Gents,
I need your opinion on a Richard Abr. Herder long etched bayo.
This pattern is shown on page 218 in Wayne Techet's book.

What do you think: good or bad?
What bothers me is the VERY light etching of the lower "potted plant" bookend motif - see photos.

Thank you in advance.

Janos

More photos

Janos,

The close up pics of the letters show they aren't crisp at all. I'm inclined to be skeptical of it based on that although the shallow potted plant is troubling too. Initially I thought maybe because of wear due to runners but the whole etch seems on the shallow side, right?

At first blush, this looks like the etch found in Wayne's book on page 222 (listed as C near the bottom).

But, a second look shows this etch to differ from the one pictured as it includes the top and bottom borders that are found in the reversed etch pictures (A & B).

The shallowness of the etch and the inclusion of the borders bother me on this one.

John

Billy,
thank you for your reply. You are right, the etch is on the shallow side.
I attached more close ups of the etch.

I am also not sure about the eagle's feet. Every Klaas wide eagle etch that I have seen and every one pictures in Wayne's book has a cross type line inside the feet and the toes. The one pictured does not.

We are getting into the 'three strikes and you're out' area of etch collecting.

Just my opinion, of course.

John

John,
thank you for your reply. I must correct you: the etch is the "A" type - reverse style etch showed in Wayne's book on page 222.
Wayne has a Herder bayo on his site now, but the photos are too small sized for a good examination.
http://www.vonryansexpress.com/Edged_Weapons.htm#HERDER

Does anybody have a Herder bayonet in his collection with this type of etch?

I am still hoping it is not total fake...

Please see additional photos.

Janos

Janos:

Here is my Herder reverse etch.

Sorry, I didn't realize it was the reverse etch, so 2 of my 3 issues go away. The only one left is the shallowness of the etch itself. Could this be because of aggressive cleaning?

John