Totenkopf SS dagger

[Oddity Hoarder]

I picked up this dagger @ a local antique store about a year ago (not the type of thing I normally come across) I havn't been able to find out anything on it. There are no markings on it that I can find ( mabey on the base of the blade but looks like rust pits now) The parts are brass and the handle is made of bone. Looks like it had been buried for a while. It measures aprox. 46cm overall and the blade is 31 cm. anybody have info.- authentic,fake,new,old...?

[Walkwolf]

Hello Hoarder, welcome to the Forum.

This is a fantasy dagger..........!

[AMTG]

G'day and welcome!!!

Definitely an oddity!!! As already stated not a TR peice, total fantasy..

But given your username I'm sure it appealed to you!

[Wagriff]

These daggers came in a variety of 4 types. There were 2 with the bone handles(the ads always darkly hinted at them being Human bone possibly...) The main differences being between the 2 was the shape of the blades. One would have a lightning "kris" style blade and the other would have the standard straight double edged such as yours has. There was also another variety of these things with a brass grip that resembled rib cages and did not feature the "SS" shield. They were touted as "unofficial SS daggers made in a concentration camp". They were supposed to have been commissioned by the SS guards and manufactured by the prisoners for them. Sometimes the ads would name a KZ camp by name, but more often than not, they were simply said to be made in "a" concentration camp.
They were actually quite sturdily built and had good details. Unfortunately, they had absolutely nothing to do with the Third Reich,SS, and Concentration Camps,however. They were marketed by the now-deceased conman Joe Walters who owned and operated the infamous "House of Swords and Militaria" out of Missouri, and first appeared on the market around the late 70's and early 80's. He put them in a beautifully photographed catalog and spun a marvelous story about them for the rubes to swallow, and swallow they did. He would go into great details about how they were buried in the camp to hide them before the Allies liberated it, and had only been "just recently discovered-still wrapped in a canvas roll,etc" This swindler's garbage has been confounding the collectors world for decades upon decades now-even though he's been long dead and buried for a long long time.(He was robbed and murdered by, apparently, people he knew, if I remember right) No doubt, he's still laughing at the fools today who still treasure his amazing and rare relics...

[AMTG]

Thnks for the detailed reply!!!

[davejb]

Thats an incredibly detailed explanation there William, one that ive never heard before, nor had i seen these things , although i would venture to say they are complete and utter fantasy items just on appearance
thanks Dave

[AMTG]

I can see their appeal, even forgetting the whole "KZ" story....they are very odd and kind of fun in their way...

Just a question,

Is it "KZ" or "KL"... KL seems to make more sense to me

[Oddity Hoarder]

Wow!!!, thanks everyone for the quick response! the story is worth more than the dagger

[AMTG]

As long as you are happy with it mate, that's all that matters!!!

Hope you didn't loose too much on it

[Frogprince]

Apparently both are acceptable “Die Konzentrationslager für ............. (Abkürzung: KZ oder KL) “. Joe Walters also faked a number of (supposedly) early U.S, swords. Knowing of one instance where a guy with an 8 sword purchase got 7 fakes and one very low end Austrian sword. So not all were necessarily fakes, and it depended on what and when you were buying. With the descent into thievery increasing the longer he was in business. FP