Korium Solingen dagger - what year?

[rschuch]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/261486700983?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

Found this: "These knives have an interesting story, they are Korium Knives.
First made at the end of WWII by in Germany with Forged Solingen Steel, very well made. They were sold mail order to the U.S. and 4 styles were offered "The Dragon Claw and Ball", "The Maiden", "The Eagle Head" and "Deer Hoof" starting in late 1945.
Then in 1950 the company in order to cut corners stopped using Forged Solingen Steel and were using cast steel made near the "Black Forest Germany" and then finally the company got really cheap and made their knives in Japan. The Company closed in 1955 0r 1956.
I never bought a "Deer Hoof" or "The Eagle Head" one."

http://blog.modernmechanix.com/mags/Mec ... _knife.jpg

So what "model" is this one? It SAYS Germany so I don't think it was made in Japan, but I see the center lines down the handle where the cast metal meets, so I'm thinking post-1950? I see a lot of examples with the quillons snapped off online, so I want to stay away if it is.

[basser5]

Post 1950 made in Germany.........called the Black Forest.

[rschuch]

Thank you, sir, for the confirmation.

[basser5]

Your welcome!

If you really want one of these, i would check Ebay completed sales for value.

In my opinion (holding one in my hand)
They are rather crudely made.

[rschuch]

"Crude" doesn't begin to describe the quality! Google "Korium dagger" and look at the images and I'd say more than half have at least one of the quillons snapped off, if not both. Any time you can drop a knife that's supposedly steel and something snaps off, I'd say, Yeah, that's pretty junky....

Set yours down carefully, my friend!

[knife7knut]

[quote="rschuch"]"Crude" doesn't begin to describe the quality! Google "Korium dagger" and look at the images and I'd say more than half have at least one of the quillons snapped off, if not both. Any time you can drop a knife that's supposedly steel and something snaps off, I'd say, Yeah, that's pretty junky....

Set yours down carefully, my friend![/quote
I don't know if I would categorize them as crude;as in knives made in India at the same time but rather as inexpensively made.The reason you see a lot of them with the quillions snapped off is that they are for the most part either pot metal or aluminum.Even a high quality knife of that period would react in the same way if it were dropped and landed in the wrong way.

I remember seeing them advertised in the back of men's magazines and Popular Mechanix and the like and they looked really well crafted.It was only when you saw one hands-on did you realize that pictures could be a bit deceiving.

I still have one(the Maiden) and the blade quality is actually pretty good and the handle detail not all that bad either.As I recall they usually sold for less than $10 which was a bit more than average for an inexpensive knife of that era.