XVII Century Bollock Dagger - Request for Info
 

Hello!

I am posting this on behalf of someone else who was unable to open an account. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Looking for information on where or how I might be able to find info on the maker of this blade "Heinrich Brabender".

from what I understand he was a smith from 1580 to early 1600s active in Solingen Germany.
unfortunatly I have not been able to find nor know much else.

Hello, this is the first part of a 17th c rapier blade for wich someone made a grip resembling a lollock dagger wich is supposed to be about 200 years earlier.
The Name Heinich brabander is found on Pappenheimer rapiers and rapiers at the beginning of the 17th c but also on much later types of cup hilt rapiers as late as early 18th c. So this is the first part of a 17th c blade with a newly made grip that is historical not fitting, i realize thats not pleasant to hear but you asked.
kind regards
Ulfberth

Beautifully done assessment!!! Thank you for detailing this!! It is so important to have these kinds of 'creations' pointed out for the historical factors as well as that of the 'caveat emptor' element.
There are so many cases of true old blades used in these crafty copies, and this has of course been done since the 1800s with the reproductions made for gentlemens smoking room displays etc.

The tough part of collecting is learning, and these kinds of hard lessons have been experienced by all of us. It is hard to be candid, but necessary and I appreciate this.

Thanks Jim, perhaps I should have focussed more on the "Heinrich Brabender" blade.
So "Heinrich Brabender" is a bit like the "Enrique Coel" name on blades that is the name is used for over more than 100 years by different makers for economic reasons.
Enrique Coel is still found on 18th c shiavonas and in the case of "Heinrich Brabender" the youngest version i saw was on a high quality cup hilt and high quality blade signed "Heinrich Brabender" it was around 1730- 1750 'ish probably made for the Spanish Collonies.
The Oldest "Heinrich Brabender" i had in my hands was an early version Pappenheimer rapier circa 1620-30.
The blade here in the bollock dagger is an early version , the younger ones are more simple in geometry.
As we know blade maker names being used for more than 100 years is not unique, the name that comes to mind is bladesmith Andrea Ferrara Italian active in Belluno, active between 1550–1583 and the blades on which this name is found most on is on Scottisch basket hilts some up until the late 18th century. Perhaps this answers the question more complete.

Excellent!!! This is the kind of stuff that cannot be found in books! only through many years of handling weapons and astutely noticing the differences that occur in various elements, blades in particular. This is because the blades tend to remain in circulation while hilts often are replaced for various reasons. As noted by AVB Norman (1980), changes in fashion or alignment with local favorite styles in relocation are often common.

I wonder if, as you note, the simpler geometry in blade design might come from the fact that fewer blades in production in earlier times allowed smiths to be more detailed, as their craft was truly artisan oriented?
Later, production dictated more volume and less time for more elaborate detail?

This might seem a question one can never answer with 100% certainty, but when we approach the question keeping in mind human nature the answer is economics, making a profit . Its the same with most if not all products now that there are cheeper simpeler versions , or versions made in another country because it was cheaper and for the noble man who wanted to spend more money there were better more elaborate blades and guards.