Germany, Imperial. A Forestry Cutlass
(Forstdienst Hirschfänger). A very well-preserved Forestry cutlass, measuring 55 cm in total length. It features a 41.5 cm-long, nickel-plated, magnetic steel blade with a sharpened tip and lower edge. The blade bears double-sided, acid-etched designs featuring forest and hunting imagery, including a deer, hunter, rifles, and other equipment interspersed with arabesques. Unmarked, the blade sits securely within a multi-piece hilt with a gilded bronze crossguard presenting as two deer hooves, and with a clamshell medallion emanating from the obverse. The handle grip is composed of a single piece of polished staghorn, the obverse of which is inserted with a gilded bronze monogram of Kaiser Wilhelm II flanked by two oval medallions of identical construction. It completes with a flattened and ribbed pommel retaining a rounded nut to maintain the cutlass’ structural integrity. Minor tarnishing and running marks are evident to the blade, in addition to slight loosening of the pommel, but it remains in a near extremely fine condition.

