View Single Post
Old 18th September 2010, 03:20 PM   #5
Hotspur
Member
 
Hotspur's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Nipmuc USA
Posts: 489
Default

Iw as just a toddler back in 1956ish but I had acquired a plastic dagger with a claw and ball pommel that I was quite enamored of. By 1960, I was reading well and brwsing comic books when I spied the same dagger in steel and piercing a coin (oh, so many points have been bent doing that). Just fairly recently and in journey of recapturing some of my youth, I watched to pounce on Ebay for a decently priced one, which I now have in hand and shown below. Some quick snaps and uploads this morning. I am now reminded I should polish some rust beginning and store it out of the sheath..





In the course of looking at Korium and earlier Jowika knives, I came across one collector's cache of several maker marks and variety of these post war alloy fitted knives, some of the claw and ball but other examples such as yours with basically the same blade but fitted more for the sportsmen. I neglected not cataloging and saving those tidbits and my mind is not as it once was that I could easily recant those other makers (aside from Jowika, as it is another I watch). Jowika was pre war and moved to Ireland but some of the German marked examples (especially razors) do surface.

The alloy reflects cheaper production and resources seen in Third Reich swords also beginning to be used under plate. It is actually the sheath as much as the fittings that I would place your's after WWII but I would doubt it to be much earlier than the late 1930s. As you have noted, the blade steel is excellent and in finding mine was pleasantly surprised as to the quality of the steel (takes a blazing sharp edge).

The three most common of the Korium knives on Ebay are also sold even just as the advertisement.



It was in revisiting an favorite American purveyor's site I realized there was one of the maiden form that was being listed as a dug relic. That is a tale and story for another day and that fellow had taken the bait someone else supplied. Still, plated aluminum (or other alloy) should have been recognized before a magazine article ran regarding such a treasure.

Your's looks more purposeful and useful, as mentioned before. The guards are fragile if alloy but even less than superb if just white brass.

Cheers

GC
Hotspur is offline   Reply With Quote