Bulgaria, Kingdom. A Royal Tudovac (Labour Corps) Officer’s Dagger

An example of a dagger belonging to the Officer of the Royal Bulgarian Labour Corps, measuring 40 cm in total length when inserted into the scabbard. It features a 26 cm long, nickel-plated magnetic steel blade with a sharpened tip and a flat surface running the majority of the length on both sides. The blade sits within a gilded bronze crossguard, bearing a lion’s head quill on the one side and a quill consisting of a spade with a pickaxe superimposed on the other. The langet on the obverse consists of the Bulgarian Coat of Arms on a silvered plate. The grip is constructed of earthy orange coloured celluloid and used to bear twisted wire wrap in the grooves of the diagonally diagonal grooves. It completes with a closed Simmon’s crown, screwing-in to maintain the dagger’s structural integrity. The dagger is accompanied by its original scabbard, constructed of magnetic metal with the Tudovac (Bulgarian Labour Corps) emblem in bronze on the upper third of the scabbard, between the oak leaf bands that are set into the shaft to retain loops for the accommodation of a hanger. The bottom eighth of the scabbard is decorated with a bronze cover depicting oak leaves with an inwardly pebbled ball finish. Issues consistent with age and wear are evident throughout, and include running marks to the blade, as well as cracks with missing pieces of the celluloid of the handle, in overall better fine condition.