UBB.threads Forums Edged Weapons SS Dagger Forum Dagger for discussion

Dave:
I intend to bring this dagger to the SOS in February so everyone including yourself of course can inspect it first hand. Pictures as we all know have their limitations and I'd personally rather have you,T Wittmann Gailen and anyone else who can contribute look at it first hand.
For the record: J R Meda,the principal detractor, and others such as Peter Costabile have done a hands on inspection of this dagger at my home in the past and none had any issues with it at that time.
See you in February.
Jim

As I noted above, Jim's dagger appears original in all respects to my eye, but has gone through some "spiffing up." No big deal. A Himmler with a bit of restoration work is not an abomination in my philosophy, although others will disagree. The sale price is something to be worked out between the seller and the buyer, as in many transactions. That photos were posted without Jim's knowledge and consent after he specificallly asked that such not be done, is not a good thing.

quote:

Originally posted by Grumpy:
As I noted above, Jim's dagger appears original in all respects to my eye, but has gone through some "spiffing up." No big deal. A Himmler with a bit of restoration work is not an abomination in my philosophy, although others will disagree. The sale price is something to be worked out between the seller and the buyer, as in many transactions. That photos were posted without Jim's knowledge and consent after he specificallly asked that such not be done, is not a good thing.

Thanks Grumpy:
There's an old quote attributred to Henry Ford.
"Never explain: You're friends don't need it and your enemies won't believe you anyway".
Well here I go explaining again:
Attached is the only original picture I can find. It is shown with other daggers from the same collector of which two are older repo honor daggers.From left to right you have the Himmler honor dagger complete with the RZM hanger which was attached to it and still is,a repo honor dagger, a Model 33 transitional and another repo in the box. This picture was taken of a small part of a fairly large the collection as we unpacked it in my foyer many years ago and you are looking at a picture of a picture as this was before my digital camera days.
Again; The collection, some good some bad, was assembled in Germany in the 60s by an American officer. He lost interest and everything was boxed up in trunks in an unheated garage until I bought it.
The Himmler SS dagger had a bad crack in the grip,which I have previously disclosed, and I sent it out to be professionally repaired. The dagger was also quite grungy,NOT patina but dirt, and I did clean the surface at that time. If ANYTHING else was done to the dagger at that time it was done without my knowledge.
The more I look at the scabbard the more I'm beginning to think it was relacquered(NOT Re-anodized as I remember the anodizing was about 100%). However I don't know if this was done before I got the dagger or by the grip restorer.
As an aside: I appreciate the comments I've received privately about the "grilling " I'm getting here but as,I have nothing to hide, I really don't mind other than the time it takes to respond.
And,for those who like ugly, please note the middle belt buckle below the daggers.
Jim

Jim,

As you have backed out of going to SOS, can we see more pictures of your $15,000 Himmler? Close-ups of the front and back of blade and scabbard please ?

Thanks

Dave

DAVE:
You Have Mail.
Jim

Pass on this one there are to many red flags and it looks like a fake

looks fake i would not buy.

Jim cannot make the SOS this year but tells me he might be able to get to the MAX show. Perhaps he can bring it that show.

Dave

I frankly am tired of defending a perfectly good Himmler dagger especially from a unknown fool like the above with 6 posts.
This dagger has been personally examined in hand at my home by multiple senior collectors and dealers including the person who posted the pictures without my permssion. NOT ONE OF THEM has had any problems with the dagger whatsoever except that the blade may have been cleaned at one time. ANYONE is more than welcome to come to my place and do the same.
Anyone posting on this forum is certainly entitled to think whatever the hell they want but this will be my last post on the subject and it's clear to me why many are reluctant to post anything in their collection on forums anymore.
Jim

I don't blame Jim. I sometimes think of posting photos of items in my collection, but always have second thoughts. It's easy to be a "critic" and tear somebody else's collectibles to pieces. Often, it seems, the "critic" has little experience in collecting and a collection, if any, that doesn't come close to that being displayed, or pieces thereof. This hobby should be shared and collectors should respect one another and their collections. No doubt, there are times when criticism and debate are in order, especially when opinions are sought. To be fair, compliments are often seen on the site, but negative comments are often uninformed and overly harsh in their tone.

Well said Grumpy!

Best regards,

An old one from the archives. It's worth reading.

Dave

Often, it seems, the "critic" has little experience in collecting and a collection, if any, that doesn't come close to that being displayed, or pieces thereof. To be fair, compliments are often seen on the site, but negative comments are often uninformed and overly harsh in their tone.

That's 5000 years of human nature at work. The InterNet is just it's most recent iteration. Every item and comment just needs to stand on it's own.

I too am loathed to put too many items on the forum due to the fact some members would rather criticise than be objective with there comments.when asked what do I collect ,I like to say that I specialise in collecting daggers,not that I am an expert on the subject.maybe if we all adopted that attitude and was happy to give constructive levels of OPINION and considered the collectors position a bit more we would all benefit by seeing more items.As for this dagger and topic I feel I do not have enough experience to give too may constructive comments but as far as I can see the guy is trying to be as transparent as possible so let's give him a bit of a break.my only other comment is he has offered hands on and we all know this is the only true test.From there on we trust our gut instinct with the knowledge we are armed with.
Dippy