Early SA dagger produced by Haenel C.G.

[truthless]

Hi guys, hope everyone is doing well. I bought this SA dagger, would love your opinions on it. I want to also ask, it seems like the Sa gau mark is on the wrong side, and the cross guard step looks a bit skew or different from one side to the other, would it be better to leave it as it is, or should I turn the cross guard around? I know there are very mixed feelings about disassembly of daggers, but what do you guys think?

It's my first dagger so new to this

[Finngaill]

You can open it and turn that crossguard around, it do not do any harm to his dagger. It is messed already, that grip is not made by Haenel.

Here is example how look orginal Haenel grip

20200807_184805.jpg

[Schlange]

Yes, fitings of crossguard and handle looks strange.


Schlange

My collection

https://zbiralci.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=21196

[Br. James]

Hi truthless; welcome among us! I wish I could add some good news, but I'm sorry that I can't... I must agree with our two colleagues here. And while I always state that no one should ever dis-assemble a dagger, Finngaill is absolutely right here: This piece has already been messed with so, being careful not to do any damage, the lower crossguard should be turned around. And the stamped code on the lower crossguard is not a "gau mark;" it is the order code indicating the SA Group that this piece was created for.

Hope this is helpful. It's good to have you here!

Br. James

[Bulldog]

Hope you can get your money back. This is what happens when parts are sold, someone gets ripped off with a crappy put together piece. It is happening right now on e-stand.

Russ.

[truthless]

Thanks for everyone replying. I had my suspicions that the handle is different than the maker but I got the dagger at a very low price so it's not too bad for me. Thanks again for everyone's replies

[Br. James]

Bulldog is absolutely right: "This is what happens when parts are sold, someone gets ripped off with a crappy put together piece." A number of the dealers advertise and sell "parts" for daggers, swords, etc. Where do people think those "parts" wind up? As Bulldog illustrates, those "parts" become the makings for what is known in the hobby as "Frankensteins!" "Parts daggers!" And what happens to those "parts daggers?" When someone spots a piece and identifies it as a "Frankenstein," no one wants it! So the person who innocently tried to improve a dagger by switching in a different blade or a grip or a crossguard -- with the intention of getting rid of a dagger part that was stained or scratched or cracked or broken -- by adding a replacement piece that is in much better condition, you wind up with a "parts dagger" that NO ONE WANTS. So, regardless of how poor the condition of the original piece is, please don't try to improve it by replacing a part. It never helps, and the resultant piece is forever corrupted.

IMHO,

Br. James