Restoring the HJ knife motto

[jancz3rt]

Hi guys,

I wanted to ask the following questions:

1. Were the "Blut und Ehre!" mottoes etched and then darkened with a paint of some sort - if so, what was that paint material?

2. If the mottoes have been darkened, have any of you attempted a partial restoration of an early HJ knife by darkening the motto?

The reason I am asking this is because I would like to bring the knife closer to its past glory by bringing out the motto, but obviously without any negative side-effects that could damage the knife. I know that silver jewelry is often darkened by a black substance which I think could be used in this case.

What are your thoughts on this?

Here's the knife in question:



http://www.wehrmacht-awards.co...wthread.php?t=241234

JAN

[Skipper Greenwade]

I would leave it as-is. HJ mottoes were not usually darkened and don't stand out like an SA or SS motto. Yours seems to be pretty typical.

Best,
Skip

[Mac 66]

Jan some of my better condition hjs have like a dark grey burnishing to the motto that is most likely done after its been acid etched at the factory, a good few of my hjs have the pimpeling effect in the motto like we see in SA/SS/NSKK daggers, yours stands out ok so i would honestly leave it as is my friend.

Regards Scott.

[jancz3rt]

Ok

Ok guys, I will leave the knife as it is. I am happy with it but just needed that extra amount of opinion to make an informed decision. The motto is still pretty much visible so there is no real need to make it stand out more. Thanks.

JAN

[Larry Lipps]

Generally, restoration atttempts are the greatest cause of regret encountered in the hobby. Unless there's truly a valid reason it's better to leave well enough alone.