All kinds of patches and various kinds of stripes have long been part of our everyday clothes, and it is worth saying that they have taken root quite well. Patches today rarely have any hidden meaning, but there are still some symbols that are used in certain circles. In ordinary life, such a patch can be used to distinguish which club or party a particular person belongs to. Of course, bikers are no exception, which is why today there are a huge number of biker patches. So, what are biker stripes, what are they, and what do they mean? Read on.
Where did the stripes come from?
If we tell you from the very beginning, then stripes on clothes appeared a very long time ago. It is generally accepted that various icons and marks have come into the modern world since the war. Then every soldier had stripes on his clothes, so that in battle, and among his comrades, it would be clear who you were. Almost every fighter had a badge indicating his belonging to one or another army of troops, and a badge indicating his status.
Nowadays, we can find stripes on the clothes of not only soldiers, but also ordinary citizens. If we take as an example people who are not involved in any organs or forces, then for the most part, stripes on clothes mean little. However, biker patches have recently become very common and are mainly used by American motorcyclists. Nowhere are motorcycle clubs more developed than in America, where the first motorcycles came from.
Motorcycles Ural and Dnepr
old
How do the Maltese cross and the biker relate to each other?
manowar
is also like ballerinas with steam locomotives, but the only difference is that the latter do not wear steam locomotives as tchotchkes
SHTRLZ
yeah, also German
Castor
for SHTRLZ
: nooo... a helmet is beautiful
beard_
hmmm...
sepultura
Initially it was not a Maltese cross, but an ordinary German one.
He just looks similar. screamer
quote: not a Maltese cross, but an ordinary German one
?????????????
https://hellenharley.boom.ru/cross/cross.html UmKa
for sepultura
:
quote:
Initially, it was not a Maltese cross, but an ordinary German one.
Did you understand what you said?
sepultura
for UmKa
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In short...don't be clever here.
Learn history. Look at the German Iron Cross and the Maltese one. You see, they are similar - but because they are from the same opera - the Templars, the Hospitallers, the Teutons, and so on. And I don’t think there’s any need to explain about the connection between the German cross and bikers. sepultura
It’s just that at first the bikers put the German ones on themselves.
I really haven’t seen bikers wearing Maltese ones, although I admit it. I saw a stopar on sale - a Maltese cross. UmKa
for sepultura
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The Maltese cross is also known as the "eight-pointed cross". The white cross of this form on a black background was from the very beginning the emblem of the military and religious "Order of Hospitallers", also called "Johannites", who devoted themselves to the task of liberating the Holy Land from Muslims during the Crusades (1095-1272). Expelled in 1291, they moved their headquarters to Rhodes (in 1310) and later to Malta (in 1529) - hence the name. These days the Maltese cross can be seen representing St John's Sanitary Brigade; he is also present on some orders that grant knighthood. In philately, the “Maltese cross” is the first postmark, which was used to cancel postal items from 1840 to 1844.
It’s interesting that during the Crusades, did anyone know about the GERMANS?
?
porthos
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Interestingly, during the Crusades, did anyone know about the GERMANS?
I wonder if there were bikers then?
screamer
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You see they look alike
This is the same as saying that Hitler invented the swastika.
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It’s just that at first the bikers hung German
It’s just that the first bikers appeared in America and England after World War II; they were former pilots and from the motorcycle delivery service for orders, messages and reports, who were left out of work after the victory. They would have simply been shot all over if they had worn fascist symbols, and I don’t think they even wore them themselves, but about the helmets, they are simply convenient in their design and, most importantly, in their quality.
quote:
And I don’t think there’s any need to explain about the connection between the German cross and bikers.
Please explain, I’m not being picky, I’m just curious.
sepultura
Well, that's right. Now let’s summarize….The question was about the connection between the Maltese cross and bikers. The German cross is simply visually similar to the Maltese cross. If anyone doesn’t know, at the very beginning of the biker movement (and you can still see it now), bikers put on, sewed on, and attached swastikas, German crosses, SS symbols, pentagrams, etc. to their motzels. Why is completely clear. This was so, so I’m not going to argue with anyone. Those who don’t believe you can go to biker.ru and read, there are many wonderful articles there. There is also a huge amount of literature like Hunter's "Hell's Angels" and the like. Anyone interested will find it.
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It’s just that the first bikers appeared in America and England after World War II, these were former pilots and from the motorcycle delivery service of orders, messages and reports, who were left out of work after the victory
So that’s true, but how many were real pilots there, and how many were just punks. For example, Sonny didn’t fight, although he was the president of 81. This is a more beautiful legend than the truth.
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They would have simply been shot all over if they had worn fascist symbols, and I don’t think they even wore them themselves, but about the helmets, they are simply convenient in their design and, most importantly, in their quality.
And this sounds just funny. They shot and now for the non-believers a couple of pictures.
https://biker.ru/articles/chopper/chop24.jpg />https://biker.ru/articles/chopper/chop10.jpg />Classic American choppers
And as for the Hospitallers and so on. - You don’t have to tell me this, I know enough about knightly orders. If only you UMKA would list these eight virtues, then you would show yourself as a knowledgeable person
As for the Maltese and German crosses - well, they are similar in appearance, well, what can you do
sepultura
By the way, during the Second World War there was such an award - the German knight's cross.
And the Maltese cross is also a knight’s cross. That’s what I’m saying – all these things come from one box. UmKa
for sepultura
: It depends on what kind of cross you want to talk about. If you are so knowledgeable, then you probably remember that initially there were Knights of the Red Cross (Templars) and Knights of the White Cross (Hospitaliers), the cross is the same, but the meaning put into this symbol is different. Since we started about the Ioanites (they are also Hospitallers), then the four directions of the cross spoke about the main Christian virtues (the Ioanites were created as a religious order, not a military one) - prudence, justice, fortitude and abstinence, and the eight ends meant eight blessings, which were promised by Christ to all the righteous in paradise in the Sermon on the Mount. The black cloth clothes of the Johannites were made in the image of the clothes of John the Baptist from camel hair, the narrow sleeves of which symbolized the renunciation of secular life, and the white linen eight-pointed cross on the chest symbolized their chastity (the chastity of the Johannites is a separate discussion).
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As for the Maltese and German crosses - well, they are similar in appearance, so what can you do?
so ALL crosses are similar in appearance, that’s why they are
sepultura
quote:
ALL crosses are similar in appearance, that’s why they are crosses
I guess, yes.
And also, in my opinion, what difference does it make that you hang German, Maltese... the main thing is to have more - so that the public shies away Castor
INTELLECTUAL, EPTA... so I still don’t understand - what kind of connection is that... simply explain it to me, stupid, plz...
manowar
catch the anchor!
UmKa
for Castor
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quote:
I still don’t understand what the connection is
but none, as Manovar correctly noted - like ballet and a steam locomotive
Ace of Spades and Flying Eye
So, the most popular biker patches are the following:
Ace of spades
The Ace of Spades, or as American motorcyclists call it Ace of Spades, is one of the highest cards in the deck. The meaning of such a patch can be interpreted in different ways, but among motorcyclists, it is generally accepted that the ace of spades represents a symbol of fearlessness. If you see such a patch on a biker’s jacket, then most likely he is not afraid of dangers or any difficulties. Of course, any motorcyclist may have such a patch on his jacket, and perhaps he is not as brave as he wants to appear. But our task is to tell you about what biker patches are and their meaning.
flying eye
The English name of this patch is interpreted as Flying Eyeball. For the most part, this badge can be found on biker travelers or simply those who often go on long trips. The meaning of this patch is of great importance for such bikers, since a long road is always dangerous. The flying eye is a kind of amulet or guardian angel who flies into the wind with you and makes sure that everything is fine. In general, the Flying Eyeball is a rather unique symbol - it was painted on cars, motorcycles, and even made into amulet tattoos.
Material and color of jewelry
Biker jewelry is made from inexpensive, but strong and durable materials. It can be steel, titanium or brass. Their main difference from ordinary accessories is their massiveness. Even women's jewelry cannot be thin and delicate. Decorations should be noticeable and always in plain sight.
Silver is highly prized, especially its shine, which matches the shine of the chrome elements of the motorcycle. In addition, silver jewelry goes well with dark-colored clothing. Gold is not often used due to its special softness.
The story of the biker bell
Guardian Bell or biker bell is also a kind of amulet for lovers of two-wheeled vehicles. There is a whole story about how the biker bell patch came to be. In short, one of the motorcyclists was heading home late at night, and not noticing a large hole in the night, he fell into it and fell off the bike. In his bag he carried toys for his children and among them were bells.
The motorcyclist was seriously injured and began to call for help, simultaneously ringing his bells. Hearing the ringing, a couple of bikers who stopped nearby headed towards the sound and soon discovered a wounded motorcyclist. Since that time, the biker bell has been a symbol of motorcycle friendship and mutual assistance. If you see such a patch on a motorcyclist’s jacket, then you can know that this biker is protected by the most important thing in life - the friendship of his motorcycle brothers, who will always come to the rescue.
1%
An equally popular biker patch is a diamond-shaped patch with the inscription “1%” inside it. By sewing such a diamond on their jacket, motorcyclists demonstrate their contempt for the law. This patch appeared after a speech by the head of the American Motorcycle Association. In his speech, he said that, in his opinion, 99% of all American motorcyclists are fairly good and law-abiding citizens. He called such citizens white and fluffy, which the American bikers naturally did not like.
As a protest, motorcyclists actively began sewing diamond-shaped biker patches onto their jackets. As you may have guessed, the inscription “1%” symbolized that small part of motorcyclists who are not afraid of the law and are ready to break any traffic rules. Therefore, if you see such a badge on one of the bikers, then you can easily expect something illegal from him.
History of the Iron Cross as an award
According to the legend about the creation of this symbol, the King of Prussia, Frederick William III, was inspired by the Teutonic cross. Because Prussia has always been proud of its historical connection with the Teutonic Order. And in 1813, the Iron Cross became an official military award, which was awarded to those who distinguished themselves in the process of liberating the country from Napoleon's troops.
In the subsequent war of 1871, Prussia defeated French forces, united with Germany and formed the German Empire, which adopted many of the highest Prussian military awards, including the Iron Cross.
Then there was the First World War, in which the Iron Crosses were also actively awarded to distinguished fighters. But in much greater numbers than in previous wars. The award became famous and widespread. Even the still unknown corporal Adolf Hitler received one such Iron Cross, First Class.
He revived the practice of issuing Iron Crosses in 1939. Only I slightly corrected the design of the order - I added a swastika in the center and changed the color of the order ribbon from black and white to black, white and red.
It is also worth noting that it was not only Prussia and Nazi Germany that used the recognizable shape of the Iron Cross as a military decoration. In the Russian Empire, the Order of St. George the Victorious had almost the same shape, only with a small circle in the center, and in Great Britain - the Victoria Cross.
Abbreviations
And the last patches we'll talk about are abbreviation patches. Such stripes succinctly reveal some long phrase, which is the motto of the biker.
One such acronym is ACAB (All Cops Are Bastard). If literally translated into Russian, this patch stands for “All police are bastards.”
FTW – Forever Two Wheels. Another acronym, but this time kinder. This badge indicates that the biker has connected his life with two-wheeled vehicles forever. “Two wheels forever,” this is what the literal translation from English will sound like.
In conclusion, I would like to say that stripes are a purely individual matter. Biker stripes and their meaning are worth knowing only for general development, since they are very rare outside of America.
