Germany, Kriegsmarine. An Officer’s Dress Dagger, by Emil Voos

(Kriegsmarine Dolch für Offizier). An extremely well-preserved Kriegsmarine Officer’s dress dagger, measuring 41.5 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. The blade has double-sided narrow dual fullers which run approximately two-thirds of its length. Both sides of the blade bear acid-etched naval imagery consisting of ships and fouled anchors flanked by arabesque designs. The obverse ricasso is maker marked “EMIL VOOS, SOLINGEN”, circumscribing the firm’s logo. The blade sits securely within a gilded bronze crossguard, bearing double-sided central fouled anchors, with the reverse inset with a functional push-button release connecting to a clip that emanates from the blade’s ricasso. The handle grip is composed of a single piece of ribbed off-white celluloid, with the ribbing retaining an original twisted and rolled bronze wire cord. It completes with a gilded bronze pommel that takes the form of a German national eagle perched on top of a wreathed mobile swastika, screwing in to maintain the dagger’s structural integrity. It is accompanied by its original scabbard, constructed of dimpled and gilded bronze shaft. The upper third of the shaft has two integral oak leaf bands with loops for the accommodation of a hanger. The throat retains a functional catch to lock onto the blade’s clip to firmly hold the dagger in place during storage. The hilt demonstrates minor loosening which results in the pommel fixture sitting just off-centre to fully tighten, but with no other evident wear or damage it remains in an extremely fine condition.