Original Item: Only One Available. This is a lovely lightly used example of a wartime production production 2nd Model Luftwaffe dagger, complete with its original scabbard. It is a fine Solingen-Produced example made by Solinger Metalwaren-Fabrik Stöcker & Co. The celluloid grip of this 2nd Model Luftwaffe Dagger is a lovely caramel pumpkin orange color, due to the fading of the celluloid material due to age and light exposure. One side is a bit lighter than the other, so that side definitely saw more light exposure. There is just a bit of cracking near the pommel, and both strands of bullion wrapped wire are fully intact, showing just a bit of wear. The grip is still tight to the tang, with no wobble we can feel.

The hilt mounts are still in great shape on this dagger, showing a great lightly "antiqued" finish in the recesses. The aluminum pommel is great, showing only light wear, and still has much of the antiquing in the recesses of the embossed design. We also noticed that one of the swas insignia has the initials DFF added to it.The crossguard is made of Aluminum, which was an "Air Age" material, which was used to make most airplanes. It was considered fitting and desirable for the eagle-shaped guard to be made of this material. The front side is an eagle with a breast and talon area that is vaulted out much more so than the crossguards seen on other types of daggers. This guard shows little wear and has excellent feathering on the eagle. The bird, of course, flies to the left and grasps a mobile swas in his talons. The reverse panel is decorated with small pebbling and still shows the antiquing in the recesses. The ferrule looks to plated steel, still showing much of the original finiish.

The blade on this example shows a very interesting pattern of oxidation staining, which leads us to believe that it is nickel or maybe even silver plated, and over the years aged into the very interesting pattern it shows. It may have also gotten wet at some point, and the pattern we see is from water. Aside from that, the edge is close to dent free, and the tip is unbent and fully intact. Definitely not a typical example at all, as can be seen by close examination of the blade surface. We do not see any evidence that this was plated post war.

This example was produced by Solinger Metalwaren-Fabrik Stöcker & Co. GmbH, also known as SMF, who were one of the major producers of this knife during WWII. Their "Seated King" over SMF / SOLINGEN trademark is seen on the reverse base of the blade. They were one of the major suppliers of edged weapons to the Luftwaffe during WWII. As the name implies, they were located in Solingen, the legendary "City of Blades" in Western Germany. For more information, please see J. Anthony Carter's fine work GERMAN SWORD AND KNIFE MAKERS. Above the logo is a Weimar Eagle over 5, the standard Luftwaffe proof marking.

The steel scabbard is in very good condition, dent free and retains much of the original plating, which has tarnished and worn over the years, exposing the underlying steel in a few areas. It is the correct Luftwaffe type, with large pebbled panels on both sides and smaller panels bearing oak leaves and acorns near the bottom. The original finish can still be seen at the throat, which was protected by the cross guard. The hanger bands are aluminum alloy, and are well defined with have hand enhanced oak leaves tipped at a 45 degree angle. They show light wear, common on the softer aluminum alloy, and both rings are present and in great shape. The throat is the wider version seen, secured by a flush mount screws on the narrow sides of the scabbard. There is a small leather hanger of some sort attached to the upper hanger ring.

This is a very good condition 2nd Model Luftwaffe Dagger by SMF, offered with a very interesting blade and lovely scabbard, ready to display!

Specifications:
Blade Length: 10"
Overall length: 15 1/8”
Crossguard: 3 1/4”
Scabbard Length: 11 3/4”