i am new to this hobby, so my question is how do I know if what i am purchasing is real or fake ? Could you recommend any dealers ? i think i already know the answer to that question. But any advice would be greatly appreciated..........THANK YOU........

Chance,
Welcome to the forum, my first piece of advice when starting out is too take your time, reproductions have been made of nearly all the different variations of daggers from the Third Reich. If its hunting daggers you are interested in download Houstons free guide > FREE GUIDE, which is a good start. Ask lots of questions and buy from a reputable dealer to guarantee authenticity ( most of the time ), but expect to pay that little bit extra. Many of the well known dealers use this forum and sell via its free for sale section or advertise via the banner at the top of the page. The main thing to remember is to buy the best quality you can afford.....you wont regret it in the long run .
Regards

Another thing, Chance, is that if posting pictures of prospective purchases is possible (say that 5 times fast), you will find that some of the professionals here will either compliment the item, or pick it apart for its flaws. Either way, these guys will guide you well.

And, welcome to GDC!

Hi chance:
Welcome to the addiction.

All of the above...and...

Paul Hogel's SA tutorial at http://www.lakesidetrader.com/sa.html will help you understand dagger terminology in general...and...

If you're too cheap to buy reference books, (like I was) you can become familiar with the characteristics of edged weapons by viewing Wittmann's inventory descriptions at http://www.wwiidaggers.com/inventory.htm He has good photos, so you can see what you're reading about.

Just remember that the ammount of information on this stuff can be overwhelming. And, new things are discovered all the time. Pick a narrow field at first, than branch out gradually. If you take it in chewable bites, it can be fun. If you try to take it in all at once, your head will explode. Good Luck!

Thank You very much for the advice, I really appreciate it.

Welcome Chance, Which type of dagger are you looking to specialize in or are you looking to collect across the board.

Gary

Basically across the board collecting But my main interst is Hunting and Shooting Badges

Well, Thats good to hear, post some pictures when you can, here's 3 I got in tonight.

Gary

reverse

lets try that again

Yes post some pics!

Look at wealth of info in past threads!

Buddy up at shows or such!

You are always welcome to stop by at SOS and meet many of our great members!

We can introduce you to many collectors!

Read and look and you will learn and enjoy!

Gary is one of the many good guys!

Pictures tell a lot!

PVON

Quality is always a thought!

Buy the best you can afford!

Take your time and read!


PVON

what ever the item!

Armys to canteens ,it makes no difference if you have fun!

Here are some nice shooting badges to keep an eye out for.....

Cheers
Don

Or these type

There are some gorgets out there too. It says--Schutzengilde Reiligensee. Probably worn by the Gilde President/Commander/Leader

Oh Ya!

PVON