Original German WWII 1st Model Aluminum Fitted Luftwaffe Dagger by Carl Eickhorn with Scabbard and Hanger

Original Item: One of a Kind. This is a very nice 1st Model Luftwaffe Dagger, made by the legendary maker Carl Eickhorn of Solingen, Germany. The matte Aluminum fittings indicate that it was made in sometime after 1938. Previous to this, the mounts had been of alloy brass or nickel, but Aluminum was an "Air Age" material, which was used to make most airplanes. It was considered fitting and desirable for the mounts to be made of this, and the later 2nd model continued to use aluminum as well.

The aluminum mounts defy all age and remain nice and mostly bright, with a fine matte finish. The pommel has almost all of the original gilding intact on the "Broken Sun Cross" swas medallions, and the same is true on the cross guard. The guard is the standard down swept "wing" type, with good detailing. The rim of the pommel shows some small dents and wear but nothing major. The grip is a carved wood base covered in blue Moroccan leather, which has wear on the top of the rounded portions through the finish. It was originally wrapped with 4 aluminum wires, with the center pair twisted, however the lower wire is missing, so only the twisted wires and upper wire are still present. The hilt is a bit loose on the grip due to the grip shrinking.

The 11 5/8 inch blade of this piece, unlike many we see, is bright steel, and not nickel plated. The shape is still great, with no sharpening, and a nice tip. There are however some areas of light oxidation staining and past cleaning. We do not see any factory crossgrain, and we do not know if that type of polishing was done to these blades. We had considered that maybe it had been plated originally, but we see no evidence of that, and the trademark logo is also still crisp, which would have been worn away if the plating was removed. The original blue Moroccan leather blade buffer is in place on top of the guard.

The blade on this example is not nickel plated, which is common for later produced blades. The ricasso is etched with the 1935-41 Eickhorn trademark: a seated squirrel holding a sword, with the word ORIGINAL above and Eickhorn / SOLINGEN below. Carl Eickhorn is a legendary maker from Solingen, the famous "City of Blades" in Western Germany. According to J. Anthony Carter's book, GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS, this company was founded in 1865 by Carl Eickhorn, and is arguably the most famous of all Solingen makers. Not only could the family trace their history back 500 years, but they could also demonstrate involvement in the hardening and grinding industries for the same period. Truly the nobility of Solingen Edged weapon dynasties. Eickhorn edged weapons are the most desirable of all makers.

The scabbard shell is straight throughout with a few dents we can see, which do not interfere with sheathing the blade. The Moroccan leather covering the scabbard nicely matches the grip, and shows only light wear to the finish, as shown in the pictures. There are no tears or areas of the leather lifting. The mounts on this scabbard are all matte aluminum, and are still very attractive. They do show some scratching and dents, espected from use in service. These mounts are retained by headless flush mounted side screws, all of which are present. We did note that the scabbard is somewhat loose on the blade, so the runners are worn.

The attached aluminum chain has six ringlets making up the upper chain and eight on the lower. These two chains are attached to an aluminum snap clip, which is marked on the back with the OLC in a diamond trademark of Overhoff & Cie. of Lüdenscheid, who produced numerous clothing accessories. It is also marked GES. / GESCHÜTZT, for Gesetzlich Geschutzt (Protected By Law), indicating that the clip was a trademarked design.

A very nice example of the classic 1st model Luftwaffe dagger by a legendary maker, complete with the original scabbard and hanger. Ready to display!

Specifications:
Blade Length: 11 5/8"
Overall length: 17 3/8”
Crossguard: 4 1/4”
Scabbard Length: 13 5/8”