Over the years, I have acquired two of the first-style (iron guard) versions of the M1880 hunting knife. One has the Varney scabbard, the other a field-repaired long loop (no brass hook). I am thinking of selling one of them, probably without scabbard (am certainly not parting with the Varney!), but cannot make up my mind, so perhaps some input from knife collectors would help.
(1) Is practically "new" (has age but no wear) in that it retains some original polish and is very crisp (sharp edges on front of crossguard, etc.) but has some severe staining/light pitting on blade as well as some serious nicks. My take is that it was possibly damaged in the trials and just put away.
(2) Shows a fair amount of overall wear, but no abuse. Blade is lightly sharpened, and has been cleaned, but there are no nicks.
Grip/handle (including the SWP/1881 inspection stamp unique to the iron guard) are a toss-up - no real advantage either way. Both knives bear 3-digit numbers.
I know which way I am leaning, but would like to hear from the experts. Thanks.