First SS Dagger Purchased; Feedback and Comments Appreciated

[DavidRF43]

Good Evening!

Wanted to post photos of the first dagger i bought a few years ago (and hopefully as a neophyte didn't get screwed over or buy a forgery)....based on information i read around the time and after purchasing, it seems legit, but i'm no expert so I though I would submit it here for your perusal.

It's not a great dagger, but very much a beginning one, as the inscription is rather scruffy, it's obviously got some wear and I have yet to be able to determine the maker's mark as it is largely rubbed off, but it *appears* (fingers crossed) to be a real example of a dagger....i hope.

Let me know what you think....if anyone would like more pictures, let me know.

Dave

[Dave H]

David,

It is a real dagger, made by Gottlieb Hammesfahr of Solingen-Foche.

But it has been extensively reworked, cleaned, and scrubbed. The scabbard seems to have been repainted.

[Larry C]

I agree as well with Daves observations

Regards Larry

[DavidRF43]

David,

It is a real dagger, made by Gottlieb Hammesfahr of Solingen-Foche.

But it has been extensively reworked, cleaned, and scrubbed. The scabbard seems to have been repainted.

I believe the dealer that I purchased it from was at least the third owner, as he had a person whose father (or grandfather) had been in the German side of the fighting during the war.

As I am still very new to the hobby, How do you mean reworked and scrubbed? Cleaned is obviously self-explanatory… And I don’t have enough knowledge to know if the scabbard has been repainted or not

[Dave H]

The blade has been scrubbed with steel wool or perhaps even emery paper. Look at the deep scratches that go along the blade and obliterate much detail. that was because the blade was rusted.

The grip has been reworked by being sanded down until it is a thin caricature of what it should be, then it has been painted with shiny black paint. Or, maybe it is something made by a scammer ... hard to say.

Below are 2 Hammesfahr grips to compare.

Dave

[Larry C]

I believe the dealer that I purchased it from was at least the third owner, as he had a person whose father (or grandfather) had been in the German side of the fighting during the war.

We hear this all the time and the truth of these stories are 50/50 ...yet the study is not in the story but actually the dagger and condition thats in front of us that tells more of a real story.

Buy the dagger not the story as the phrase goes.
Some dealers will say anything to sell something ...but the dagger itself and the current condition it is in says something else.

Somewhere in that genealogy either the dealer the father or grandfather must of altered this dagger...or its none of them and came from another source which the condition and brand new paint on the grip is recently performed.

We study these daggers all day long here ....all types in this forum..and we have members here quite proficient in each category of edged weapon types.

You raise good questions and as a newbie ...you came to the right place just as anyone would go to a doctors office when their sick and not to any other non medical entities.
You will gain much here ...stick around..theres much to absorb and hopefully you will remain here and become a part of this great community.

Regards Larry

[DavidRF43]

We hear this all the time and the truth of these stories are 50/50 ...yet the study is not in the story but actually the dagger and condition thats in front of us that tells more of a real story.

Buy the dagger not the story as the phrase goes.
Some dealers will say anything to sell something ...but the dagger itself and the current condition it is in says something else.

Somewhere in that genealogy either the dealer the father or grandfather must of altered this dagger...or its none of them and came from another source which the condition and brand new paint on the grip is recently performed.

We study these daggers all day long here ....all types in this forum..and we have members here quite proficient in each category of edged weapon types.

You raise good questions and as a newbie ...you came to the right place just as anyone would go to a doctors office when their sick and not to any other non medical entities.
You will gain much here ...stick around..theres much to absorb and hopefully you will remain here and become a part of this great community.

Regards Larry

TY Larry...I appreciate that.

In digging into some of the items I have, some of them are, unfortunately, not legit...I don't blame the dealer I purchased them from, as like I said, he has a lot of general knowledge on the items he has but isn't an expert on any one thing...I do believe the knives I purchased from him are legit and not fakes (I have some doubt as to the second SS dagger that I will post later....my partner and I have both spoken to the dealer at length over the years, and neither of us have gotten the impression he was out to scam anyone or rip them off, so it's more likely any alteration to the daggers occurred before he purchased them and them items I found that are reproductions were likely not sold as legit with the knowledge they were not...I wish, in hindsight, I had done a bit more research around them beforehand (such as the 12 year SS service medal that is a fake but a fairly convincing one for the most part when compared to others that are legit), but I'm going to assume most of us here have a story where we bought before we had done research only to find out the item wasn't what we thought.

[texasuberalles]

Ben Franklin supposedly said that: "If you think education is expensive; try the alternative'.

Dave H., Larry C. and others like him have vast bases of knowledge and are glad and seemingly happy to share it. They get little thanks for their help other than the appreciation of many who are mostly silent.

I'll say it: THANKS!!

[Dave H]

Thanks, Tex

[texasuberalles]

God forbid - I forgot Adrian! - Mucho thanks to him as well.
A thousand pardons.