Purchasing antique/cultural knives

CUTS LIKE A KRIS · Oct 25, 2016

I was recently asked where a good vendor for antique cultural knives could be found and honestly I did not know. Back in the day there was Fagan (?) company I remember getting fliers for, but outside of looking at eBay I have no clue, so said I would ask here.

So for legit daggers/swords/knifes of the past from other cultures, where do you turn to, or suggest for people wanting more history than modern examples.

Thanks all!

TOMBSTONE · Oct 25, 2016

Here Ya go

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...T8dHiBSiEyffdO1Gw&sig2=FfNwg5iNnAJHHOpGuGDPtQ

palonej · Oct 25, 2016

Wow!! Thanks TS!!
That site has some incredible pieces!!
Now $400 for a pocket knife doesn't sound so insane!
Joe

Knurling_turtle · Oct 25, 2016

How legit is that site?

9Nine · Oct 26, 2016

Knurling_turtle said:
How legit is that site?

Seems to be quite legit. If they're scamming or selling fakes they went to a lot of effort to make a very professional website with contact information and stuff.

tltt · Oct 26, 2016

Fagan's been around forever, they date back to the days when most antique collecting was done by dealers sending out catalogs every few months. That being said, you still have to know what you're buying, for instance -

Modern lion's head kukri that sells for the 10's of dollars through other dealers can be yours for $475 -

http://www.faganarms.com/products/massive-nepalese-kukri-u34 .

Wouldn't class this as a fine kukri, it's a standard import/export knife of the late 20th century -

http://www.faganarms.com/products/fine-north-indian-dress-kukri .

Old ads for these, most date post WWII, and don't go much farther back than that -

http://books.google.com/books?id=cd...Q6AEIJDAC#v=onepage&q=lion head kukri&f=false .

Etc.....

On the Bowie end, here was a mid 20th century Bowie style hunter probably by G.C. Co sold as much earlier than it is -

http://www.faganarms.com/products/german-bowie-knife .

Philippines Negrito bolo sold as earlier than it should be -

http://www.faganarms.com/products/philippines-short-sword-fns399 .

Ju-Ca Tandil Gaucho knife - http://www.faganarms.com/products/argentinian-gaucho-knife-u25 . Listed as mid 19th century, but the company's own website states that they didn't start up till early 1959 - http://www.ju-ca.com.ar/ .

Frontier knives, lots of mistakes here, if you know butcher/kitchen knife manufacturing, design, etc.... history, you should be able to spot the mistakes -

http://www.faganarms.com/search?q=frontier+knife&type=product .

As always, do your own research, and buy the knife, not the story.

Knurling_turtle · Oct 26, 2016

Thanks Tltt

CUTS LIKE A KRIS · Oct 28, 2016

Thanks all.

Any other vendors of note besides Fagan??

tltt · Oct 28, 2016

These guys have always impressed me - http://www.oriental-arms.com/coll.php?coll=2 .

Really, the best way to start collecting ethnic knives is to get on the various collector boards, make friends, and learn who the more knowledgeable and trustworthy collectors are, and just get your name out among them. Many times they'll sell off things, or alert you to good sales, etc.....

Also, although it's been mentioned, Ebay is still a huge resource for the knowledgeable collector. If you put the time into research, it probably offers the best ROI of all the collecting methods.

Ethnic knives are a small portion of the overall collectors market, and can be volatile pricewise, so many of the bigger dealers shy away from it or have a very narrow focus in terms of what they'll offer.