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This factory control tag is from the firm E. Knecht & Co, Stahlwarenfabrik. I will show two variants of tag that I own. The firm was founded in 1905 and the tag shows this date. The 1st tag shows the firms trade mark back to back deer or stag with the founding date of the firm of 1905. Under the trade mark shows the firms name and Solingen and under that Germany. The reverse of the tag is printed the same as the obverse. The construction is of a heavy paper with embossed (raised)border and printing. The string is a lighter weight type that runs between the two sections of the tag. The second hang tag is identical in detail as the first but is about 1/3rd the size. The larger hang tag here is about 1 - 3/8" in diameter. The firm made some dress daggers such as SA NSKK H/J and dress bayonets....and also many types of cutlery.

Also included here as a bonus is ultra rare and possibly unseen till now? E.Knecht & Co. factory seal. This seal was placed on boxed items that the firm produced. A factory bag or box for a dress dagger has to my understanding never been reported. Do to my ongoing research I will only show the seal and not the entire box. As I do not have many facts on the carton. It is also of interest to note here that the two variants of hang tags I show are dated 1905, the year the firm was founded. The factory seal I show in the last photos has a 1906 date which is the year the company was registered. It is possible that a factory hang tag exists that is made in the same fashion as the box seal and marked as such but to date no such tag has been found to my knowledge.

I should also add that in the past months (of 2009)I have had several discussions with author and collector Thomas Johnson on the subject of factory control tags. Tom has been at this longer than many and his resources are vast, he has been at the fore front of this hobby for almost 40 years now as a publisher and collector. In our discussions he passed along some information that I want to add here. I had ask if he had ever seen any type of production equiptment or paper work related to the manufacture of the hang tags of any type? He said what he has found to date, the tags were produced by outside firms and were not done at the cutlery/edged weapon firms. Also that he had not found any evidence of company paper work to order the tags from the printing firms or the tag maker. While on the subject of including kudos where they belong from collectors and researchers... I would like to add the late Anthony Carter, author and researcher of"Sword and Knife Makers of Germany 1850-1945". I think many collectors owe him a debt we can never begin to repay. His last work is just incredible and a must have for any collector.

Here is a factory control tag for the firm Puma- Stahlwarenfabrik and Puma Werk also listed as Lauterjung and Sohn. That should confuse the hell out of everyone! Again I will show two different variants of the Puma tag and then at the bottom part of this section a commercial Puma/Lauterjung control tag. Both"Puma" tags are of metal construction and made in one piece and then folded around. Of note are the two different types of string used in manufacture and that the more rusted tag shows some traces black paint in the deep recesses of the tag. The tag on the left is what is more frequently encountered, the green chromatic colored type. Both tags display the same type of embossed detail. The obverse of the tag shows a puma head with puma printed under it all enclosed within a diamond. The reverse of both tags read Puma-Werk with star under it and Solingen with a star directly under that. Both tags also display variants in construction first is the string types,second is that with the green tag the string extends through the lower section of the tag. Also of note is the method in which the tags were bent around and joined together on the reverse. The rusted tag is crimped very well while the green tag shows a rather lack luster attempt.

Shown here for possibly the first time is a Puma/Lauterjung "export"control tag. Puma/Lauterjung used several names for export items and"Capri" was one of many. This tag displays many identical traits as the other two tags shown above. The obverse shows the "Capri" name with Solingen under it. The reverse shows the Lauterjung & Sohn name this time with a single star in the center and Germany printed on the lower section. The string again is the double strand type seen on the "rusted" tag above however the string extendes throught the lower section of the tag like the green chromatic type above. The construction method here is just about perfect,no crimp marks or rough edgeds on the reverse.

When collectors speak of variants within a group it refers to possibly fittings on scabbards being pressed on or set with screws,maker mark variants, chain types, or even grip materials, this is just the begining of factory control tag research. Finding tags or tagged pieces by firms was really just the first step, as new and unseen control tag variants come to light collectors will again have many more questions than answers.