Dear collector-friends, recently I have seen the following ad (transl.):


De Luxe hunting dagger for upper grade foresters, Höller, Solingen.
Nickled v-notch blade with etched hunting motives, on the reverse an etched makermark „F.W.Höller Solingen“. Gilded hilt with reliefed floral decor. On the clamshell a deer is added. The lower part oft he grip bears the national emblem eagle with swaz´. White bone grip with three acorns on each side. Black leather scabbard with gilded fittings.

Accompanied by the pic below.

As I do look especially for this certain model to complete these models (I do own already the model for lower ranks) I did reflekt if I should buy.
Finally I did not pull the trigger but wonder how you would have acted?
Thank´s for each opinion,
regards,

Wotan I would check the method of construction of this weapon. I believe that heavier, brass based Holler's could be post war. Generally light weight versions with the correct MM are ok. Im sure Gary will correct me if I am wrong!! LOL

Paul

I would have asked about the material it was made from, I suspect from looking at this piece it is based on brass construction, these tend to have that very muted look to them, the blade etch looks right but as Paul says if brass then it's an Atwood piece. If it is brass then it's an outright fake piece and not from the period the hilt suggests, the scabbard fittings are probably steel based with a gilt finish, very common for these post war pieces. These Holler's are a minefield if you do not stick to these simple rules.

Lightweight fitting are OK, Brass fittings are not.

Gary

Ok ok my dear friends, the lupe funktion in the offer did show me a detail I forgot to show you here.

And did you read the description
...on the reverse an etched makermark „F.W.Höller Solingen“...
?
Regards,

Wotan

I missed the etched mark in the description, should be all you need to know, for those looking at this thread downloading the guide that Houston put together will describe what you should be looking for. This should be a good learning tool.

Gary

I have to admit that I wanted to put some eagerness into a thread.
Baz69, be sure Houston´s guide is my "daily bread" concerning hunting daggers.
Now to got even more confusion into the subject:
Investigations resulted in the fact that the DESCRIPTION had been WRONG and the mm is stamped!

Regards,

Wotan

This piece is probably very early around 1937-38 and in my opinion 100% original, I had always thought that Holler would have used Brass early in their manufacturing but until now I had only seen the common Atwood fakes with the etched mark. This should be a very good learning tool for anybody taking the time to read the thread, it also goes to show that nothing is written in stone, this is a textbook piece, if this had the etched mark we know it would be at Atwood post war repro.

Gary

Good info guys, never to old to learn.....please post more pics if you get the piece Wotan!
Paul