Russia, Soviet Union. A 1958 Red Army Officer’s Dirk

An extremely well-preserved Red Army officer’s dirk, measuring 340 mm in length when inserted into the scabbard. It features a 215 mm-long nickel-plate magnetic metal blade with a sharpened tip and semi-shapened edges. The obverse ricasso bears Cyrillic initials “ЗИК” for the Златоустовский Инструментальный Комбинат (Zlatoust Tool Factory) and a manufacture date of “58” for 1958, while the reverse ricasso is etched with a serial number of “608517”. 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. 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 throat fixture bears a raised five-pointed star, overlaid by a sickle and hammer, topped by sun rays and within a laurel and oak leaf wreath. On the reverse is a raised depiction of the Spasskaya Tower. Additionally, the throat and mid-section fixtures each bear a loop for the accommodation of a hanger. Minor oxidation is evident to the metallic features, but the dirk is in an overall extremely fine condition.