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Oh wise and generous fellows of the forum:
I'm going to an auction next week and they have a couple edged weapons I'd like some advice on.
One if clearly a trench knife. Is there any deadset way to determine if this is a real or fake?
The other is a US bayonet of some type. Garand??
Any help would be very much appreciated!
Attachment 91666
Attachment 91667
Attachment 91668
Yes, the bayonet is the M1 bayonet, offshoot of the 1905 bayonet and made specifically for the M1 rifle and continuing use on others that took this blade. Made later in the war after long blades were cut down... This one is American Fork and Hoe...they made lots. The trench knife looks good but I'll let the guys that collect them show you what's real and not...
Thanks, Jim!
That's very helpful.
I'm seeing a huge variance in the price an American Fork and Hoe bayonet has sold for on eBay. What gives? Something to do with the scabbard, maybe?
The trench knife, original or not, is a prohibited weapon here in New Jersey, USA. The AFW M1 bayonet is a common item, I paid US $40.00 for my like new one.
That’s even curiouser. I saw a few go for nearly $400.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom in N.J.
Real or fake, I’ll try to buy the trench knife. If it’s fake, I’ll drop $50 or so to keep it for myself. If it’s real, that changes things considerably haha.
Both of those work. The trench can be neat as a repro if the buck is cheap. The bayonet has some variables but you'd have to show me the expensive one before I can say why...things aren't always what they seem, sometimes bidders are just silly too...Quote:
Originally Posted by rcathey
Here ya go, Jim:
$102 - WWII US M1 Garand Bayonet American Fork and Hoe AFH With Scabbard WW2 | eBay
$355 - WWII US M1 Garand Bayonet American Fork and Hoe AFH With Scabbard WW2 USGI | eBay
The $355 one certainly looks cleaner but does condition matter THAT much?
I couldn't see anything special in either case. The $100 is about right, or even a bit low for around here though...
Just a couple of guys who both decided they needed it. I've seen it happen at live auctions more times than I could count. Thanks for the advice!
I spent an hour or so last night doing all the research I could on the trench knife. At this point in time, based solely on pictures, I'm leaning towards it being authentic. Once I have it in my mitts I'm about 90% sure I'll be able to tell with 90% confidence if it's real or not.
Here's hoping no one else there knows what it is.
I'll keep everyone updated!
I'll be watching...
Well, it was real. A lot of other people knew it too though.Quote:
Originally Posted by browningautorifle
They also had a Nazi proofed Hi Power that was beautiful.
The knife went for $1,200 and the HP went for $975.
I think there was still some meat on the bone for the Hi Power but I just didn’t know enough to risk any more. I went up to $800.
I did get some neat letters and such from WWI. I’ll make a separate post of some of those.
Thanks again for the help!
Too bad you didn't get it. That would have been a nice piece. There'll be more though, keep looking...
Did you buy the trench knife? I have two and by the pictures it looked very real. I have seen the scabbard sell for $500, just the scabbard.
Thanks,
Howard
---------- Post added at 09:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:01 AM ----------
oops! did not see the post from yesterday that answered my question.
No worries! I tried, I really did haha. I am a collector but even $500 is out of my budget for any kind of knife. This would have been a resell item for me and I just didn't see any profit at $1,200.Quote:
Originally Posted by Howard
Guys will pay premium because as we know, good stuff doesn't go down in price. An extra buck spent today will come back tenfold in years to come.Quote:
Originally Posted by rcathey
An investment that matures in ten years doesn’t help me pay my debt 😉.Quote:
Originally Posted by browningautorifle
It was a privilege to just see the items in person and handle them. As always, if only they could talk!
I agree, you have to have money like JP Morgan to be able to sit on these...Quote:
Originally Posted by rcathey
I never saw a trench knife with 1918 embossed two places on one side of the knife.