+1!by Mister Aurel
Still my opinion too.
+1!
Still my opinion too.
Not in hand, and of the opinion that the sword in question has a brass hilt instead of aluminum. While this may or may not have some characteristics of a Voos - it's missing one unique characteristic that both the high quality early brass hilted and later lesser quality aluminum hilted swords made by them possessed. The noticeably poor quality here combined with the wrong kind of grip wire etc. for me giving it a grade of "F". Senior (top) grade NCO's in the TR period German Army not only authorized to buy the private purchase Officer's swords, it also included the Officer's dagger. Best Regards, Fred
BTW: The best quality reproductions that I have seen from Spain (that were quite a while ago) were the aluminum mounts/fitted Luftwaffe swords. They all had a (perhaps not as noticeable to some) fatal flaw - and side by side could and did fool some folks that probably should have known better. Best Regards, Fred
Frogprince I have respected your knowledge for years especially on the early sabers from pre WW1 but I am sorry to say we are going to have to disagree on this one sir. This sword is an Emil Voos unattributed aluminum sword (cf Angolia p129) and it also has its correct grip wire. This one doesnt look like it was hand finished by the master but probably by one of the apprentice sword makers at the factory. The handle is an aluminum cast handle that was hand polished and then fire gilded. Not all sword makers used the same grip wire. I have about 50 sabers now and you would be surprised at all the different wire types.
Last edited by 396l35; 04-28-2020 at 04:54 AM.
+1 I still stand with my first statement.
Not particularly a Voos specialist myself, in its earlier period it was high quality and sometimes even innovative with perhaps an "art deco" touch for some of its swords. But something happened, and by the time the non-brass substitutes were being used the quality seemed to have dropped off sharply. But none that I remember ever seeing with anything other than with a triple type grip wiring (as some other members have posted). Exhibit "A" - the reversed swastika saber[s]. (PS: Depending on the alloy, gold melts at about 1945°F, aluminum at about 1220°F.) Best Regards, Fred
I remain skeptical that it is an aluminum cast hilt, I would think brass, but the material itself is not my main issue with it.
I have that same sword and you can see that the casting was really crude and depended on how good of a job the person that finished the handle did before it was gilded. I am missing half of my original wire but it doesn't bother me as it is a very uncommon saber. Hopefully someday I will be able to upgrade and get one with a complete wire.
Here are two other Voos sabers I own and as you can see both of them have different wires. Granted that they are both three wires but the middle wire is different. I would have to agree with you Frogprince as the quality of the Voos went down when they switched from brass to aluminum and I imagine it went even further as the war progressed.
I think there are differences even between your example and the OP's sword that can't just be explained as master's work versus the apprentice. There are positioning differences in the decorative features. The metal band that covers the hand grip shows some gap differences around oak leaves and borders, that wouldn't have altered much with hand detailing.
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