UBB.threads Forums Edged Weapons Hunting, Forestry, and Shooting Forum ALCOSO forester

I recently got this early brass hilted ALCOSO forester high grade (gilded portepee). I carefully took away the portepee to do this certain photographs and believe me, it will come exactly the same way back on the dagger .
The scabbard fittings are gilded iron.
It is interesting to examine the fine and rich hand ciseling of parts of the hilt and naturally the crossguard.
Also for notice is the certain kind of ferrule enhancment, this dagger type often comes with a much more simple ornament.
WKC did have a similar model.
For this fine dagger I would look for a hanger/shoe and I would also take more of these hangers ;), see my wanting add.
Regards,

I forgot to add: grips are pure ivory.

Wotan,

WOW! Where did you find that one? Top notch hand work is evident all over and on the ferrule as well. In super condition. Congratulations!

As Always Wotan, a simply exquisite example of which we would all be proud. Many congratulations
Paul

Very good looking Wotan!
Pleasure to look at!

Wotan,

Beautiful to see pieces in this condition, surely what collecting daggers is all about!

Best!

W~

Wotan,

Truly a collectors dream. Your photographs are also terrific.

Sincerely,
HUBERTUS

Thank you for looking and your kind words which show me that you do appreciate this dagger as much as I do. It is a pleasure to study them and their vast mass of details.
And very kind and helpful collector friends already contacted me to get the proper shoe for this nice one! Perhaps when all is together there will be another pic
Best regards,

Wotan

Without doubt a fine example of a beautiful hirschfänger, when they have this much gilt finish on them the are a wonder, your collection is one of the best and this piece fits right in with all the other stunning pieces.
It never ceases to amaze me how most collectors still shun these types, seems daft to me when the variety is just about never ending.

Cheers

Gary

Gorgeous hirschfanger. I have always wanted one of these, even more so looking at the condition of that one.
Congratulations Wotan, splendid piece.

Wotan, that piece would stand out in any hirschfanger collection. They truly are a work of art. James

Wotan,

A stunning example to say the least. The gilding on this piece appears to be flawless. This would be the pride of any collection. I understand your looking for a hanger, that might be tough finding one in perfect condition to match this top shelf piece.

Thanks for showing.

Rich

Really great Piece that a Master chiseler spent ALOT of time on! Thanks for showing..Kevin.

Thank you all for looking and your detailed comments.
Two true gentlemen from this forum helped me in a very generous way so I now can present this certain dagger with a fully matching shoe plus hanger. As promised I attached the high service portepee exactly the same way it has been attached for 60+ years.
Many thanks to WWII and Baz69, best regards,

Beautiful Wotan-a superb addition to an immaculate collection!!!

Paul

Wotan,

Spectacular, The portepee and hanger look great.

Very nice looking piece.

Rich

Wotan,

It sure looks nice all dressed up! Great job!

Wotan

I hope you do not mind the addition of this piece, Alcoso made such a great variety of forestry patterns.

Gary

Au contraire! I appreciate your input and even more when I can look at such a wonderful forest dagger. Much more ornate than mine. Look at the lower scabbard fitting! A lot of chiseleur´s work here to examine. and the boar head clamshell I have not seen on this type of forester (I only know them from the WKC deluxe models).
I think also to see is that this model (like mine here) has a more straight grip than most other forest daggers. Imo this is a more ancient look I like very much.
Thank you for showing!
Regards,

Wotan

I've had these pieces for years and never noticed the straighter grips, I think Alcoso made some great deluxe patterns, the hand finishing on these is some of the best I have seen.
This piece is a fair bit shorter and came with the knot, a bit of a throwback to an earlier period I think.

Gary

Baz69, wonderful late ALCOSO lower grade, obviously with aluminium grip but nevertheless superior quality. The trademark is stamped, is it?

My lower grade ALCOSO of mid period (also aluminium grip fitting) is of frustrating simple quality and appearance. I nearly don´t dare to show it in this thread of very ornate daggers. Interestingly it has the (for this period) more common slightly more bent grip form. Glad I could point out something new to you, concerning the more straight looking grip of the other shown daggers.

Concerning the portepee, I think it is only missing the thread which does form the common uniting of the bottom circle. This because of the corpus which still can be noticed in the mid of the portepee. Earlier forms does not have this corpus. Perhaps this was done during the period to resemble the earlier period manner as you stated.

Regards,

Thought I would add this latest addition to my Alcoso family, the same pattern as my last one posted but in my opinion even later in the war when materials were very scarce, this one is without any acorns on the grip at all, not even a blade washer, it lacks a few refinements, the gilt is also a bit lighter but mostly still there on the dagger, the scabbard hasn't faired as well with a little less gilt than the dagger but still quite nice,the scabbard is leather with a steel base, not unusual for a war time piece especially by Alcoso. I've pictured it against the other version I have to show you the variations that can be found. he Riccasso is a little longer which moves the etch down the blade a little, one is distributor marked and the other isn't, there is a lack of hand finishing on my new piece but that isn't surprising at this time, I suspect that the man power in the factories was at a low point when this was made, I would estimate at 1942 or possibly into early 1943.

Gary

Gary, Wotan,

One can really get lost in looking at all the photos, those are some fine Hirschfänger you gents have posted, many thanks.

Gary, your camera skills have grown by leaps and bounds ... it seems you get good at anything you put your mind to, eh?

G's latest example without the grip acorns really has a great look to it, that wonderful early look of some of the rivited-grip, imperial bayonets.

Wotan, what you pointed out about the straighter grips is well taken, a good observation, very nice!

Nothing better than a beautiful stag-horn grip - either slab-sided or a single unit. Textures and colors beyond belief, much as the wooden grips of the outstanding SA daggers.

Best!

W~

Baz69, a very ornate hunting dagger in desirable condition you got.
Please, can you do a clear photograph of the mm of the specimen without the acorns on the grip plates?

Already the one WITH the acorns has the latest trademark of Alexander Werk Solingen and still has the ornate appearance.

Regards,

Hi Wotan

Same maker mark as the other piece, the wartime AWS.This piece lacks a little of the quality of the other one but still it is one of the most deluxe that they made at the time.

Thanks

Gary

Gary, Just bring all of the above to the SOS, table M 35. It does not get any better than seeing all these fine examples. Truly works of art. James

Baz69, thank you for the additional pic. Yes, also the latest ALEXANDER-WERK (Alcoso) trademark.
Regards,

As usual, Gary, Fantastic!

On the lighter side, I can see a headline in the Daily Mail: "Burglar Stabbed 187 Times, Each with Different Knife"

Dave

It would only be 147 times.

Cheers

Gary

Add in your Eickhorns and you are now up to 294.

John

Aah I had forgotten the Eicks, your probably close with that figure John,

Gary