Germany, Luftwaffe. An Officer’s Dress Dagger, by Ernst Pack & Söhne

(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 25.5 cm-long, nickel-plated, magnetic steel blade which retains factory-original sharpening to the edges and tip. The reverse ricasso is maker marked with the classic Siegfried logo of the firm of Ernst Pack & Söhne, Solingen. It sits securely within an aluminum crossguard, the obverse of which bears a raised Luftwaffe eagle clutching a mobile swastika, with the seam covered by an intact blackened leather buffer pad. The handle grip consists of a single piece of ribbed brown celluloid, with the ribbing retaining an original twisted and roller wire cord. It culminates in an aluminum pommel in the form of a double–sided mobile swastika situated within a circular oak leaf wreath, screwing in to maintain the dagger’s structural integrity. Wrapped around the handle is a matching portepee, consisting of a stylized silver aluminum wire acorn suspended from a cord of identical construction. Accompanying the dagger is its original scabbard, constructed of a pebbled and nickel-plated magnetic metal shaft. Dual integral 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 firmly holds the dagger in place during storage Issues consistent with age and wear are evident, and include tarnishing and running marks to the blade, deterioration of the portepee, minor chipping of the handle grip near the pommel, and wear to the nickel plating of the scabbard. It remains in an overall better than very fine condition.