I have a real hard time swallowing this story....why would TW jeopardize his reputation selling something like this? and it says clearly on his site..money back guarantee on all items.....sorry, not buying it. If it was not for Tom W, more than half of us would not be in this great hobby....I agree, chains are being yanked here.
Patrick,
I'm sorry you don't believe my story but its 100% true, I don't know why Mr. Wittman would do that to me either. I assume he saw an opportunity to unload a POS parts dagger on an unsuspecting beginner. I guess he dose not realize that in the modern internet age collectors can now communicate and share opinions and ideas in real time. His scams and dishonesty went undetected in the 70's and 80's when collectors were limited by only having catalogs.
Thankfully today we have wonderful forum communities where people like Mr. Wittman can be held to account for their dishonesty and misdoings.
As for your statement "If it was not for Tom W, more than half of us would not be in this great hobby..." The truth is Mr. Wittman's lack of integrity almost ran me out of this hobby before I even got started. I can only say that if it were not for JR at Meda Militaria I would not be in this great hobby...
Kevin.
That dagger is very obviously the sum of repaired or distressed parts and it should not take much experience to notice that.
Put up his name if you want
Dave
Dave, you are correct it was "very obvious" but at the time I had NO EXPERIENCE. I was a complete beginner and was totally relying on what I thought was an honest and forthright dealer. I have since purchased every book on SS daggers I can find (including Wittman's fantastic books) and read and reread every post on this and other forums.
Hi Marvin,
I'm glad you got this mess sorted out and had the tenacity to keep going and bag a quality SS dagger for your collection.
I would like to ask you if Tom Wittmann put this obviously bad dagger up on his website fully described, or did he offer it to you before it had gone up for public scrutiny on his site?
Regards
Will
Will, I don't know if this dagger was ever listed on Mr. Wittman's site. This transaction was conducted via the phone. In my ignorance I purchased this dagger "sight unseen" with his assurances that it was a good "investment piece" I would be happy with.
I would truly like to thank all of the very kind and knowledgeable members on this site that took the time to help and guide me as I took my first steps into this field of collecting. To all of Tom's friends and supporters here that have called my integrity into question, I think its time you contact Mr. Wittman and get him to explain to the community why he felt it was ok to take advantage of a inexperienced beginner collector. I'm sure I wasn't the first or the last...
On a much happier note I would like to show off some of the wonderful daggers that I have been able to collect with JR's help. I can not say enough good things about JR and his son Kris at Meda Militaria. If anyone out there is considering entering into this hobby I would highly recommend contacting Meda Militaria. They are honest and good men who will take the time to help educate and guide you.
Group Marked Early SS Dagger by Herder -
Eickhorn M33 Featured in Tom Wittman's fantastic book "Exploring the Dress Daggers and Swords of the German SS" -
Werner Thoms Type A M36 SS No. 1232 -
Early SS B1 Chain Dagger -