Original Item: Only One Available. This is a lovely example of a rare Kriegsmarine Navy Lion Head Officer's Sword, made by the firm WKC Waffenfabrik of Solingen, the legendary "City of Blades" in Western Germany, previously Weyersberg Kirschbaum & Cie. We have very seldom had examples of naval officer swords, as they often went down with the ships, and also were not something that would be picked up on the battlefield or during a surrender. The navy also took a lot longer to adopt NSDAP symbols, and this sword bears none, which meant that it could be kept and displayed much more openly. This lovely example features a lovely nickel-plated "Pipeback" blade, also called a "quillback", which are quite decorative, and comes complete with an original brass fitted leather scabbard.

The hilt on this example is the classic gilt brass alloy, not the later war plated aluminum, and unlike most we see, the gilding still looks to be over 80% intact, with just some light patination on the exposed brass where it has worn away. Some areas have matured to a darker patina, but this is really a great hilt. It has a fold down "clamshell" portion on the outer side, which has a fouled anchor, and the other side has a small area that folds down as well, normally locking onto the small tab on the scabbard throat, however it has bent out of place. The "Lion" on the pommel has a mane that extends down the entire length of the back strap, while the ferrule has the classic German oak leaves and acorns motif on it. The rest of the guard shows some lovely floral motifs. There are lots of hand enhancing visible, especially on the cross guard area.

As this is a naval sword, the grip of this example is a ivory white celluloid over a carved wood base, instead of the black seen on the army swords. The celluloid is in very good condition, having matured to a lovely color, though there is definitely age-related deterioration. It has a crack running all the way around on the first "rib" from the bottom. It is wrapped with a skein of 6 brass wires, twisted in pairs, with the center pair being slightly thicker, however the wrapping has become loose and broken away in places due to mishandling over the years. The hilt is still tight on the blade, with no wobble we can detect, and we noticed that the top of the lock flap is marked with N. 523, possibly a style number in the WKC catalog.

The nickel plated blade is 1 5/8 inches long, made of high quality spring steel. The plating is in very good condition, well retained overall but with some areas of oxidation and scuffing, as well as what looks like an attempt to buff out some areas of oxidation where the plating flaked. Still, the pipe-back blade is very attractive, and the edge is still correctly unsharpened, showing some dents and small nicks from use and/or attempts to clean up the edge. The original felt blade buffer is still present, showing some wear from age.

The ricasso is stamped with the trademark "Knight's Helmet" (Ritter-helm) over WKC logo of legendary maker WKC Waffenfabrik GmbH of Solingen. This company is a famous manufacturer of military swords and cutlery in Solingen, Germany - a city famous since the middle ages for its metal-working and craftsmanship in sword making. It is fully visible, and there is a clear Eagle / M Marineamt Kriegsmarine inspection stamp next to it.

Per J. Anthony Carter’s work GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS, the traditional manufacturing of swords at WKC dates back to the year 1774 when the Weyersberg first registered the ''Kings head'' as their trademark. Later in 1883 the company merged with the Kirschbaums and the company Weyersberg Kirschbaum & Cie was formed, which continued into the Weimar Period. It then rebranded as W.K.C. Waffenfabrik GmbH, and produced many edged weapons during the NSDAP Period. The company is still in operation today.

The included scabbard is still in very good condition, made from stiff black finished leather with brass fittings, which were originally gilt. These now have lost almost all of the gilding, except at the very top near the scabbard lock, and display a lovely matured "mustard" patina. The throat and middle fitting have brass hanger rings in serrated ferrules. The leather has become stiffer and shrunk a bit, however the stitching on the back is still solid. We did note that the drag has had the staple retaining it pull out, so it now can fall off the bottom of the scabbard.

Overall a lovely example of a rare German Kriegsmarine Navy Officer Lion Head sword by a desirable maker, complete with a lovely brass fit leather scabbard. Ready to display!

Specifications:
Blade Length: 31 5/8"
Blade Style: Single Edge w/ Fuller
Overall length: 37“
Guard dimensions: 4" width x 5” length
Scabbard length: 32 3/4”

WWII Kriegsmarine
In violation of the Treaty of Versailles, the Kriegsmarine grew rapidly during German naval rearmament in the 1930s. The 1919 treaty had limited the size of the German navy and prohibited the building of submarines

Kriegsmarine ships were deployed to the waters around Spain during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) under the guise of enforcing non-intervention, but in reality supported the Nationalists against the Spanish Republicans.

In January 1939, Plan Z, a massive ship-building program, was ordered, calling for surface naval parity with the British Royal Navy by 1944. When World War II broke out in September 1939, Plan Z was shelved in favour of a crash building program for submarines (U-boats) instead of capital surface warships, and land and air forces were given priority of strategic resources.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Kriegsmarine (as for all branches of armed forces during the period of absolute NSDAP power) was AH, who exercised his authority through the Oberkommando der Marine ("High Command of the Navy").

The Kriegsmarine's most significant ships were the U-boats, most of which were constructed after Plan Z was abandoned at the beginning of World War II. Wolfpacks were rapidly assembled groups of submarines which attacked British convoys during the first half of the Battle of the Atlantic but this tactic was largely abandoned by May 1943 when U-boat losses mounted. Along with the U-boats, surface commerce raiders (including auxiliary cruisers) were used to disrupt Allied shipping in the early years of the war, the most famous of these being the heavy cruisers Admiral Graf Spee and Admiral Scheer and the battleship Bismarck. However, the adoption of convoy escorts, especially in the Atlantic, greatly reduced the effectiveness of surface commerce raiders against convoys.

Following the end of World War II in 1945, the Kriegsmarine's remaining ships were divided up among the Allied powers and were used for various purposes including minesweeping. Some were loaded with superfluous chemical weapons and scuttled.