M1918 Au Lion

I would like to add a representitive M1918 Au Lion trench knife to my WW1 collection. I've been considering this one... owner firm on $450 shipped - no scabbard. I've never actually "held" one of these... but I know there are many fakes, so I'd like opinions from anyone with knowledge of these. I've handled US LF&C versions but there seem to be subtile differences, tip for one... doesn't it look like the tip is rounded on this Au Lion ? Rework of a broken tip maybe ? Just dulled by use ? Worth $450 ?

Thanks

Mike

The stamp bothers me personally. At his number I would wait till I found one with a scabbard.

I don't recall ever seeing the stamp of an Au Lion pictured quite so "perfect"... most of the fakes I see pictured look like a cartoon. Originals all seem to show wear from scabbards... and a much lighter image imprint. You could be right... who knows ?

My observations fwiw: blade tip is mis-shapen (re-tipped?), finish on handle looks a little too smooth although the stamping looks correct or pretty close to it and the shape looks right. If I remember correctly, the Au Lions had a coarser,rougher almost peppered finish (might be just the picture). The nut appears to be o.k. The blade looks dark or blued; should be bright. The Au Lion stamp looks like it might be o.k. and one of the most complete if legit.Price is too high in my opinion.
All in all, I'd say it could be good, but I'd have to make a side by side comparison to tell for sure.
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I just noticed the grooves on the top of the grip... I saw several antique militaria dealers saying on their web pages that these grooved handles have yet to be faked (type 2) so all are original ? Wonder if that's correct ?

I've seen one or two that had the grooves that I thought were questionable.

Alas... where there is a will, there is a way. I passed on this one, price too high for what it is... or isn't. I'd rather spend more for one in better condition with a scabbard. Thanks for the advice.