Does this item look genuine?

Amenrab

Newbie
Jun 18, 2014
1
0
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Hi people. I came across this website while trying to find an answer to my question, and thought it would be better to ask people who have a lot of knowledge and experience in this area rather than trying to compare photos.

A few days ago, I made the mistake of buying what was claimed to be a folding knife from the 13th-15th century, and possibly of viking origin, off ebay. The seller was based in Ukraine, and I've read that the vikings did actually spread there at some point. The patina on the one I bought also looks quite similar to previous ones I've seen from the 12th century. He also has a "top seller" reputation, although I'm not sure if this has any relation to the actual items he sells, or just his service.

I've embedded the photos below:
P312017441A043E043F04380440043E043204300442044C0_zpsc1dfc34f.jpg

P312017641A043E043F04380440043E043204300442044C0_zps80b9715e.jpg

P312017741A043E043F04380440043E043204300442044C0_zps2231e78d.jpg


The reason why I'm skeptical though, is because the seller is listing three or four others which look very similar. When I asked him how he acquired them, he just said that him and his friends found them with a metal detector, removed the rust with electrolysis, then treated them with wax.
I've never actually hunted for old items like this, but I would've thought that they would be very rare, and if they are, it seems quite suspicious that he happens to have several all at the same time. The price was only $110, which again, seems quite suspicious for something so old and rare.
 

shawninNY

Hero Member
Oct 2, 2013
514
183
Detector(s) used
Xlt/Dfx/BHID , Excaliber, nowCtx 3030
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I haven't researched the topic , but from the looks of it , I'm skeptical of the sheath mechanism It appears to be sheet metal! Not something hand wrought, how was this knife to be used ? It seems that with a handle on the blade , that sheath would be at a 90* angle to the blade making it very difficult to use for most applications requiring a knife. Just my view , doesn't seem like a practical blade from the 1100's
 

shawninNY

Hero Member
Oct 2, 2013
514
183
Detector(s) used
Xlt/Dfx/BHID , Excaliber, nowCtx 3030
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I was able to find 1 folding knife totaly different , but the style of your blade looks modern , the red flag is multiple knives ( if he located a few of them) that would be a significant treasure find worth far more together as group . To locate a Viking weapons cache would be incredibly Valuable ! sorry but I think you have good reason to question the validity of the sellers claims , the good news is , it wasn't 1000- dollars
 

hammer0419

Full Member
Aug 20, 2014
175
65
OC NY
Detector(s) used
Minelab Equinox 600
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
It might be wise to join a knife forum and post it.
 

Auriemma

Hero Member
Jul 24, 2014
525
483
SE PA
Detector(s) used
Minelab: Sov XS; Sov XS2 Pro ; XS2a Pro ; E-TRAC; Profind 25, Garrett PP AT
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Looks more like an old school razor than a knife. The blade seems shaped wrong though.
 

duggap

Bronze Member
Dec 11, 2007
2,054
1,052
Chattanooga, TN
Detector(s) used
Tosoro Bandido
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
It could be the rarest knife in the world and it would not be worth that price with that much rust on it.
 

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