Update*
I decided that I should let everyone know I purchased this dagger from Tom Wittman. I'm not normally the kind of person who vents their frustration on the Internet but I gave Tom a chance to make things right with me but he decided to burn me instead.
After talking with several experienced members here I have been informed that this is not the first time nore am I the first beginner collector that Tom has scammed.
I believe Mr. Wittman knowingly took advantage of a beginner collector by selling me a parts dagger and claiming that it was original. Looking at the photos of this dagger posted above it is clear to see that Tom is a scammer who tried to chump me. I ended up returning the parts dagger that Tom misrepresented but he refused to pay the $70 postage/insurance For me to send his junk dagger back to him.
In truth I think Tom is more interested in making money off of these daggers than he is helping to further the hobby by introducing new people like myself. He was not at all interested in answering my questions and I could tell he just wanted to get off the phone with me.
The kicker is that Tom told me "If I paid return shipping on all the daggers people return to me I would go out of business"
Hello Tom!! If you are selling so much junk that you can't keep up with the volume or expense of all the returns it's time to hang it up buddy.
In closing I want to caution any new collectors and remind the more experienced among us that just because someone puts out a book and calls themselves an "expert" we all need to be on guard against scammers like Tom Wittman.
P.S. I was introduced to JR of
www.medamilitaria.com by a longtime member here. I ended up purchasing a really nice dagger from him and could not be happier with it. He was knowledgable on the subject and most importantly he was willing to spend the time on the phone with me to make sure I purchased the correct dagger for me and my collection. Thank you JR!!!
