Thoughts on this Au Lion 1918? What's left of it...

**ErwinRommel** · 10-16-2013, 05:57 AM

I recently came across ehh... what's left of... an Au Lion 1918 knife. They claim it to be original, and nothing stands out as a fake to me. Can anybody else give some thoughts on this? I love the LFC 1918s but this is the only Au Lion I've seen locally, and I don't know much about them. I question it because I know this dealer has a lot of good militaria, but I have spotted a fake or two in the past that they were selling.
So is it definitely real, and how do you price one that has a toothpick of a blade left? Also, no skull crusher nut on the bottom, and the blade seems to be held in with what looks like wood putty and a slip of leather at the base of the blade.

Thoughts on this Au Lion 1918? What's left of it...

**crites1234** · 10-16-2013, 05:59 AM

that blade looks more like the 1917 trench knife blade?

**ErwinRommel** · 10-16-2013, 06:18 AM

It's a flat blade, just that somebody used a grinder on it or filed it down so much that it looks like a toothpick. Nothing remains of the maker stamp. I have a really nice 1917 to compare to, this is definitely not that type of blade haha.

**Scout** · 10-16-2013, 06:54 AM

Thats indeed an odd duck. Are you able to tell/show us, what remains where the skull crusher was?

**ErwinRommel** · 10-16-2013, 08:35 AM

Somehow I forgot to take a picture of that part. But the nut is gone, and the hole looks to be filled in with wood putty or something similar.

**Wagriff** · 10-16-2013, 08:45 AM

It looks to Me, anyway, like someone removed a broken or damaged blade and stuck a stiletto style blade in it's place(and losing the skull cracker nut in the process, as the new blade likely did not have a long enough tang to fit into it. They fixed the blade in place without it and filled the hole from the nut.

**big ned** · 10-16-2013, 10:27 AM

See if you can make up your own mind from the concise info given here:

M1918MK1

Not easy, but a learning curve on the minutae of acquainting oneself with the details of the good and bad of these things we choose to collect.

Rhubarb, rhubarb, Ned.

**ErwinRommel** · 10-16-2013, 10:56 PM

AMEWM 20

That answered one question I had about the Au Lion... I wasn't sure if both types of grip were original or not. I'm fairly certain it's a good piece.

So how do you price it then? I would take the blade out and look for a replacement. So what are a set of Au Lion grips worth?

**SteveR** · 10-18-2013, 04:19 AM

I think the handle is original.
Do not have a clue as to value.

**MilitariaOne** · 10-21-2013, 03:55 AM

Greetings,

I agree it looks to be an original set of Au Lion’s Knucks. $150-$200 range is a fair price. Many shops ask $300 (or more) for knucks alone, frankly they are just not that rare. You may buy decent complete Au Lion’s without scabbards (for around $450) With scabbards $550-$750 (Add another $100-$150 if you are talking about the L.F. & C. variant) Original blades (with skull crusher nuts) go from $100-$200 quite regularly on eBay, so getting a replacement is not too hard. There are repro skull crusher nuts offered on eBay too, if money is your chief challenge.

That all said your best bet is to just save your money until a nice complete one becomes available. It will be less hassle and much less frustration trying to piece a decent complete set together. Personally, I’ve found it’s better to splurge on something more complete/in better condition than it is to just buy another “project piece” that you will always be making excuses over. Of course there are those who desire that challenge. Having done both, I'd rather not bother.

Regards,

Lance