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

(Heer Dolch für Offiziere mit Gehänge). An extremely well-preserved Heer Officier’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 and edges. 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 nickel-plated alloy crossguard, the obverse of which bears a raised Wehrmacht eagle clutching a wreathed mobile swastika, with the seam covered by an intact black leather buffer pad. The handle grip is composed of a single piece of ribbed light brown celluloid, while the dagger completes with a flattened pommel, bearing raised oak leaves around the outer circumference, screwing in to maintain the dagger’s structural integrity. It 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 retaining loops for the accommodation of a hanger. The throat retains a functional spring catch to firmly hold the dagger in place during storage. Minor issues consistent with age and wear are evident, and include some running marks to the blade, oxidation of the nickel-plated elements, and a consistent patina throughout the scabbard. The dagger remains in a near extremely fine condition.

Accompanying the dagger is a matching hanger, consisting of a silvered zink clasp with two field-grey doeskin straps descending from the lower edge. Each strap is topped by a silver aluminum wire tresse and adjusted with a functional silvered zink buckle in the form of an oval oak leaf wreath. Both straps culminate in functional spring clips to lock onto the scabbard’s loops. Unmarked, the hanger measures 26 cm in total length as presented. The zink fixtures demonstrate loss of silver finish and minor oxidation, but the hanger remains in an overall near extremely fine condition.