I've been processing photos all day and into the night. I took a break and did a few new photographs. Not great, but I thought I'd share 'em.

Over the years, I've had a ton of daggers and knives. I still have a few of my modern knives left, but not a lot. Most of what I have are at least somewhat "historic" in nature.

Most of my historic arms-related stuff has been sold to pay bills or go towards new purchases. Even what I have left is likely to be sold at some point in the future so I figured I'd unbox a few things and take some photos!


Here are some of the daggers and knives still in my collection:

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A few of these things:

The ear dagger is from Arma Bohemia. The cinquedea and gunner's stiletto are from J.F. Schroeder. The katzbalger dagger is from Arms & Armor. The fancy dagger is A&A's Elector of Saxony parrying dagger. The small knife/pricker is from Tod's Stuff.

The Cinquedea is quite nice. I wasn't a fan in the past, but now, it's quite appealing. If that ever goes up on sale I might just snatch it up, assuming I can afford it. The etching is also very nice.

M.

I don't know how I missed seeing that Cinqueda in your Collection pages. I love that! I'd like to try etching someday....

That's a nice collection Nathan. I too like that Cinqueda, the Katzbalger as well, but two stand out at me as possible companion daggers that somewhat match a sword I have and one that I expect to be my next acquisition. In the top pic, what is the dagger in the top right with the S -shape guard? And also the one on the bottom to the left of the Cinqueda?

*Edit* Ah, I just found the A&A Elector

Jeff Kaisla wrote:

In the top pic, what is the dagger in the top right with the S -shape guard?

I don't know exactly. It's an Antique Stiletto. The grip is made of what I believe are stacked pieces of tortoise shell.

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I realized I forgot to put my rondel dagger in the photos above.

It was made by Eric McHugh and has a hollow-ground trapezoidal cross-section blade.


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I can't say I'm a fan of that shell hilted dagger. The rondell, however, is ace.

M.

I think that little eating set is pretty cool. What is the total length of the knife?

I'd say 4 or 5" looking at that; the blade of his Cinqueda is 15.5" for comparison.

M.

Nathan,

Very nice collection and your photography skill really show it off well!

I am interested in your thoughts (and those of others) on the Elector of Saxony dagger. My grandparents emigrated from Saxony after my grandfather ended his military service in WWI. I still have family there I have visited on several occasions (twice during the days of communism).

My connection with that part of Germany combined with my interest in the history of the Reformation has me thinking of stepping outside of my normal time period of collecting. I've been tempted by this dagger, Del Tin's version of the same, and A&A's Saxon parrying dagger. Has anyone reading this had the opportunity to compare one or more of these daggers?

I am wondering where the original of the A&A version is located. I've been to the Rustkammer in Dresden, and do not remember seeing it there.

Chris

Hi Chris-

I once owned the Del Tin dagger that is similar to the A&A Elector of Saxony dagger. it is quite nice. The A&A has a better fit and finish all around by quite a margin. The blade, in particular, is much more crisply defined on the A&A example. It's one of the better reproduction daggers I've handled. I've owned many dozens of daggers in my years and I suppose it says something that the A&A dagger has stayed in my care for well over a dozen years.

These saxon daggers are fun. There is some variety in the family, though. The pommel shapes are fairly similar, though distinct enough to probably separate into a couple of related groups. The guards are all very much alike. The blades are variations on a theme.

Below are four from the Museum fur Deutsche Geshichte. A&A's seems most based on the second from the right, while Del Tin's may be more on the one from the far left. I'd love to see an A&A version blackened like the second from the right, and bright (maybe silver-plated) where that one is bright.

There are a series of swords of varying fanciness that match. A&A's saxon military sword is a simpler version. The Met (see below) has several that fit that family and a dagger to match.

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Saxon daggers from the Museum fur Deutsche Geschicte

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Saxon dagger from the Met.

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A saxon sword from the Met

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A fancier saxon sword from the Met

By the way, I love these threads with group shots. I think it's neat to see people's collections and to see various swords/daggers in relation to others.

For those who haven't seen them, here are other similar threads (I think this is all of them so far):

Nathan's swords
My Swords/collection
Daggers in my collection and that of others
Gordon Clark's collection

You can also see a few collections from our Collections page.

Mmm... the cinqueda, rondel and ear dagger are my favorites!

Thanks, Chad! Those are great shots I've not seen before of Saxon daggers. In particular, I was interested to see the common blade length in of the daggers in the first photo (they appear longer than the A&A version of the Elector dagger) and was intrigued at how much the A&A Gustav parrying dagger looks like the one second from the left. Hmmm... decisions, decisions...

Chris