Hi guys,
I plan to buy this German fighting knife but need Your opinion if it is fake or not. It says something like :hat 1942n the blade.
German fighting knife. Fake or the real thing..
Hi guys,
I plan to buy this German fighting knife but need Your opinion if it is fake or not. It says something like :hat 1942
Hi Berlin..unless this is a distributor marking..the word " hat ' does not appear in any of my German cutlery References. The photos are not the best..which gives the blade the appearance of being shiney new. Wait for other opinons..if if possible clearer photos will help out greatly for the Luftwaffe guys who know these type knives. Regards Larry
It is not the size of a Collection in History that matters......Its the size of your Passion for it!!- Larry C
One never knows what tree roots push to the surface of what laid buried before the tree was planted - Larry C
“The farther back you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.” - Winston Churchill
Greetings Berlin,
IMHO a reproduction. Here's where you can purchase them German Trench Dagger | Epic Militaria (Page takes a while to load). That said, the original posted knife shows the trademark logo running the opposite way than the repro I have listed, but too, I have not ever seen an issue knife with the manufacture's logo running in the original posted knife's direction either.
V/r Lance
Larry and Lance,
Thank you very much for Your information. I just saved 150 USD!
Some information on the manufacturer.
hat = Gebruder Grafrath, Fabrik feiner Stahlwaren/Werkzeuge, HFW Teile, Solingen Widdert
From this book German Secret Armament Codes Until 1945: Michael Heidler: 9783981101850: Amazon.com: Books
According to Anthony Carter's book on German Sword and Knifemakers, the company was founded in 1869. Cutlers and knifemakers. RZM code M7/30.
"... and combat or boot knives were produced marked hat above the date".
His sources for this are quoted as Johnson Vol VII and Deutsche Kampfmesser by Eugen von Halasz.
Agree with the group , 100% reproduction
Disagree with the group!
The fighting knife is an original! I have had one with this marking for 40+ years.
I liked the hat code so well that I sold off my other 3 fighting knives and only kept the hat when I decided to downsize some parts of my collection 20 yrs ago.
Well I'd post a photo of mine, but I seem to be unable to get into my photo files for some reason?
Sarge
I would approach this one with caution, myself. They are making nearly Perfect copies of these boot knives now and aging them is a relatively simple matter. Nowadays, I would need a pretty good provenance to make me consider picking one up.
William
"Much that once was, is lost. For none now live who remember it."
Good Work Richie
The truth be found.
Regards Larry
It is not the size of a Collection in History that matters......Its the size of your Passion for it!!
One never knows what tree roots push to the surface of what laid buried before the tree was planted - Larry C
“The farther back you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.” - Winston Churchill
I've seen others like this one that I've passed on, and based on the photos I would pass on this one myself. The blade's contours/edges and polishing don't seem quite right, the scabbard's finish uncertain etc. Maybe it's just bad photos - or maybe not. Having over a long period of time also seen literally buckets of new manufacture batches of fighting knives for sale on tables with different period style markings. Said knives then showing up for years afterwards with added varying degrees of artificial aging. And while really off topic here, in times past I've also seen near perfect copies of some 19th century swords with very good replications of the original markings from what I believe was a short production run that if you didn't own or have handled an original would fool just about anyone. My point being that without a really good look and if needed some additional information/corroboration just because something looks like it might be a collectible period item that does not guarantee that it's an authentic original. Best Regards, Fred
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