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

(Kriegsmarine Dolch für Offiziere). A well-preserved Kriegsmarine Officer’s dress dagger, measuring 42 cm in total length when inserted into the scabbard. It features a 25 cm-long, nickel-plated, magnetic steel blade with a sharpened tip and with dual narrow fullers running approximately two-thirds of the length of each side. Acid-etched designs have been applied to both sides, and consist of central fouled anchors flanked by serpentine and arabesque imagery. The reverse ricasso bears a maker’s mark of “ORIGINAL EICKHORN, SOLINGEN”, circumscribing the firm’s classic logo of a squirrel clutching a sword. The blade sits securely within a gilded bronze crossguard, bearing double-sided central fouled anchors, with a push-button released set into the reverse and connecting to a clip which emanates from the blade’s ricasso. An intact brown wool buffer pad covers the seam where the blade meets the scabbard. The handle grip consists of a single piece of white-painted ribbed celluloid, with the ribbing retaining an original twisted and rolled bronze wire cord. The dagger completes with a gilded bronze pommel consisting of a German national eagle perched on top of a mobile swastika, screwing in to maintain the dagger’s structural integrity. Wrapped around the crossguard and pommel is a matching portepee, consisting of a stylized silver aluminum wire acorn suspended from a cord of identical construction. The dagger is accompanied by its original scabbard, constructed of a gilded bronze shaft with etched designs distributed around the outer circumference. Two integral oak leaf bands are set into the upper third of the shaft and retain loops for the accommodation of a hanger. A functional catch inside the throat locks onto the scabbard’s clip for secure storage. Minor issues consistent with age and wear are evident, and include some running marks to the blade and evidence of re-finishing of the handle grip. The dagger remains in an overall near extremely fine condition.