UBB.threads Forums Edged Weapons Miscellaneous Dagger Forum Any funny stories about how you got your daggers?

Unfortunately, I have no photos of my daggers but I still have the story. About 30 years ago, I was friendly with a fellow collector who was in the process of selling his dagger collection. I bought a few from him. While going through his files, I saw a card with "Diplomat Dagger" on it. My friend said he never did follow up on this dagger and I could have the card if I liked. I took the card and called the number the next day. I made arrangements to see the dagger the following day. I went to the address in downtown Jersey City. It was a Spanish chicked market. I asked the owner about the dagger and he said there it is, take a look. I couldn't see it at firts but after looking HARD, I saw it hanging on a wall COVERED BY CHICKEN FEATHERS. After taking off the feathers I found it wasn't a Diplo, but a Gov't official-withhangers. BOTH were in MINT condition-I guess kept from harm by the feathers. I paid the man the great sum of $400.00, which I thought was a lot at the time, and went home with my treasure. Unfortunately, 25 years ago, after kicking an alcohol & cocaine habit, I had to sell my entire collection in order to get myself out from behind a financial 8Ball that we substance abusers get ourselfs into. Now, 25 years later, I'm still clean & sober BUT I SURE WISH I had that dagger back(along with the other 50 some odd daggers that were also sold. ANY OTHER FUNNY STORIES OUT THERE?????
PS-if I find any phtos of my collection I'll post them. Peace, Mark

Not a dagger but a bayonet story:
I asked an older woman if she had anything military wise she'd sell. She told me she had a bayonet and went back into her house to retrieve it. A few minutes later she came back out dragging something behind her. Oh she had a bayonet alright. What she had neglected to tell me initially was it was mounted on a Dutch Beaumont rifle!

Now for a dagger story:
I bought a dagger from someone who made the usual claim of "taking it off a dead German". This "German" must have been in multiple branches of the military as it had a Luftwaffe pommel, a Navy grip and the shortened(Army?) blade was housed in an Army dagger scabbard! I wish I had taken pictures before I sold if off to a fellow collector for parts.
Jim

Back in the late 1970s, I got a call from a local pawn shop that they had bought an unusual dagger. I went to see it: a long shooting association blade and scabbard on which someone had put a mix of parts. I think there was a LW cross guard and some other handle. But surmounting the mix was a SA Feldherrnhalle hilt cap. Damn. It was real as rain and numbered. I bought the mix for $100 and called Joey P. I ended up with a beautiful Schupo shako with black plume. And Joe's brother had the top for his FH dagger.

Trying to think how the parts would be mixed like that, the only logical explanation was that a group of guys were together relaxing over there and decided to clean their souvenirs? Or perhaps the vet got into a factory and assembled his own dagger from odds 'n ends.

A FELLOW WALKED INTO A LOCO GUN SHOW AND SOLD A FRIEND OF MINE A MINT AND I MEAN MINT DAMASK SA HIGH LEADER BLADE.EIKHORN.HE PAID $100.00 F0 IT. MY FRIEND TOLD ME I COULD HAVE IT FOR WHAT EVER JOE PANKOWSKI OFFERED. JOE OFFERED $3500.00 AND I PASSED. I COULD KICK MYSELF FOR NOT BUYING IT.NO JOKE, ASK JOE. SA BLADE, ARMY HANDLE,PROTOTYPE POMELL, NO SCABBARD. THIS WAS ABOUT 15 YEARS AGO.

Got one of my triplets advantageous as the former owner was told by "experts" he has a fake as a period dagger never could be so new......
Regards,

A neighbour of mine was a 8th army vet , whose ex wife was a german national  . he told me lots of stories about german kids comiing to the base selling nazi items , an how you could have a woman for a bar of chocolate etc . but he never had no war booty cos when he got back to the uk he dumped it over the side of the troop ship . imagine my surprise when not long after he passed away , his son called to my mothers house an asked if i still collected this nazi junk an gave her a navy dagger early wkc with sailing ship blade ,personalised Hans papenhusen plus a parade Bayonet with a Leibstandarte Knot on .the son said if i didnt want them , just bin them !

Not a dagger but a great story I love to tell concerning Herman Goring's baton.

For the last two years I've experimented with running classified, display ads and Motel buys.

I get a message on my cell " My name is Karl and my father is LT Warren Eckberg and he brought back Herman Goring's baton. I don’t have the baton but I do a piece of HG silver would you be interested??"

I thought the guy was pulling my leg so I called him back and he starts telling me the story of how dad brought it back...As he's telling me the story I recalling it from a book I have. So I go in my office and pull the book and there is part of a chapter on the baton. I asked him is name again and just like the book... That got my attention then.

I still don’t believe the "story" so I drive an hour to his house and met with him. I asked to see his driver's license... He laughed and showed it. He is the only son of Warren.

He had all of his dads medals and certificates, and a small silver shot glass with the gloved fist that was Goring's family crest.

He also had original newspaper clippings of when WARREN got in a bit of trouble with the FEDS.. The way he tells the story (which is not covered in any book) is the FED and the ARMY were going to take it since "WAR BOOTY" cannot have any residual value like the gold and diamonds that were on the baton. They gave him an option of KEEPING the baton IF he paid the taxes on it. Since he just got out of the army he had no income so they took it. According to Karl the taxes were 150.00 in 1946.

He also had 6 of these cups and over the years he and his dad had sold them off and this was the last one.

I did buy the cup (probably OVER PAID) for it along with copies of the certs and some of his original membership cards to "Gentlemen's clubs"...with his name on the back.



I showed him the book his dad is in. He wrote some cool items in there for me and told me in MAY of every year to take the cup fill it with some Kentucky Bourbon and Toast the ALLIED Victory... As his father used to do before he died. Great piece with a great story that I was able to pull out of the woodwork myself to a known TR person and a known "Liberator"...HAHA

Hi Rob,

My Grandfather was also in the 8th army and dumped 2 Hitler youth knives overboard as the ship neared Southampton. They were told if any German items were found in their gear their shore leave would be canceled. As it turns out they never did check. He saw others dump stuff as well. I bet hundreds of daggers were thrown away as ships came in. Sad...heartbreaking almost.

One day I'm reading a dagger book at work.One of the guy's asked about it.I tell him what I collect.Typical story "My friend and and I played with the daggers his father brought home".I told him to ask his friend about them.I'm at a Union meeting and the guy see's me,he has three daggers at home his friend gave to him for me to see.He describes one as a white handle with an eagle head,I think a Dip or Gov't. Well he had a RAD leader with hangers a glass handle Arthur Evertz Army,and a late unmarked Luft.Price $300 to his friend and $100 to him for the find.All about 20 yrs ago.

i am at a garage sale asking about war relics,a fellow over hears me and says he has a a knife at home. i go with him to his house, a few doors down. he looks but cant find it. i show him a book of line drawings of dagger. he spots a 2nd. luft and claims that is what he has. i tell him that if it was in good shape i would give him $200.00 if it had the hanger-$250.00. i go home, he calls says he found the dagger.i go back, he is waiting on the porch with the dagger. before i can say a word he says it has got the hanger and a cord around the handle and i will not take a penny less than 250.00 if i dont have 250.00 hit the road. i pay the $250.00 and drive away- not a very friendly fellow. the dagger was a stone mint teno leader with mint cloth hangers and knot.

Speaking of "not a very friendly fellow", I got a call from a newspaper ad and the guy says he has the top to a Nazi flagpole that he brought home. He says, "I don't know what you want with that Nazi crap, but if you're not prepared to pay $150 for it, don't bother to come"! This was in 1969 or 1970 when that was a high price for something like that. Anyway, I decide to go look at it. What can he do if I don't buy it? Throw me out most likely.
He leads me to the basement into an empty coal bin. There sits a box full of re-bar and the pole top. I told him that he was a very shrewd man and drove a hard bargain, but I would take it for $150. Whaddya think? Did he win, or did I?

He said he found it in a town called Heidenheim. The first picture was taken the day I got it. The flag in the picture is a fake that I already had. The other 2 pics show it at the MAX show (2005?) in Indy shortly before it went back to Europe.