The place is as wonderfully dim and musty today as it was 35 years ago. I was pleased to find a decent selection of used and true surplus goods, and little of the cheap faux mil that dominates similar shops.
It felt great to be back in those dingy confines. I lingered a good long while, finally marking my return with a five-dollar purchase.
Nothing fancy, mind you -- I bought a used USGI canteen cup.
I can't say just how old it is. The vessel is aluminum and the handle, stamped with US and INGERSOLL PRODUCTS, is steel. Its strap-type handle, which preceded the wire "butterfly" style, might date it to the 1960s or as early as WWII, or maybe sometime in between.In any case, dents and rust testify to hard use by someone at some point -- but the rivets are tight, the latch is straight and the vessel is intact. So, like a certain old carpenter's hatchet, this cup's service life is far from over.
I took some time to clean it up a bit, of course, attacking the rusty handle with a wire brush and giving it a thorough scrubbing. Now paired with my 1980s-vintage GI canteen, it's one solid piece of kit.
