WW1 German Trench/Boot knife- Is it Genuine or a Fake

[Flying10uk]

I have this "Trench knife" which I believe to be "private purchase" for use by German soldiers during WW1. The chap who sold it to me, a few years ago, said that he believed it to be genuine but he didn't know a great deal about it and I think that the chap was just trying to sell of some of his collection, not trying to "pull a fast one". The knife appears to be very well made but has had little or no use. I have always had a question mark in my mind since owning this as to if it's what I like to call a "historic reproduction". Any thoughts as to whether or not this a genuine WW1 knife or a more modern repo, please? It would be interesting to know. Thanks

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[browningautorifle]

If you go to this site and have a look, they discuss this very knife. I believe this one to be a current repro...

Pickelhaubes.Com View topic - Imperial German WW1 Fighting Knife

Read down 7 posts. Things like leather virtually untouched, no paint whatsoever, handle made of rosewood...no wear or age to the blade...snap is perfect...

[Aragorn243]

From what I can gather, most are fake. I picked one up a few weeks ago that I'm 95% sure is fake. It is a good one, looks about right and looks nothing like any of the confirmed fakes I could find but it doesn't look like any originals either. Unpainted oak handles. Most fakes have rosewood handles. Scabbard has imitation leather which is a dead giveaway.

[browningautorifle]

This handle almost looks like Mahogany though...not rosewood...hard for me to tell from here.

[Flying10uk]

The "Frog" is real leather but I don't think that the grips are oak; they could be rosewood or some other hardwood. I paid around £70 to £80 for it which probably isn't bad even if a fake. The one thing that made me question it's originality was it's good condition because it seems too good to be WW1. However if it's a fake, it's a very well made, top quality, fake.

[Aragorn243]

I didn't pay that much for mine which is why I bought it. I figured even if it was a fake, it was a good price and I'm not likely to get a real one for what they go for. It also looks a lot better than the known fakes out there.

[Flying10uk]

I also have a WW2 German boot knife of which the dealer had a few at the time; someone different from whom I got the knife in Post 1 from. He was very straight over them because he didn't know if they were real or fake and so he sold them as reproduction, priced accordingly. The dealer did also let me into a "little secret" in that he sourced them from Germany and I decided that the patina would be extremely difficult to fake and so concluded that they were most likely genuine. I will post some pictures at some point when I get round to it.

[tankhunter]

These Fake 'WWI' Fighting Knives have been around for MANY years F10.
I.M.A In the states has LOTS of them in stock!.....

Good as a 'Space Filler'/ example in a blade collection all the same.

[Aragorn243]

Good as a 'Space Filler'/ example in a blade collection all the same.

That's why I kept mine. I'll probably never find an original.

[Flying10uk]

What do you think about the price I paid for mine, Argorn, considering it's most likely a fake, albeit a very well made fake? It was at the end of the day at a Fair and I had to decide there and then but it seemed like a reasonable price even if a fake.