Germany, Kriegsmarine. An Officer’s Dress Dagger, by Weyersberg, Kirschbaum & Cie

(Kriegsmarine Offiziersdolch). A well-preserved Kriegsmarine Officer’s dress 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 of the blade. It bears double-sided acid-etched designs consisting of central fouled anchors, flanked by arabesques and serpentine designs. The obverse ricasso is maker marked with the logo of Weyersberg, Kirschbaum & Cie, Solingen, topped by the firm’s classic knight’s helmet logo. It sits securely within a gilded bronze crossguard, bearing double-sided central fouled anchors, with the seam covered by an intact red wool buffer pad. Inset into the reverse of the crossguard is a push-button release connecting to a non-functional clip which emanates from the blade’s ricasso. The handle grip is composed of a single piece of ribbed brown celluloid, with the ribbing retaining a period original twisted and rolled bronze wire cord. It completes with a gilded bronze pommel consisting of a German national eagle perched on top of 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 dual rivets. In addition to the loss of the spring clip, other issues consistent with age and wear are evident, and include oxidation of the bronze features of both the dagger and scabbard, and some material fatigue of the portepee. The dagger remains in an overall very fine condition.