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

(Heer Dolch für Offiziere). An extremely well-preserved Heer Officer’s dress dagger, 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. The reverse ricasso bears a maker’s mark of “ORIGINAL EICKHORN, SOLINGEN”, surrounding the firm’s classic logo of a squirrel clutching a sword. The blade sits securely within a nickel-plated crossguard, the obverse of which bears a raised Wehrmacht eagle clutching a wreathed mobile swastika, with the seam covered by an intact blackened leather buffer pad. The handle grip is composed of a single piece of ribbed brown celluloid, with the ribbing retaining an original and fully-intacct wire cord. It completes with a flattened pommel bearing raised oak leaf designs around the outer circumference, screwing in to maintain the dagger’s structural integrity. The dagger is accompanied by its original scabbard, constructed of a pebbled magnetic metal shaft. The upper third of the shaft has two integral oak leaf bands, both retaining loops for the accommodation of a hanger. The throat features a functional spring catch to firmly hold the dagger in place during storage. Minor issues consistent with age and wear are evident, and include faint running marks to the blade and tarnishing of the nickel plated features. A quintessential untouched example, this dagger remains in an extremely fine condition.