UBB.threads Forums Edged Weapons Miscellaneous Dagger Forum Teno Hewer

Fellow collectors,
In the past I've shown a few of my clean daggers, but I'm not ashamed to say I have a few salty ones too. Here is my Teno Em Hewer I picked up a few years back. This ole gal was rescued from west of the Mississippi river out of a shed wrapped in a towel in a duffel bag. As you can see it retains about 3% of the nickle plating on the hilt & pommel. This is the only one of these I have in my collection and what I paid reflected the condition having only paid about 15% of what a clean one goes for. I could kick myself as I missed one of these about three weeks ago for $180.00... yes you're reading this right, 180 bucks, and it was in beautiful condition being the opposite of this one with about 3% of the nickle missing. Anyway, all that being said the scabbard is in decent shape, the blade is almost perfect, the handles have no cracks, and the hanger is missing the other side of the snap which is par for these hangers. I actually thought about taking it to a jeweler to have the fittings and handle re-nickled, but after thinking about it, it goes against everything I believe in... Enjoy the pictures.

Rich

Few more pics.

Great Teno Rich,, looking a little bit salty but authentic. It amazes me that the Teno and the Rad hewer have some common characteristics. Tell us about that wood sculpture with the holes in it. What was that? Larry

Rich,

A very nice piece despite the plate loss. I don't know that I've seen a hewer with this much loss, it's near complete but doesn't detract from the other attributes. The dentless scabbard with really nice blade & very serviceable hanger, this piece has a lot to like.

Hi Larry,
This wooden center piece is hand made and I can only guess the holes are from perhaps pins or maybe engraved medal plaques. It's an interesting item none the less.

Billy,
I agree, I don't think I ever saw one with this much plate loss either, but for the price I had to have it considering the rest is in decent shape. When I talked to the guy that found it in the shed, he told me when he unrolled it from the towel there was a perfect imprint of the dagger in the towel and a hand full of plating crumbs. When I received it, you couldn't tell what the hilt looked like. It was covered with curled up pieces of plating, like an old hood ornament in a junk yard. It was only after using a very fine brass bristle brush I was able to see the detail of the eagle and the emblem in the eagles talons. She's the definition of salty but a keeper till one better comes along.

Thanks guys

Rich

One of my favorite daggers or hewers. Why is acceptable to refinish a car to it's original glory but not a dagger? I understand the whole original thing but I would like to see it as it was presented 70 years ago as long as it an original.. JMO

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Beautiful knife, with a typically poor plating on the pomel and guard.

The blade is still in decent shape and I think that's the most important part of any dagger. Also the scabbard seems to be in a fairly good condition. So this dagger isn't bad at all.

Danny

As always, Thank you all for your kind words and respected opinions.

I would like to touch base on Den70's comment about "typical poor plating". When these hewers were plated, like all other Third Reich edged weapons, they had an amazing finish. It wasn't a poor job at all but more an underlying problem of the base metal being "pot metal".

Pot metal, also known as, white metal or die-cast zinc, is a colloquial term that refers to alloys that consist of inexpensive, low-melting point metals used to make fast, inexpensive castings.

There is no scientific metallurgical standard for pot metal; common metals in pot metal include zinc, lead, copper, tin, magnesium, aluminium, iron, and cadmium. The primary advantage of pot metal is that it is quick and easy to cast. Due to its low melting temperature, 419 °C (786 °F) no sophisticated foundry equipment is needed and specialized molds are not necessary. It is sometimes used to experiment with molds and ideas before using metals of higher quality. Pot metal was used for things like toys, furniture fittings, and automotive parts.

Pot metal can be prone to instability over time, as it has a tendency to distort, crack, shatter, fatigue, and pit with age. The low boiling point of zinc and the fast cooling of the newly-cast part often allow air bubbles to remain within the cast part, weakening the metal. Many of the components of pot metal are susceptible to corrosion from airborne acids and other contaminants, "and the internal corrosion of the metal often causes the decorative plating to flake off".

This is why you can see on Teno leader, Teno Em, Rad leader, and Rad Em what appear to be air bubbles under the finish. Of course, the way the item has been cared for over the last 70 years will also have a huge impact on the way it looks but as stated this hewer was rescued from a shed out west, and from the looks of it , it may have been there for some time.

I would also like to note, pot metal is not magnetic, and when it comes to at least Rad Em's, there were two base metals utilized. The dark Rad on the right is an Eickhorn with a silver finish and has a steel guard and pommel assembly (magnetic), while the other Rad, a Boker has a pot metal guard assembly like the Teno in the middle, and have nickle finishes.

Thanks again,

Rich

Nice lineup of hewers!

Excellent Rich,, Very good solid proof! Makes sense , since I have seen the same things on Army crossguards. Larry