SS Dagger Opinions: RZM 1053/39

[Andrew]

i'm wondering about what looks like carving on the wood where it meets the cross guards. that throws me off the most. not all SS handles are solid ebony. they were stained wood too. the rune button has a nice fit, as does the eagle. replaced grip very poorly cut to fit ? but the cutting looks wrong for that even. it leaves me scratching my head .

[Wagriff]

As Andrew said, the grip is an extremely poor fit-it's been ground down to Sort of fit, but not well enough. As for what type of wood it's made of, it could be nearly anything. Ebony, dyed pear wood....or just about any kind of wood. I've seen SS daggers with Tan wood grips-just like an SA, but still absolutely genuine. But This one is almost certainly not original to this dagger and some one has worked on it trying to make it Fit better but it hasn't worked. The blade looks like it may be genuine, but who knows what else-if anything on this rig is. If this guy's grandfather brought it back, then he brought it back from a parts pile that was being stuck together to make SS souvenir daggers...

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Pablo, I would agree with my forum friends comments. I too would pass on it due to the grip fit.

Cheers, Ade.

[Larry C]

Thanks for the critique. The owner adamantly claims it was brought back by his Grandfather who served in WW2 (isn't that a common story?) and is confident it is the real deal. Here's another photo cropped from one of the others. This is all I got. Should I stay away? He's asking $1.8K. If I renege on it what should I say is wrong with it.

Hi Pablo...I have no doubt it was brought back by his grandfather..but as a parted dagger and possibly altered post war...I dont want you to feel guilty if you decide to change your mind and say you do not want it. These observations are made by our members here as what is commonly seen as obvious..compared to late RZM types. late RZM daggers had their issues with some gapping and some poor fits here and there. This dagger has other issues as stated above that would be uncommon for a producer to release it as such.
Some of these late RZM type SS daggers are highly messed with and reproduced. IMO I would invest your money in an early SS..and check out Paul Hogles site as for about another $800 more you would get a genuine early period dagger which is quite difficult to reproduce,, if you know what your looking at.
It is more common to see Late SS daggers with issues more so than early. Classics can be copied but can not be changed in materials.

Also don get involved in a dispute with the seller.. and dont go into detail what is wrong with it..if your not well versed in debate. Its not worth your time..and I would just say,,,"At this time, I have an opportunity to acquire an early period dagger to which is what I was looking for and now the opportunity has arisen. I do thank you for your time and patience". ( end quote )... something like that but in your own wording.

The comments made above should not be the lone factor in your decision,, but I encourage you also to follow up on our comments and thoughts made for yourself. Research and compare for yourself to see the truths of the differences between early and late period. You will walk away knowing and be satisfied with yourself that you made a decision not only by what we said but by your own knowledge.
Read and study for yourself and in time..your eyes will be opened..and YOU WILL SEE THE DIFFERENCES. I have seen better qualified parted daggers than this one.. but again I feel you would do better with an early type SS dagger,,,AND..it will hold its value..more so than what is being offered to you now. JMO. Regards Larry