UBB.threads Forums Edged Weapons Army, Navy, and Luftwaffe Forum WKC mark?

Hey Guys, What do you think of this maker mark? A buddy of mine is thinking about buying this dagger and wants opinions! Thanks, Wagner

Here's the picture.

This is the mark which also occurs on spurious flyer´s general degens. I cannot remember having seen this certain mark on a doubtless pre mai45 edged weapon.
Also the proofmark (bird with M) looks somehow spurious to me, not what I have seen on other daggers.
The spare of the scabbard arrest spring does not look proper fitted.
The proofmark, if right, would put the dagger into the period between the wars. Not totally my period.
Why don´t you show us the whole dagger?

The WKC TM is 100% period often appearing on police bayonets and I have also seen it before on early Navy daggers and hirschfangers. The spring appears to be a replacement.

Houston, I know what you are saying about the WKC mark, but this one looks a little too large and the design is a little off to me. I wonder? Also, the spring slot is not typical in shape. I would have to see the rest of the dagger to give an opinion.
Ron Weinand
Weinand Militaria

Yes, Houston hit it right on the head! An early Naval! Wagner

Guys, I don't know Naval daggers. Posting this for
a friend. I Welcome ALL your opinions. Thanks, -wagner-

While looking for navy's, I've noticed several different styles of the plain WKC knights head trademark and I remember asking Tom Wittmann and he thought it was used somewhere around the 1920's. Hope this helps.

In fact this type stamp was used up until the early 30's on a number of pieces. Like Eickhorn WKC used a number of TM stamps and their use was not confined to an exact time frame. This tends to freak out some collectors who require all their items to conform to "textbook" standards--and many Navy daggers as well as a multitude of other things do not conform 100%. Many hardly conform at all but they are still period. "Textbook" seems to have become a "guide word" requirement with many collectors. IMO this is getting out of control.It's too easy and in many cases it's not valid at all. Think about it--What is labeled as textbook and illustrated in books --is OPINION. Look at Atwood's book-look at the textbook stuff in there. It ain't right in MANY cases. You can't just go by the books-They are a TOOL-not a bible as some think. Show me a book--I'll show you some mistakes!! JMO of course.

This is very true with many other items we all collect no matter what it is. For instance I've bought a few early Rolex that were not in any rolex books and I've got plenty of books. Here's one better,A major GTO collector bought a silver Judge down south from the second owner and I saw it a week later. I told him the paint was original and he was told it was not. I said call GM and give them the vin, he did and they only had one in production in peruvian silver. The rest of production was that intense orange color. Guess what, it wasn't in any book. If we were to put everything about a collectible into a book it probably would be as tall as a two story home!

The “droop wing” style Kriegsmarine acceptance stamp (Abnahmestempel) is entirely consistent with the time period Houston cited. And this particular example of an issue dress sidearm für Unteroffizier mit Portepee with the knot still attached, even with a replacement spring, (IMO) would be a very desirable example to have. Being much harder to find than the private purchase ones. FP

Can somebody please go into a little detail as to why this is a replacement spring and why as Ron says "the spring slot is not typical in shape", perhaps a side by side comparison if it's possible would be advantageous. I'm not a navy collector so I need the education, it's so easy to gloss over the small discrepencies which are so important.

Thanks

Gary

The spring usually fills almost the entire slot. The slots vary in length-in width a bit also and so the correct springs are different too-- according to manufacturer and even time of manufacture. Replacement springs have been available in the past but they all seemed to be short ones and when installed on those daggers with longer slightly wider slots--are not long enough/wide enough to fill the entire slot.This spring seems too short and improper for the dagger. This is not too big a deal IMO-the dagger is still a good one and scarce with the Navy property stamp.

Thanks Houston, I looked at my one and only Navy and can see what you mean now.

Gary

I want to thank you gentlemen on all your knowledge and imput on this Navy dagger. -wagner-