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 25.5 cm-long, nickel-plated, magnetic steel blade with a sharpened tip and with dual narrow fullers running the majority of the length of each side. Acid-etched designs are visible on both sides, and consist of central fouled anchors flanked by arabesque and serpentine 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. It sits securely within a gilded bronze crossguard, bearing double-sided central fouled anchors, with an intact wool buffer pad covering the seam. A functional push-button release is inset into the reverse of the crossguard and connects to a clip which emanates from the ricasso to release the scabbard lock. A single piece of ribbed off-white celluloid comprises the handle grip, with the ribbing retaining an original twisted and rolled bronze wire cord. Completing the dagger is a gilded bronze pommel in the form of a German national eagle perched on top of a wreathed mobile swastika, screwing in to maintain the dagger’s structural integrity. Accompanying the dagger is its original scabbard, consisting of a gilded bronze shaft with etched designs distributed around the outer circumference. Two integral oak leaves bands are fixed in place at the upper third of the shaft and retain loops for the accommodation of a hanger. A functional catch situated within the throat locks onto the blade’s clip. Some issues consistent with age and wear are evident, and include minor running marks and tarnishing to the blade, with moderate loss of gilt finish and slight tarnishing to the bronze fixtures. The dagger remains in an overall near extremely fine condition.