Item:
ON1719

Original German WWII RAD Labor Corps Enlisted Mans Dagger by Carl Eickhorn

Item Description

Original Item: Only One Available: A Fantastic RAD Hewer is in very nice condition, with its silvered, brass based mounts, having outstanding patination. The crossguard has a fine, curled quillon, and it appears as though the original darkening is in the grooves of the quillon.

The grip plates on this example are genuine stag. The stag shows only minor wear from its years of usage and gives this antler a great, attractive appearance. The obverse antler is a pleasing, coffee color, with golden edges, and the reverse area is more of a golden color with tan tones in the depths of the grains. The stag plates are retained by screws and spanner nuts. It is interesting to note that the two screws on the obverse have a desirable, greenish patina to their surfaces. These screws do not look to have been turned in many years.

The scabbard shell is straight throughout. This shell has its original, black paint which is showing some age.The paint still has gloss to its surfaces. The scabbard mounts are the early silver over nickel base and there is no denting. This mount depicts an RAD shovel, with lined surfaces, having a contrasting, smooth mobile swas in the center of the spade. This spade rests between two wheat shafts. The mount is decorated along the borders with beaded circles. The same beaded circles appear on the border of the upper mount, and above these are the RAD curls. These curls are deeply stamped, having good lined backgrounds.. The throat is retained by two side screws, which appear crisp and unturned.

The blade is the heavy bolo style, being produced in a matte finish, with single fuller on both sides. The motto on the obverse is quite deeply etched, and still crisp. It retains about 90% of its original darkening in the letter backgrounds. The reverse ricasso is matching etched, with the RAD triangle positioned above the patent pending words, Ges. Gesch. Beneath this is the trademark used from 1933-1935. It consists of double ovals which contain the firm's name and location CARL EICKHORN/SOLINGEN. Inside is a seated squirrel with serrated tail, holding a nut in his paws. The squirrel is positioned over the firm's initials, C E. A very nice early mid-war example here!

The basis of the RAD, Reichsarbeitsdienst, (National Labor Service), dates back, at least, to 1929 with the formation of the AAD (Anhalt Arbeitsdienst) and the FAD-B (Freiwillingen Arbeitsdienst-Bayern).  Shortly after AH’s appointment as Chancellor in Jan 1933, the NSDAP consolidated all labor organizations into the NSAD (Nationalsozialist Arbeitsdienst), a national labor service. It served as an agency to help mitigate the effects of unemployment on the German economy, militarize the workforce and indoctrinate it with NSDAP ideology. It was the official state labor service, divided into separate sections for men and women.

On June 26 1935 the NSAD was officially re-designated RAD. Originally personnel serving with RAD wore a variety of earlier FAD/NSAD belt buckles until February 15TH 1936 when new pattern belt buckles for Officer’s and EM/NCO’s were introduced to provided uniformity in dress.

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