Russian made flask - who made it?

[SlimSalabim]

I have a well made stainless steel hip flask I just bought. Supposedly russian made with a Stalin emblem on the side. My problem is it's stamped on the bottom with the hammer and sickle and the word RUSSIA. If it was really russian would it have the word RUSSIA on the bottom instead of cyrillic or something?

 

[zoobyshoe]

http://www.ebay.com/bhp/cccp-flask

 

[SteamKing]

I have a well made stainless steel hip flask I just bought. Supposedly russian made with a Stalin emblem on the side. My problem is it's stamped on the bottom with the hammer and sickle and the word RUSSIA. If it was really russian would it have the word RUSSIA on the bottom instead of cyrillic or something?

You mean, not like stuff with 'MADE IN JAPAN' or 'MADE IN CHINA' on the bottom?

BTW, what is a 'Stalin Emblem'?

 

[SlimSalabim]

It has one emblem stuck on with a wreath, red star and cyrillic that is roughly 'FBAPDNR'. Above that is a small emblem with a bust of what looks like Lenin not Stalin.

On the bottom is a stamp, a round circle with a hammer and sickle in the middle and the word RUSSIA above it. I guess I am wondering why it doesn't say CCCP instead if it was really made there.

The thing is I play golf and I like to have a flask along with my cigars. I tried to buy a couple of silver flasks and had bad luck with them. I like stainless steel but chinese stainless steel is not stainless, it rusts. I don't want a flask made from chinese stainless, that's why I bought the russian one on Ebay. Except the pictures on Ebay didn't show the stamp on the bottom, I didn't see that until I got it. It was cheap so I kept it and it hasn't shown any signs of rust inside yet. It's well made of sheet steel and all welded seams, polished on the outside. My brother showed me his russian flask the other day and it's soldered, definitely looks cheap.

 

[zoobyshoe]

It was probably made in Russia for export to English speaking countries.

 

[SteamKing]

It has one emblem stuck on with a wreath, red star and cyrillic that is roughly 'FBAPDNR'. Above that is a small emblem with a bust of what looks like Lenin not Stalin.

On the bottom is a stamp, a round circle with a hammer and sickle in the middle and the word RUSSIA above it. I guess I am wondering why it doesn't say CCCP instead if it was really made there.

The thing is I play golf and I like to have a flask along with my cigars. I tried to buy a couple of silver flasks and had bad luck with them. I like stainless steel but chinese stainless steel is not stainless, it rusts. I don't want a flask made from chinese stainless, that's why I bought the russian one on Ebay. Except the pictures on Ebay didn't show the stamp on the bottom, I didn't see that until I got it. It was cheap so I kept it and it hasn't shown any signs of rust inside yet. It's well made of sheet steel and all welded seams, polished on the outside. My brother showed me his russian flask the other day and it's soldered, definitely looks cheap.

Sounds like you have a variant of the Red Star Guards flask.

Does it look something like this:

 

[SlimSalabim]

Yes, it has the same top emblem and a nickel sized Lenin where the bottom one is. The construction is the same except the welds are smoothed, the cap screws off and it isn't the curved hip flask shape but oval.

Does that one have a stamp on the bottom or do you know it's actual origin?

Also strange that the emblem says CCCP but it says RUSSIA on the bottom.

 

[SteamKing]

I don't know the origin of the flask in the image above, but it is taken from the ebay link in post #2 (This link has several different flasks offered for sale or bid).

The Red Star Guards were from the Soviet Union, so it is natural that the Cyrillic abbrev. for the official name of the SU would be used.

Just like the gibe in post #3, the country of origin of most products is labeled in the Latin alphabet. This is why stuff has MADE IN JAPAN or MADE IN CHINA on it rather than a bunch of ideographs. Most labels are in English, although stuff from Mexico does occasionally bear HECHO EN MEXICO rather than MADE IN MEXICO.