The controversial Railway Water Protection Dagger

[cogwheel]

Since I collect one of every TR dagger I had to have one of those contested RWWP daggers, too. As far as authenticity is concerned all I can say is that all the components are original.

[Serge M.]

nice looking rare rig there Coggy. -
Thanks for sharing.

-wagner-

[Billy G]

A rare bird indeed, thanks for sharing

[Bob K]

Cog,
Check your PMs. I've been trying to contact you.

[dcdefend]

Railway Water Protection Police

I see that Craig's is still available for $ 35K, so hopefully you didn't spend that much.

Is this silver or gold and is the blade maker marked?

John

[cogwheel]

I think I spent about $350 all in all. That was over 10 years ago.

[cogwheel]

This one is gold. The blade is unmarked.

[dcdefend]

Railway Water Protection Dagger

I couldn't resist adding another one to this thread.

John

[cogwheel]

John, thanks for posting. Is this the one from Craig Gottlieb? He claims that his was the only one certified as original.

[dcdefend]

Railway Water Protection Dagger

No, I've had this for a very long time.

I love the phrase - "only one certified as original." I'll certify yours and you can certify mine.

The scabbard on your navy dagger is just incredible, I could certify that too.

John

[The Red Baron]

Exactly what is so controversial about these pieces? Is there literature to support their existence? Is it mainly an issue with parts pieces or what?

[cogwheel]

For a long time all those in existence were considered parts pieces made from 2nd Railway and Army components. As a result, any RWP dagger that showed up was automatically suspect and dismissed as a fake. However, after some of these daggers were listed by dealers some of these RWPs were certified as originals.
The biggest problem is that a parts dagger that had been skilfully assembled postwar cannot be differentiated from one made period. Since the components of both daggers are original the main difference is the time they were assembled. At this point I don't know how the certifier can determine the time of assemby. Maybe it just means tossing a coin.

[cogwheel]

Regarding the documentation of existence, the RWWP dagger is shown in the Eickhorn catalog of 1938 or thereabouts. Some of the books written point out the ease of faking this dagger but have not provided any insights of how to detect this fake. The reason is simple: There is no way to determine the difference.