Cool dagger Andy,
I have always liked that trademark - very bold. The dagger itself looks to be in great shape and well taken care of.
You are right - it is an early production dagger.
Dave
Total winner top to bottom showing all early production and craftmanship as Dave said by this firm.
A good solid example.
Regards Larry
Really nice early dagger well done.
Thanks for the replies glad you guys like it, I held out for quite a long time for this one to come along as I wanted a nice example of an early type I was almost tempted several times to impatiently buy less expensive but more worn examples to scratch the collector itch but I now realise it's far wiser to wait for the better examples of any dagger type and spend a little more money, it's far more satisfying and in the long run a better investment. This forum is teaching me a lot and the knowledge is improving my collection.
Many thanks, Andy.
Andy,
Great strategy. After a false start or two, I decided that I would buy the absolute best that I could find of what I really wanted. Something that would not need upgrading.
Dave
I bought an NSKK out of the woods that the owner acquired in Stuttgart.
I recall the motto and trademark were as black as black could be.
I'm a new member to the forum, so naturally I'm trying to get familiar with some of the posts. I have a Malsch & Ambronn SA dagger like the one in this post. (No pictures yet, but I promise to get around to taking some and posting them soon). The dagger was obtained from the estate of a friend who passed away.
I am so new to this collecting hobby that I am still in the earliest stages of learning. I've diligently read everything online that I can, and searched online sites for examples of other daggers and their values. I do understand that fakes can be sophisticated, so I have to careful, and I understand that subtle differences in condition can change the value. Finally, I am aware that there is a hierarchy of "rarity" in manufacturers marks, which also affects value. I have heard that a McSarr rating is one approach, but I have not yet figured how to get my hands on a copy.
So my question is about the scarcity of Malsch & Ambronn. I have the impression, based on some prices, that this manufacturer is pretty rare, and therefore more costly. Can anyone enlighten me about Malsch & Ambronn specifically, and any other manufacturers, in general, and how I would go about learning about rarity and its impact on value?
Glenn
Hello there Eagle and welcome to GDC
Malsch & Ambron is a 4 out of 10 with 1 being the rarest. Cool trademark too. It must have sat in the Acid forever to get such a deep and bold mark.
Dave
I once had a M&A NSKK and the motto and trademark jumped out at you they were so dark.
Thanks very much for that quick feedback. Yes, I think the trademark on my dagger is fairly dark. However, the motto on the blade seems lighter.
Is there a way to get a copy of the MCSARR rarity list? Happy to pay a fair price for it, just don't know where to look. I think it would help me understand more about markings and rarity before I attempt to collect another dagger.
Thanks again. Glenn
Thanks very much for that quick feedback. Yes, I think the trademark on my dagger is fairly dark. However, the motto on the blade seems lighter.
Is there a way to get a copy of the MCSARR rarity list? Happy to pay a fair price for it, just don't know where to look. I think it would help me understand more about markings and rarity before I attempt to collect another dagger.
Thanks again. Glenn
Hi Glenn,
I am also still learning but having said that I think even the really experienced collectors here would say that you never actually stop learning in this hobby. As for SA motto's being dark and sharp I would say is mostly down to how much the blade has been cleaned and polished it doesn't take much to wear the dark burnishing away, so never! put metal polish to it I would only use a light coat of Renwax allow it to dry and wipe away being careful not to rub the motto hard it will preserve the steel and just about anything else I found out about Renwax here and have found it to be excellent for light cleaning of dirt and dust and for protection, don't use oil. Another thing I did with mine but I don't recommend anyone tries it unless they are very confident and have the right tools and know how was to remove the throat and clean the internal brass scabbard runners, the blade would scrape and grind into the scabbard before but after doing this work it now glides in and out like silk I got a lot of crud and grit of those runners that had built up over the years. But again DON'T!!! try it unless you know you can do it properly.
Regards, Andy.
PS: I think the McSarr scale can be downloaded somewhere but you will have to pay for it, if SA daggers are your thing though it would be well worth it.
Malsch & Ambrown have IMO some of the darkest and most beautiful burnishing on their blades. Yours unfortunately appears to be over cleaned but is still in decent condition. It appears that rubbing on the scabbard interior fittings has contributed as well. To get a copy of the MCSARR contact the author Mike McAlvanagh who participates on this forum.
Jim
Dave you are right in that they are a 4 on the Mc Sarr list but 10 is the rarest and 1 is the most common