Germany, Heer. An Officer’s Dress Dagger, by Carl Eickhorn

(Heer Dolch für Offiziere). A Heer Officer’s dress dagger, measuring 39.5 cm in total length when inserted into the scabbard. It features a 25 cm-long, nickel-plated, magnetic steel blade which retains factory-original sharpening to both the edges and tip. The obverse ricasso bears a maker’s mark of “ORIGINAL EICKHORN, SOLINGEN”, circumscribing the firm’s classic squirrel logo. It sits securely within a nickel-plated alloy crossguard, the obverse of which bears a raised Wehrmacht eagle clutching a wreathed mobile swastika, with an intact blackened leather buffer pad covering the seam. The handle grip consists of a single piece of ribbed off-white celluloid, while the dagger culminates in a rounded nickel-plated alloy pommel which is decorated around the outer circumference with oak leaves, screwing in to maintain the dagger’s structural integrity. Accompanying the dagger is its original scabbard, constructed of a pebbled and nickel-plated magnetic steel blade. Dual oak leaf bands are set into the upper third of the shaft, each retaining a loop for the accommodation of a hanger. A functional catch situated within the throat holds the dagger in place during storage. Issues consistent with age and wear are evident, and include running marks and evidence of polishing to the blade, loss of nickel plating to the hilt fixtures (and possible replacement of the pommel), and a consistent patina throughout the scabbard. It remains in a very fine condition.