Although ‘stay bright’ (anodized) buttons were introduced to the Canadian Army in the mid-1950s, many units continued to use traditional brass buttons. Button sticks were used to clean them without getting polish on uniforms. The sticks were also useful for cleaning brass hat badges and other polished metal surfaces on kit.
Button stick: A strip of metal or wood slotted so that it will pass over a row of buttons (as on a military tunic) allowing each button to appear through a slit so that the buttons may be polished without soiling the cloth.
This button stick was issued to Pte. Ken Langridge in 1937.
Found in England, this is a Canadian Expeditionary Force 27th Battalion button stick.
Physical description: The bottom brass button stick has an open-ended slot running 14cm in length.
Category: Equipment
Related period: First and Second World Wars
Materials whole: Brass
Dimensions: whole: 17.7 long x 3.8cm wide