UBB.threads Forums Edged Weapons SA & NSKK Dagger Forum What would cause this??

At first I thought it was "in and out" wear on the spine, but when you look closely you can see that it is a mis-shapen makermark etch. Especially if you look at the lines that make up the oval.
Impropperly applied stencil? Fake?
This pic. comes from Manions SA section

For me this looks like the fragile etch pattern for the makersmark had been applied at the blade and afterwards something had wiped across the spine of the blade and did this minute harm to the mm. The etch pattern was not controlled any more and etched this way. IMO nothing to worry about.

Thanks for posting this pic Johhny V. I always find it interesting to see these imperfections. The wax templates were very fragile, so it didn't take mach to damage them. The example you posted shows the scraping and removal of wax to the symbol, creating an etched line, and a smudge to the wax over the oval preventing the acid etching.

Red

I agree with wotan .

I think you are wrong. This is the rare long-haired female version of the centaur.

Now thats funny!!!I would agree with Wotan as well.

Thanks for the input guys. I thouhgt it as kind of interesting, worth a look anyway.

Yes Johnny V. That kind of stuff is always interesting to me.Thats the kind of thing that scares off some guys.Interesting stuff indeed

The key to evaluating anomalities like this is the condition of the rest of the dagger. Faulty templates are not as common as mottos that run uphill or downhill, but both did happen.

If the rest of dagger is correct, then their is little to worry about. If there are other red flags, then be very careful.

Dave