Germany, Luftwaffe. An Officer’s Dress Dagger, by Lauterjung & Co.

(Luftwaffe Dolch für Offiziere). A Luftwaffe Officer’s dress dagger, measuring 43.5 cm in total length when inserted into the scabbard. It features a 26 cm-long, nickel-plated, magnetic steel dagger with a sharpened tip and edges. The blade is plain with the exception of a maker’s mark on the reverse ricasso in the form of the classic “TIGER” logo of the firm of Lauterjung & Co., Solingen. It sits securely within a multi-piece hilt, with an intact black leather buffer pad covering the seam. An aluminum alloy crossguard features a raised Luftwaffe eagle clutching a mobile swastika on the obverse, with a pebbled finish on the reverse. The handle grip is composed of a wooden core situated within a ribbed off-white celluloid outer shell, with the ribbing retaining an original twisted and rolled wire cord. It completes with an aluminum alloy pommel, consisting of a double-sided mobile swastika situated within a circular oak leaf wreath, screwing in to maintain the dagger’s structural integrity. Accompanying the dagger is its original scabbard, constructed of a pebbled magnetic metal shaft. The upper third of the shaft features two integral oak leaf bands retaining loops for the accommodation of a hanger. A functional spring catch situated within the throat firmly holds the dagger in place during storage. Issues consistent with age and wear are evident, and include some blunting of the blade’s tip with running marks and tarnishing throughout the length, chipping of the handle grip which has partially exposed the wooden core, and some surface oxidation to the scabbard. This dagger remains in an overall very fine condition.