Lot 169 – WW2 Thompson Cleaning Rod and Chamber Brush Sets

WW2 Thompson Cleaning Rod set and Chamber Brush Set complete with every wartime variation in NOS un-issued condition. The Thompson cleaning accessories went through changes as the war progressed, some changes to make the item better and the other to make them cheaper. The cleaning rods started off made of solid brass at the beginning of the war then as the brass ran short (used primarily for shell casings – made in huge numbers) and they switched to a steel rod and brass tip (to protect the barrel bore (brass being softer than steel) then they came to the conclusion that the steel on the end did not damage the bore so they made the full rod with steel. The Chamber brushes evolved to make them better, the first version had a very short handle (that was made of brass wire – same problem with brass shortage) but it did not work well being so short, so the handle was lengthened and made of steel. Then they found the bristles were to small of a diameter and wore out quickly and became useless so the bristles changed shape and size – went to a “Christmas Tree” shape and a larger diameter. All the variations of both items are present and in NOS un-Issued perfect condition.