A Tip for telling originality of Hitler Jugend knife

[gel65]

I was always told that if you put you finger on the Hitler Jugend diamond and try and move it back and forth, and it slightly moves that means it is authentic along with other thing like the maker on the knife. has anyone else heard this before
Sean F

[Sir Payne]

If the diamond wiggles it is a good sign of originality. Most reproductions/fakes have the diamond glued in. However, on rare occasions original diamonds will not wiggle for a number of reasons. Any HJ knife marked "SM" (SM1940) is a reproduction, any HJ knife marked "Germany" is a reproduction. Here is a link to some helpful tips on buying an HJ knife or determining authenticity Lakesidetrader | German Daggers & Military Collectables

Regards, Corey

[Walkwolf]

Yes. This is supposed to be a fairly reliable way to tell if a HJ knife is good.
Signs like wear, maker, blade shape and the scabbard are other
ways to tell.........

[AMTG]

Mine doesn't wiggle, but then again my grip has had a hard life at the hands of a HJ!!!

[gel65]

Thanks for all the tips
Sean F

[BOB COLEMAN]

The Hitler Youth knives marked "Germany" are genuine war era surplus. They were sold in the 1950's through ads in men's magazines. As they were being imported as merchandise, the country of origin was required to be stamped on the product. In the middle 1960's, a lot of original HJ knives were found in Germany still in their brown paper shipping bags. These were not stamped "Germany" and sold for $25.00, which was a lot at the time. Mint examples were bringing $10-$12.

[Sir Payne]

You are right Bob, I have heard of this before regarding Pith helmets. I didn't know they had surplus HJ knives, I imagine they were late RZM blades. Thanks for the info. It is probably pretty rare to come upon a Germany marked example from the era. As for the other I mentioned, it seems like the SM/1940 marked Hitler Youth knives come up all over the place. They look very close to originals, except for the diamond is not enameled. As a result, many sellers/dealers remove the diamond to throw of the buyers. I have always wondered the origin of these SM marked HJs.

Regards,

Corey

[BOB COLEMAN]

You are right Bob, I have heard of this before regarding Pith helmets. I didn't know they had surplus HJ knives, I imagine they were late RZM blades. Thanks for the info. It is probably pretty rare to come upon a Germany marked example from the era. As for the other I mentioned, it seems like the SM/1940 marked Hitler Youth knives come up all over the place. They look very close to originals, except for the diamond is not enameled. As a result, many sellers/dealers remove the diamond to throw of the buyers. I have always wondered the origin of these SM marked HJs.

Regards,

Corey

In the late 50's or early 60's, another batch of original HJ knives came out without the Germany stamp. In lieu of the HJ diamond, they had a silver fleur de lis badge. Unscrupulos dealers would pry out the silver badge and replace them with a HJ membership pin.
There was a great amount of surplus material that came out in the 50's and 60's. The tropical Heer pith helmets, paratrooper fandoleers in three different colors, Luftwaffe and HJ gray M-43 caps, unissued Luftwaffe enlisted rank flight jackets which you could order by size and also color of blank collar tab and also tropical field caps with branch piping soutaches. This stuff flooded the market and was around at every gun show for years. However , they have all now been swallowed up.

[Sir Payne]

Are you saying that the SM marked blades, such as this one I have pictured, were originally the Fleur de Lis examples, but with removed badges? I have seen many Fleur de Lis HJ knives on eBay and other online auctions. The SM knives are often missing the diamond all together.

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As you can see they look very similar to the originals, except for the spurious leather, and odd diamond.