Polish fighting knife

[A.J. Zawadzki]

Robert, again, it all comes down to authenticity. If both are genuine then you have some valuable pieces. I'm not certain about the value of such a fighting knife as I am unaware of any comparable items on the market in recent years. I would venture at least what a genuine dress dagger is worth, and a likely more by virtue of its relative rarity.

However, having said that, my sixth sense doesn't give me positive vibes about this knife. Please don’t take offense. I do own several various edged weapons with blade embellishments, but by no means am an authority. I can safely say I have never seen anything in the way of period blade work like this. I am hopeful someone knowledgeable will weigh in to confirm or dispel my gut feel.

Regards,
Tony

[IvanPutski]

Is the image reversed? The eagle looks like it is facing right instead of left. Also, in the small shield, it looks like a "1" and not an "L". But if you reverse the image it looks more like an "L". Of course, a "1" would be OK as well, but as I said... the eagle is looking to the right... so...?

[IvanPutski]

However, having said that, my sixth sense doesn't give me positive vibes about this knife. Please don’t take offense. I do own several various edged weapons with blade embellishments, but by no means am an authority. I can safely say I have never seen anything in the way of period blade work like this. I am hopeful someone knowledgeable will weigh in to confirm or dispel my gut feel.

Regards,
Tony

I have seen some elaborate blade work (read: "trench art") on blades from WW1 (mostly from German troops), but I have not seen a Legion eagle such as this one. Having said that, over the years I have seen period hand-etched Polish Legion eagles on belt buckles, canteen cups, bayonet handles and several other types of flat surfaces, so from my perspective I would say that it's possible this etching could be from WW1. But of course no one can say for sure without closer examination.

[A.J. Zawadzki]

Good observation Ivan, although it does seem to me like the eagle is "facing Germany" - i.e in the correct direction. The beak is somwhat faint. Am I seeing it right?

T.

[IvanPutski]

Good observation Ivan, although it does seem to me like the eagle is "facing Germany" - i.e in the correct direction. The beak is somwhat faint. Am I seeing it right?

T.

I don't see it that way. I see the head tilted to the right a bit and I see the thing your arrow points to as a crown.

Now, before everyone jumps on me, I am aware that the standard Legion eagles (with the "L" on the small shield) normally did not wear a crown. However, many of the Rifleman's eagles (with the "S" in the small shield) did. Additionally, eagles that bore a numerical designation on the small shield almost always had a crowned eagle.

So - If the image is reversed, as I suggested, then the small shield here looks like there is an "L" inside it. And they usually did not have crowns. But see the attached picture for an image of a "Legion" eagle with a crown (also a one-off piece that in this case was affixed to a Russian saber).

If the image is not reversed, and the eagle is facing left, as you suggest, then a close-up analysis says to me that it is not an "L" in the small shield, but rather, a "1" (and of course we know that most of them wore crowns). See second picture. As I have said before.... you need to examine in person. But I think it's a very interesting piece and if I collected these knives I'd give it a good look...