Original Item: One of a Kind. This is a nice service used 1st Model Luftwaffe Dagger, made by the desirable maker Richard Abraham Herder AG, Stahlwarenfabrik (Steelware Factory), of Solingen, Germany. The matte Aluminum fittings indicate that it was made 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 age and remain nice and mostly bright, with a fine matte finish. The rest of the fittings however show wear and oxidation from use in service. The "Broken Sun Cross" swas medallion inserts in the pommel and crossguard have lost their original plating and gilding, now showing an oxidized patina overall. The guard is the standard down swept "wing" type, with good detailing. The rim of the pommel shows some small dents but nothing major. The grip is a carved wood base covered in blue Moroccan leather, which shows overall wear through the finish on the raised portions. It is wrapped with twisted brass wires, which have had the plating worn away.

The 12 inch blade of this piece is not nickel plated, which is actually fairly rare for one of these daggers, which are almost always nickel plated. We can still see traces of the original factory final polish cross grain, however the surface is overall lightly stained, with evidence of rust peppering removed by polishing and cleaning. The blade shape is nice, with no edge dents or sharpening. The original blue Moroccan leather blade buffer is in place on top of the guard.

The ricasso of the blade on this example is stamped with the early style "Double Arc" trademark logo of Richard Abraham Herder of Solingen, which has the address in two arcs surrounding their "four pointed star diamond" logo:

RICH. A. HERDER
(DIAMOND LOGO)
SOLINGEN

The Herder name is well known in Solingen, and this branch originally registered in 1884 as a steelware maker. As time went on they specialized in Drop Forging, and supplied blade blanks to Erfurt Arsenal and other companies. During the Third Reich period, they continued to make their own edged weapons, as well as supply blades to smaller makers. The earlier "double arc" trademark had been used on WW1 98/05 bayonets, and was specifically used on 1st Model Luftwaffe Officer daggers such as this example, per J. Anthony Carter's work GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS.

The scabbard shell is straight throughout with no major dents. The Moroccan leather covering the scabbard nicely matches the grip and is in very good condition. There are some areas where the leather finish has worn, but that is expected on a scabbard of this age. Also the lower seam has started to come unglued a bit. The mounts on the scabbard body are well patinated steel, which has lost all of the original plating. The throat still has the original flush mount screws, while the drag is a bit loose, with the screws damaged.

The attached aluminum chain has six ringlets making up the upper chain and nine 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 Geschützt (Protected By Law), indicating that the clip was a trademarked design.

A very nice service used example of the classic 1st model Luftwaffe dagger by a very desirable maker, ready to display!

Specifications:

Blade Length: 12"
Overall length: 17 5/8"
Crossguard: 4 1/4”
Scabbard Length: 13 1/2”