Germany, Kriegsmarine. An Officer’s Dress Dagger, by Carl Eickhorn

(Kriegsmarine Dolch für Offizier). An extremely well-preserved Kriegsmarine Officer’s dress dagger, measuring 42 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 “ORIGINAL EICKHORN, SOLINGEN”, topped by the firm’s classic squirrel logo. The blade sits securely within a gilded bronze crossguard, bearing double-sided central fouled anchors, with the obverse 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 a gilded bronze shaft with etched designs distributed around the outer circumference. 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 securely hold the dagger in place during storage. Minor issues consistent with age and wear are evident, and include some running marks to the blade and sporadic tarnishing of the bronze features. The dagger remains in an extremely fine condition.