I know there are a lot of fake pieces of trench art. A friend, who knows I like volunteer items, sent this to me. I have no idea if this is original or not. Any help is appreciated.
Bob Hritz
Bob Hritz
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In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king.
Duct tape can't fix stupid, but it can muffle the sound. -
DetailIn the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king.
Duct tape can't fix stupid, but it can muffle the sound. -
Hi,
in my opinion the major historical flaw may be the denomination of the unit on the blade.
On October 9, 1943 the name was : 13. SS-Freiwilligen (Bosnien-Herzegowina) Gebirgs-Division Kroatien.
On November 12, 1943, the name was changed to 13. SS-Freiwilligen-Gebirgs-Division (Kroatien).
On May 15, 1944, the unit got his final name : 13. Waffen-Gebirgs-Division der SS "Handschar" (Kroatische Nr. 1).
So if the letter opener was made in 1943, the maker couldn't know the final name ("Handschar") of the unit (it was not added after on the letter opener, because the two parts of the blade are used for the inscription.
But if the blade was made after may 1944 when the "Handschar" name was given, there is a major flaw in the denomination of the unit which was not a "Freiwillige" but then downgraded to a "Waffen... der SS" unit...
Also usually "Freiwilligen" is abridged as "Frw".
Letter openers with an Edelweiss on the knob seemed to be quite common, i will say that this is plausible that it was a nice and good looking "civilian" one (war or post war produced) that was "SS-pimped".
See You
VinceComment
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I'm afraid I have to fully agree with the assessment below; not original IMO for the reasons given.Comment
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Ok, since the name Handschar was unknown until 1944, and the unit designation was changed, it seems to make this an impossibility. Thank you very much. It is an attractive item, but a post war engraved piece.
Bob HritzIn the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king.
Duct tape can't fix stupid, but it can muffle the sound.Comment
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Even the knife itself does not resemble actual Bosnian/Balkan oriental themed "handzar noz" (handschar knife) nor the actual logo of division itself. Whether a German officer or Bosnian NCO/SS mann, one should know better. While it is nicely engraved, I would also be very leery of considering this as an authentic item although stranger things have certainly happened in 3rd Reich collecting......Comment
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It would seem to me like a real vintage letter opener, but with added Handshar emblem.Comment
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