Hey, Guys.
I just found these two Model 1s in an old family chest. They were gifts to an infantry captain and an air corp Lieutenant as they departed for the European theater in WWII (circa 1943). The names of each are etched on the blades. Does anyone know how much they might be worth?

Wow! Sheaths are funky but knives look good. Both are mid war model 1's as you say. Wish the sheaths weren't so bad but still I would guess 2500 to maybe 4000. My price is a little low I think but I would not pay much over that because of the sheaths. That's a great find. Congratulations to you. I may be. Interested in the top knife. Thanks for posting them here.

Wow. I knew they were collector's items, but thought maybe $1000 each tops. I have a few questions then:

1) Is the condition of the knife is more important to a collector than the size of the blade?

2)Is the sheath is more important than the size, as well?

3)I was thinking of maybe keeping one and selling the other. Which knife/sheath combo is the less attractive one to a collector?

First of all cuetek there are others much more qualified than me on giving prices. Most dealers would not give you probably much over your $1000 figure. I've seen some nice War 2 knives, including the sheath in the $4000 to $5000 range. However those usually had provenance that came with them. I think a collector would prefer the longer blade.....most collectors. I'm a collector but I actually like the shorter blade knife. Your problem....IMO will be the sheath condition. The first sheath may clean up a bit but the second can be trashed. Again....IMO. Once a collector buys one they then have to find a replacement sheath. That is extremely difficult to do. I was hoping some of the big time collectors would offer a price. Condition is always very important to a collector.

Condition is important, but DO NOT try and clean them up in any way. Leave them as found.

Pap

Thanks for the info Ronnie. I know the provenance of these two knives, and they are linked in that the were given by my grandfather to my father and uncle and both carried in the European theater in combat. Essentially, I inherited both knives at different points, whereupon they were stored in an old army foot locker at my mother's house. But what kind of documentation is necessary to deliver that provenance to a collector?

As to the larger knife's sheath, would it not be even trivially more attractive to have the sheath restored rather than present it without a sheath? Would the pair be more attractive presented together rather than separately? The more I handle them, the more I like them though. I was cleaning up the blades and realized how tough the metal is. Both have amazingly sharp edges and are extremely slow to polish even with a Dremel tool and rouge.

This could be very bad news.......


Cleaning them will greatly reduce their value to vintage collectors. At most a light wipe down and a coating of rust inhibitor.

The knives match the sheathes..... and should stay that way.

Leave them alone.... just my 2 cents.

Cleaning up the blades and how tough the metal is?

Sounds as though you just f***ed yourself good. Nobody, and repeat nobody wants those knives "cleaned up". A dremel tool? Are you kidding me?

To this day I have still not understood why guys feel compelled to "fix" things that aren't broken.

Oh well, two more historical pieces lost to the home workshop.

I don't think I've affected the metal of the blades. The picture you see above is how they look now (ie after cleaning). I asked a local knife maker what to use and he said rouge in that it will not change the metal only the tarnish. All he warned me about was being careful not to contact the brass. The Dremel tool had just a cloth wheel, not a hard attachment.

Also, the knives I've seen in pictures have the brass looking bright. Should I not clean the brass? How about the leather on the hafts? They are dusty looking compared to pictures in here and elsewhere, especially the shorter blade model. Again the pics I've seen of other knives show the handles to be darker and cleaner looking than these two. Do I leave them alone? How about the one intact sheath? Ronnie said it could be "cleaned up a bit." What does that entail? Should I not touch it?

Do whatever you want the damage is done.