Germany, Kriegsmarine. A 1937 Dedicated Officer’s Dagger, by Weyersberg, Kirschbaum & Cie

(Kriegsmarine Offiziersdolch). A well-preserved, unit-dedicated Kriegsmarine Officer’s 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 edges, and with narrow dual fullers running approximately two-thirds of the length of each side. The blade has double-sided acid-etched designs consisting of central fouled anchors flanked by serpentine and arabesque designs.The obverse ricasso bears the maker’s mark of Weyersburg, Kirschbaum & Cie, Solingen, topped by the firm’s classic knight’s helmet logo. Hand-etched onto the reverse ricasso is a unit dedication of “IHREM KOMPANIE FÜHRER, DIE U. O. DER 1/-N.S. 1937”, indicating issue to a company leader by a group of NCOs. It sits securely within a gilded bronze crossguard, which bears double-sided central fouled anchors, with the seam covered by an intact brown wool buffer pad. The reverse of the crossguard is inset with a functional push-button release connecting to a spring clip emanating from the blade’s ricasso. The handle grip is composed of a single piece of ribbed brown celluloid, with the ribbing retaining an original twisted and rolled bronze wire cord. It completes with a gilded pommel consisting of a German national eagle clutching a wreathed 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 strap of identical construction. It is accompanied by its original scabbard, constructed of a dimpled and gilded bronze shaft. The upper third of the shaft has two integral oak leaf bands, each retaining a loop for the accommodation of a hanger. The throat is flanked by two rivets and retains a functional catch to lock onto the blade’s clip. Minor issues consistent with age and wear are evident, and include slight tarnishing of the blade and oxidation of the bronze features, but the dagger remains in an overall extremely fine condition.