Russia, Soviet Union. A 1954 Soviet Naval Officer’s Dirk

An extremely well-preserved Soviet Navy officer’s dirk, measuring 340 mm in length when inserted into the scabbard. It features a 210 mm-long nickel-plated magnetic metal blade with a sharpened tip and semi-sharpened edges. The obverse ricasso bears Cyrillic initials “ЗИК” for the Златоустовский Инструментальный Комбинат (Zlatoust Tool Factory) and a manufacture date of “1954”, while the reverse ricasso is etched with a serial number of “N24764”. The blade sits firmly within the gilded bronze upper crossguard, presenting with hooked quillons, with a black leather washer covering the seam. A spring clip for locking the dagger onto the scabbard emanates from the reverse of the crossguard, releasing with a functional stud on the handle. The grip is constructed of light orange celluloid, and the dirk completes with a round gilded bronze pommel, the obverse of which is etched with a Soviet coat of arms. It is accompanied by its period original scabbard, constructed of a boiled blackened leather shaft with three gilded bronze adornments, each held in place by a single visible rivet. The obverse throat fixture bears a raised anchor wrapped with rope, while the reverse depicts a raised sailing ship cutting through waves. Additionally, the throat and mid-section fixtures each bear a loop for the accommodation of a hanger. It retains a functional spring clip, securely holding the dagger in place during storage. The blade bears minor running marks, with a small patch of nickel plating lost on the obverse. The dirk is in an overall extremely fine condition.