Heer-Kolping differences

[fdodge]

I came home today with my second Kolping Heer and was surprised to see many differences when compared to the one I purchased last year.
Of course the first thing I noticed was the difference in scabbard styles. The white gripped dagger, which I believe to be of later manufacture, has the screwless scabbard. The earlier blade of the orange gripped dagger will not fit in the later scabbard as the blade is .46 inch wider when measured at the area of the crossguard swaz.
Also notice the obvious crossguard designs and placement of the maker marks on the blades.
Regards,
Frank

[fdodge]

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[fdodge]

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[fdodge]

Tangs.....the left belongs to the orange gripped dagger and the right to the white one.

[Wim Vangossum]

The first has an early -I believe they call it "tapered" tang while the second is the later pré-shaped tang. Kolping was a small cottage maker: I gues he bought his parts everyware. Mine had the generic eagle and a Klaas scabbard with the typical asterix on the carrying bands.

Regards, Wim