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That doesn't look like a Holler crossguard to me. Maybe it's just the photo.

Maker mark as well as the tang does not look right to me.

I must admit I dont like it either, but if indeed this is a fake it is a damn good one.
The cast line on the pommel is poor, the grip looks almost as though it is varnished or laquered although it could be my cra**y works PC, TM & tang look funky, although much better than the normal poor attempts at the Holler thermometer, swirl pattern to scabbard too well defined, and would have to see the eagle from a frontal shot to settle it for me!.

Grip looks painted. I bought a dag that had the same great looking grip , but in real life the thing was junk.See if it comes apart, usually the BS dags are glued shut! on the pommel. If the crossguard is wrong dont even waste your time with a red flad dag.

I too didn't think the guard looked quite right. The tang is also a little odd looking to me, thought I haven't seen a lot of Holler tangs.

I'd be careful.

While I was online, I could not help but jump in on this one. The dagger has many problems:

As the rest of you mention, the crossguard is not quite right. It has the head of a the common Holler crossguard and the body and wings of a generic B. If if it real it is a new guard that has not been documented before - not likely.

The second problem I see is the blade. It has a tapered tang. Early Holler Armies with tapered tangs are some of the best that will ever be encountered, and they all seem to have one constant characteristic. The graining in the center segment runs vertically down the blade. I cannot overstate their quality. Holler continued with this vertical center graining characteristic for a while even after the tapered tangs went away. They are truly beautiful. The graining on this dagger is crude and runs across the blade - completely wrong for a Holler of this period. Also, the blade segments look too rounded. Wrong Wrong Wrong.

The Pommel is not the type listed in Wittmann's book for a Holler. Strike Three.

Add it all up and it spells "run."

This is an interesting repo! These guys did some homework but still couldnt pull it off! Best I have seen though.(has that tatletale goofy too even brand new background patia look) Still the closest attention I have seen to match "maker specific details" Wonder who made this one? Kevin.

With all the attention on graining, I thought I would bring this string back to the top and insert a photo of a correct Holler blade with a tapered tang. I also brought forward my quote from earlier in the string.

quote:

The second problem I see is the blade. It has a tapered tang. Early Holler Armies with tapered tangs are some of the best that will ever be encountered, and they all seem to have one constant characteristic. The graining in the center segment runs vertically down the blade. I cannot overstate their quality. Holler continued with this vertical center graining characteristic for a while even after the tapered tangs went away. They are truly beautiful. The graining on this dagger is crude and runs across the blade - completely wrong for a Holler of this period. Also, the blade segments look too rounded. Wrong Wrong Wrong.

Graining is another tool we can use to spot a fake. Correct Holler with tapered tang follows:

The maker mark is way wrong. Always look for the many wee "degree" marks on Ford's thermometer, the repro mark is also too coarse, see the fine definition on Ford's star.