This just arrived, the blade has 100% crossgrain, scabard has 99.99% orignal lacquor finish! Has a unusual deep red finish. Please share your thoughts.

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This is cool

Beautiful!!....

Where in the world do you find such rare beauties.

Pat, If I told no one would believe me. To be truthful, it comes and goes in sperts. The key is to be willing to pay cash, Jump on it fast and NEVER wait around. Generaly you will loose out every time.

Nice dagger. That one came from Wittmann. It is still on his website. http://www.wwiidaggers.com/25419.htm
Lots of his offerings are sold but not marked as such. He does a lousy job of keeping it current IMO. Always has.

quote:

Originally posted by Skyline Drive:
Nice dagger. That one came from Wittmann. It is still on his website. http://www.wwiidaggers.com/25419.htm
Lots of his offerings are sold but not marked as such. He does a lousy job of keeping it current IMO. Always has.

You can say that again. I check his site but never enquire about making a purchase anymore... he really should pull his socks up and also make it easier for people to pay.

VonRader... well done to you. There's nothing better than receiving a new dagger, only to find that it's in even better condition than what you were hoping. On top of that, it's a very rare 10 on the McSaar. You gotta be happy with all of that.

I will agree that Tom needs to update his sight more often. Out of the 4 SA's I asked him about 3 were sold!

I rarely buy off of dealers due to the much higher prices. However the big boys do get the hard to find items more often. My only complaint about most big dealers is they seem to hype up thier good and over rate, thus when you get the item you are disipointed. This item is MUCH nicer than the photos on Toms sight, and MUCH better in hand. Only flaw is there is a rub on the bottom grip to the lower crossguard causing a slight imperfect gap fit. You can see in the photos.

The best grader: Tom Johnson he tents to be more conservitive IMO.

Yes, I have encountered the same with Tom's site, items hanging around for a while after being sold.

What I do is check his site regularly for updates and jump on the items I want immediately. I have had occasion where I jumped too quickly and didn't like what I received, but it all worked out ok with Tom.

Tom and Deb are very accommodating on how you pay and on timing of payment and shipment.

My two cents worth...

BTW, IMHO Tom W tends to slightly overgrade his items and Tom J (and Paul Hogle) tend to undergrade.

John

Very nice. I have two of these-not quite as nice though-but very rare. See me at the MAX. I have over 100 SA's to offer. Some, like the Bismark, are very rare.

Beautiful dagger from a desirable maker, congrats!


Sam,

JMO, but I believe that Bismark ones are one of the rarest, if not the rarest maker marked SAs. In 50 plus years of collecting and doing motel buys, I have never found or had one.
Ron Weinand
Weinand Militaria
PS: I believe it beats the Bulldog.

That is certainly a fine looker in great condition. The only consideration that one might have is that this dagger is a very choice SA.

I have never bought a dagger from Mr. Wittmann. I always thought that the grading of the daggers did not compare to what I was looking at by some considerable margin. I therefore assumed all the good stuff must be sold before it got listed.

Just out of interest I looked this one up on the site & have to say that on the strength of the images on Mr. Wittmann`s site I would not have considered it. It demonstrates very well that things are not always how they appear in photographs. This piece is actually far better than depicted. Obviously photography is not a priority & I shall perhaps be less critical in my obsevations in future.

That�s a real beauty ,
congrats to a great catch & great pictures !
Best from Hakan

Supernice dagger, that I remember from TW site. And YES, my 2 cents: the updating of that site is a joke. Guys who know Mr.Wittmann personaly, please do say few words about it. How many of us are tired with hearing Deb saying "It's sold"?

is the scabbard painted? Is it supposed to be anodized?

Thats in pristine condition. I also have one with about 95% or better lacquer on the scabbard.

The scabbard is anodized, there seems to be a heavier amount of lacquor used to protect the finish. This give it that almost painted look, it is a realy treat to see, the rose wine color look really sets off the dagger from!

quote:

Just out of interest I looked this one up on the site & have to say that on the strength of the images on Mr. Wittmann`s site I would not have considered it. It demonstrates very well that things are not always how they appear in photographs. This piece is actually far better than depicted.

It amazes me that the big dealers don't know how to take good quality photos! If you want to get top $ for any item you must be able to market it well! I am no pro but my goodness if I were in thier shoes it would be a no brainer to me. (take photos outside in natural light gets the best results) Also when I got the dagger the blade had a lot of dirty residue, all I did was wipe down the blade and clean the scabbard and it really made an improvement.

The minty scabbards on SA daggers are much rarer than the minty blades. When together they make for a very rare premium piece-no matter what maker.

Here is a link to my C. Linder with 95% or better lacquer.

http://s101.photobucket.com/albums/m61/anythingww2/C%20LINDER/

Nice dagger Bob, I really like wood grain on the grip.

VonRader,
Yes that is a real beauty,Tom emailed me the pictures along with the Bulldog before he put them on his site as I was haggling over another piece from him,I left them for a while and went for the Bulldog,after he put them on the site,I was torn between them,but happy with the Bulldog,I am pleased to see the Bismarck found good home.Well done,can only be a good investment.
Ivan.

A very nice dagger indeed!

PVON

Thanks VR, didn't mean to jump into your thread. I must agree with how dealers take pics. I was looking over your dagger on his sight before you bought it but his pictures weren't that flattering. If your pictures were on his site that dagger would be hanging on my wall.

Thats an incredible dagger!

You have to pay for the good stuff....And Tom is one of the good guys...

How come I can't see photos?

Is it like this one?

The posting of the web site is slow, but the merchandise is always first class and as described.