Original German WWII Heer Army Officer's Lion Head Sword by Arthur Evert of Solingen with Steel Scabbard

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a beautiful classic Lionhead German WWII Officer sword, made by the rare firm of Arthur Evert in Solingen, Germany, complete with its original scabbard. This piece is a real treasure as the hilt is not constructed from the later war aluminum, but rather is made of solid brass, which was originally fully gilt, much of which is still retained. The design consists of a finely detailed lion head cat with engraved backstrap and "P" guard. The Lion is fitted with blood red faceted "jewel" eyes. There is nice detail throughout his whiskers, chin, and muzzle. The handwork is beautifully rendered throughout this brass. The backstrap consists of high relief Oak leaf and Acorn designs, which extends onto the side tabs. The "P" guard has a lovely raised out oak leaf and acorn motifs, while the grip ferrule has a much more detailed rendition on a pebbled background.

The crossguard has a open wing art deco style eagle which looks to the viewer's right. The breast area of this eagle, as well as the wings, have been hand-enhanced. The reverse has a small plate where a monogram might be added, however it is blank. The hilt still retains some of the original gilding, with the rest showing an aged patina, and really looks great! The grip is an outstanding black celluloid-over-wood base, still shiny with no cracks or other degradation we can see. It is wrapped with a skein of 4 wires, the center two of which are twisted, and all show some oxidation, as well as a bit of looseness. The grip and hilt fittings are still tight on the tang, definitely a rarity!

The 33 1/8 inch blade of this example is in excellent condition, made from spring steel with the highest quality nickel plating. This is still very well retained, with just a few tiny chips and light scuffing on the surface. There are few very dents on the corners of the blunt edge, and the tip of the blade is totally unbent, definitely a rarity! Really a great blade here!

The reverse ricasso of the blade is stamped with the double arc address marking of Arthur Evertz, Herstellung blanker Waffen (Manufacture of blank weapons) of Solingen, the legendary "City of Blades" in Western Germany:

A. EVERTZ
SOLINGEN

Per J. Anthony Carter's book GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS, this firm was founded in 1925 by Arthur Evertz, brother-in-law of Paul Seilheimer, and was registered with Solingen authorities in 1938. They made a good number of edged weapons during the Third Reich era, including many "walking out" or dress bayonets, as well as officer swords and similar items. The original leather blade buffer is still present in the cross guard.

The scabbard of this example is still in very good shape, with the steel body mostly straight, displaying a few dents and minor bends, which do not interfere with sheathing the blade. The original black enamel finish is in very good condition, over 90% complete. There is some crazing and checking overall, particularly near the drag, as well as some small chips and scratches, which shows that it has never been refinished. The hanger ring and loop for "hitching up" the sword are both present and show some finish loss as well.

Overall a very good condition high quality sword from a rare German sword maker, based in Solingen, the "City of Blades" in Western Germany.

Specifications:-
Overall length: 38”
Blade length: 33 1/8”
Blade Style: Single Edged with Fuller
Guard dimensions: 5" width x 4 1/2” length
Scabbard Length: 35 1/2"

The German Army (German: Heer, was the land forces component of the Wehrmacht, the German armed forces, from 1935 to 1945. The Wehrmacht also included the Kriegsmarine (Navy) and the Luftwaffe (Air Force). During World War II, a total of about 15 million soldiers served in the German Army, of whom about seven million became casualties. Separate from the army, the Waffen-SS (Armed SS) was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. Growing from three regiments to over 38 divisions during World War II, it served alongside the army but was never formally part of it.

Only 17 months after AH announced publicly the rearmament program, the Army reached its projected goal of 36 divisions. During the autumn of 1937, two more corps were formed. In 1938, four additional corps were formed with the inclusion of the five divisions of the Austrian Army after the Anschluss in March. During the period of its expansion by Adolf AH, the German Army continued to develop concepts pioneered during World War I, combining ground (Heer) and air (Luftwaffe) assets into combined arms teams. Coupled with operational and tactical methods such as encirclements and the "battle of annihilation", the German military managed quick victories in the two initial years of World War II, prompting the use of the word Blitzkrieg (literally lightning war, meaning lightning-fast war) for the techniques used.

The German Army entered the war with a majority of its infantry formations relying on the horse for transportation. The infantry remained foot soldiers throughout the war; artillery also remained primarily horse-drawn. The motorized formations received much attention in the world press in the opening years of the war, and were cited as the main reason for the success of the German invasions of Poland (September 1939), Norway and Denmark (April 1940), Belgium, France and Netherlands (May 1940), Yugoslavia (April 1941) and the early campaigns in the Soviet Union (June 1941). However their motorized and tank formations accounted for only 20% of the Heer's capacity at their peak strength.