Posted 13 years ago
RonM
(126 items)
A friend gave this to me to find out if it was authentic and how much it was worth.There is a piece of the scabboard missing. I believe it to be authentic. I was suprised to find the value of these knives range from four to eight hundred dollars. He paid twenty and laughed at my fifty dollar offer.
Hitler Youth knives are expensive, and they have been reproduced. I had a reproduction of one of these for several years before I traded away most of my WWII stuff for the earlier period I specialized in (yes I traded it as a reproduction). I won't tell you if this one is a replica, because frankly I'm not that good a judge. Is there a manufacturer's mark/code? Does the grip look/feel/smell like modern plastic or the older bakelite or celluloid? It looks like there is no inscription (early ones had the blut und ehre inscription) , and it looks like nickel plate, I am guessing that would be more likely to be original than one with the desirable inscription but cheap chrome plate.
The handle appears to be older type of plastic.The inscription on the other side of the blade reads:M7M3, below a double circle with the letters:RZM inside the circle.
I misspelled German( I may have misspelled misspelled too).
I haven’t seen an RZM code M7M3. Could it be M7/13? I’m including a link that has another link to RZM Codes near the end of the article. The link itself is a very good description of how to tell a real HJ knife from a reproduction. I don’t agree with some of the first paragraph, but the rest is a treasure trove of information:
http://www.lakesidetrader.com/HJlesson.html
While I’m at it, here is another site that tells you how to tell between the old bakelite and newer plastic grips:
http://antiques.about.com/od/bakeliteandplastics/tp/aa041506.htm
I hope this helps
Chris
Thank you Chris
I would say this one is authentic. Sure looks like it is old and was used. Reproductions do not come with a used or aged look. There is another way to tell about the insignia on the grip. I do not remeber exactly. But something about the color.
Be careful-- "good" reproductions are artificially aged to look very close to the originals.
I always heard that many of the Nazi items on the market are repros. I don't collect Nazi, but the same is true of Civil War items now.
Know your collecting area and don't assume an aged item is authentic.
I have no opinion on the authenticity of this youth knife.
Scott
One way to check is the sheath. Authentic ones have a rivet on each side about an inch down from the opening. It also should have a cotton liner. If the sheath is real good chance the knife is. Good luck on finding the truth,only a true collector could tell you what you have.
Thanks for the info guys,I checked a couple of websites and this thing meets the critera of an original(loose nazi emblem,rivets,leather band where hilt meets sheath). I'm not a Furher fan,just sort of stumbled across it.When I went to return it to the owner,he told me to keep it.I wish it was a restored Mill's slot machine from the 30's.