I respect your kung fu - I will consider the rivets...especially if the sewing isn't easy!

(RATS. Just wrote a long post w/ pics to update this for Snakewhip, but just lost it while cutting/pasting. Starting again. ####! )

Okay, I'm not done modifying this (been busy!), but since it came up in another thread, here's an update.

First, this is the whole bag, untouched, as bought:
<img src="http://tinypic.com/dzpe8">
Note the sideways strap configuration is different from a MKVII, so this is the most obvious thing that has to be changed, cause I do want it on my hip Indy-like. Picture this bag hanging on your left shoulder by the main, larger strap. It would hang at your left ribs or hip, somewhere along there. The little strap goes around the chest/ribs/waist to keep it from swinging or moving, which I guess is important if you were USING the gas mask that would have still been attached to it then.

That orientation should also explain why the unique bottom pockets open to the left in this pic - they would have been upright if hung as designed, but they'll be at the bottom of this bag when turned into a MKVII orientation. Not sure if I'll move that big one or not, but the little one is built into the seam, hidden, and will stay.

Now, the other big difference is in the studs/snaps/fasteners to hold the bag flap closed.

Bag flap:
<img src="http://tinypic.com/dzofp">
Not normal press studs, you can see through the female side, and inside it looks like a wire loop catches the post. Works great, and to tell the truth, since it's not just a plain old snap it seems different somehow, so I like it as is.

Note front panel stitching...same on back. Holds inner plates in place to give bag body. So you probably can't just pick them out w/o also opening seams to extract the plates, since they will probably shift/settle and distort bag. These are in the flap, too, so altogether there's about eight plates in this thing keeping its shape.

Bottom pockets:
<img src="http://tinypic.com/dzpep">
As noted, oriented for sidewise hanging. Very cool, though, I'm keeping them for now, although I may move the externally affixed one to INSIDE the bag to hide it and make the bag look a bit more MKVII-like.

What's that, you only see one bottom pocket? Here's the other:
<img src="http://tinypic.com/dzpl2">
That's right, it's a sneaky little pocket which opens at the seam. Holds a zippo here w/o opening and losing it. Not sure I'll leave the zippo there since it would be on the BOTTOM, but that's how big it is. I like the 'secret' pocket.

Now, beginning bag modifications:

Straps removed:
<img src="http://tinypic.com/e09xs">
All I had to do there was CAREFULLY cut the main strap where it was sewn into the seam at the bottom left corner. Carefully. The little strap was just tack sewn onto the front panel, so I CAREFULLY snipped those stitches to remove it. Did I mention I was being careful?

Original anchor point:
<img src="http://tinypic.com/e09y1">

This is the original anchor point for the main strap, this is unmodified. It's in the right place, although sewn into the seam instead of on the side panel, but I'm going to leave it for now and give it a whirl. If it causes issues, I'll open the seam, take it out of there, and restitch it to the side panel like a MKVII.

As far as how to attach one, I downloaded this pic from someone's thread that compared various MKVIIs:
<img src="http://tinypic.com/e0b48">
(WISH I COULD REMEMBER WHOSE PIC THAT IS. Speak up and I'll give you credit! Really useful for determining where/how to put an anchor point!)

There's a nice useful round ring on the end of the little strap I removed that I'm going to use w/ a piece of the main (bigger) web strap, and I can do that stitch easily enough.

I'll post more when I've got that anchor point on, and then perhaps again if I remove the bottom pocket - and place it inside!

Well Swindiana is the Master of the MkVII's. It could be his picture.

VP wrote:Well Swindiana is the Master of the MkVII's. It could be his picture.

Yea, that's definitely Swindy's. He was helping me convert my WWI bag and showed that to me. I think if you see any notations on a picture of a gas mask bag, there's a 100% chance that it's Swindiana's doing.

Thanks, I'll check w/ him. Hate to use anybody else's pics w/o referencing them. Thanks!

J

Jerry,

I have asked my mother to take a pic of my nephew in full donated-gear. He now has the M17 I converted, so when the pic arrives in a few weeks (they're in England, and will be sending it next week) I'll post a copy.

PM answered. Feel free ro use it as you like, along with the other ones.

Regards,
Swindy

Thanks AGAIN for the great reference pics, Swindiana! The night I was looking for those, I was digging through old MKVII threads looking for ANY side shot, and then boom! There was your beautiful closeup of three examples - that gave me EVERYTHING I needed! Thanks again!

Okay, did a little hack sewing tonight...for the sake of getting it done by Halloween, however, I took a shortcut I didn't want to, but gee, it saved a LOT of time.

I was going to steal the o-ring off the end of the small strap I removed, and affix it as an anchor on the bag w/ a short piece of the wide strap, so it will look a LOT like the left pic in Swindiana's comparison above.

I will still do that later, but for now I realized that I'm quickly running out of time, so I cheated and just used the end of the short strap that was already there!

Snakewhip, with your garment skills I'm sure you can do way better, but I'm posting this for reference for you in case you do go this way.

First - this is where I anchored it. Looks low, right?
<img src="http://tinypic.com/ek5yf">

There's a reason why it's there, though. Now look when you close the bag:
<img src="http://tinypic.com/ek5yp">

And this is the original anchor on the other side, which is still inserted in the side seam, with the strap attached.
<img src="http://tinypic.com/ek5yx">

I'm not messing w/ this anchor before Halloween...but right after, it's getting moved!

More pics as I play w/ it...I'm seriously thinking of removing the bottom pocket, too, after all this...just to get that much closer w/ my $5 bag.

P.S. Now I can retry the HK strap, now that the anchor is on, and guess what? Looks like it's the right length to me!

Check it out:
http://www.indygear.com/forum/viewtopic ... 405#121405

Are you using a seam ripper and sewing by hand? It looks like you're doing a good job. That's a swell lookin' bag!

I'm even more low-tech than that. I'm using the business edge of a pair of Fiskars (funky handled scissors) to pop stitches, and I'm sewing by foot... no, I give, I am sewing by hand.

I'm pretty random though - for the top stitch I was looping back on it to make it strong, but for the sides and bottom I just moved right along one groove to another. I also didn't fold back the edge of the strap to make sure it doesn't fray cause I knew I'd be taking it off soon. This has got to be WAY easier w/ a sewing machine!

I think it only came out looking okay because believe it or not I NAILED the thread color in a JoAnn Fabric Shop, so it just disappears into the fabric. I just took thread samples w/ me when I popped the small strap off, and bingo - they still make the same shade called 'Army Drab', some 30-40 years later.

I think it's a bit hack, but thanks, I appreciate it! If the kids hadn't needed to be put to bed, I would have done the x-box stitch...but I figured that could wait till I redo it w/ the bigger strap.

Not doing the X stitch is probably a good idea, since you're removing it anyway. Go get a seam ripper, they're less than a buck. Plus you could shoot one through a blow gun at anyone who gives you any sass about your sewing.

Snakewhip_Sable wrote:Plus you could shoot one through a blow gun at anyone who gives you any sass about your sewing.

Maybe THAT'S why the Hovitos were chasing them...that fool Barranca teased them! "Nice 'needles', guys! ... Ow! Hey, quit it..."

Indiana Jerry wrote:Fiskars (funky handled scissors)

Funky handled Finnish scissors.

REALLY? Well, glad you spoke up, then. These things ROCK. "Thank you, Finland!"

They almost make my adventures in sewing seem manly, even...(using big voice now), "I...shall go CUT...some THREAD! When I return - we FEAST!"

Any idea why they're called Fiskars? Is that a family name? Or just cuz of the sound they make? (Really, try one...they go 'fiss-kah fiss-kah fiss-kah' when you open and close them. No, really. )