Alright guys, I've worked a lot and I really want to buy a german knife. Hopefully I will actually get a job tomorrow(no joke may really get one) Though I have an 800 USD at the moment. I really would like to buy one with a sheath, and that is either Kreigsmarine-favorite, Army, or Airforce, i'm not gonna even try the SS I can keep dreaming. So any links to websites, anything. Thanks Alex
Invest the money in reference books....or join germandaggers.com and spend some good time reading and learning...that way you do not have to rely on others that may or may not know what they are talking about to assist you in what you are buying. If you have to rely on others to buy something you probably shouldn't be buying it. Just my friendly .02 cents....
OK, Here is an Army dagger that was/is for sale...what does everyone think? It was on the WAF E-stand I believe.
You could get an original one starting for about about 500 $ in Europe, starting with the RAD one. The Luftwaffe will be more expensive or you could possibly get a Panzer man one but forget about the KM and the SS which would not fit in your budget.
I think that RRCollector's advice is sound. Fake German daggers are out there in abundance and even 'experts' can get caught out.
hi alex, all good sound advice from the guy's who have had the experience, and seen the pitfalls, I'm not sure? that most of us hav'nt at some time! fallen into the see, and buy trap, just because it looks good/is a great price! militaria fairs are a good place to visit and ask who are reputable dealers? it's just looking, and feeling your way around..worth thinking about..as for buying one? a matching kreigsmarine k98 bayonet set is in your range, and a fallschirmjager's gravity knife, possibly too. depends on dealers selling price..as for daggers? I know zilch! but RRcollectors, is the man to listen to, ray.. http://www.germanmilitaria.com/Galleries/Edged.html look thro these..as far as reputable.. I have no answers, but have been recommended to them several times, when looking for items, prices? pretty expensive, mainly..still! you'll enjoy looking..
The best would be to compare it with real. I have a friend who owns many good knives, so if I have a doubt I compare with his.
Alright guys, this is what i'm gonna do. 1. Buy a couple of books, know everything about the dagger just from looking at it, fake/real 2.Learn how to fix em, so I can just buy parts for cheap and put them together. 3.Thank you all so much. Now if you all know a goood place to buy a Legit book, please let me know
Heimdal edits great books. I bought their latest kriegsmarine a few weeks ago. It has everything Kriegsmarine, 1935-1945 - Google Livres
Lord....please tell me that you are kidding....the last thing the collecting community needs is more parts daggers running around. Look at the dagger that I posted in this thread earlier...it is a parts dagger from head to toe...I am sure that it would fool most collectors out there today.
No I wasn't I don't sell anything world war 2, I only buy. I think it's better to buy cheap parts, and put them together. I think it's interesting, and gives me something to do, and learn more about the knifes themselves.
That's also good advice. Do you have to start with a ceremonial dagger ? Bayonets, gravity knives and close-combat knives are more readily available and - as yet - haven't been paid as much attention by the fakers.
Great point! I do plan within the next 2 weeks to at least buy one, My goal is to have 1 of each knife!
This advise is good...but only to a certain degree. Most dagger manufactures used thier own parts...so comparing an Alcoso Army dagger to that of a WKC example would not be the way that I would go when trying to aunthenticate an example. There are reference books available that will tell and show photos of each manufactures hardware and what small irregularities and specialties that were exclusive to that maker itself. It is not as simple as comparing apples to apples...with over 30-40 makers sometimes and over 30-40 daggers available during the TR period it is much harder than a simple 'eye ball' test. Learn the makers...study a maker...search for that maker online or at a show and make a sound decision when you buy a piece. The piece of mind that comes with buying something you are 100% certain about and that you can explain in detail to others is priceless.