Original Item: One of a Kind. This is a very nice 1st Model Luftwaffe Dagger, made by the well known firm of Lauterjung & Sohn PUMA-Werk of Solingen, the legendary "City of Blades" in Western Germany. These were originally made with plated brass or nickel alloy fittings, but during 1938 the switch was made to matte Aluminum, an "Air Age" material which was used to make most airplanes.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. This example looks to have been made during the 1938 transitional period, as the scabbard is the early style, with silver plated steel fittings, while the dagger has fittings that are part aluminum and part plated brass. Definitely an interesting example!

The aluminum mounts remain nice and mostly bright, with a fine matte finish. The pommel and cross guard have the usual "Broken Sun Cross" swas medallions, however they are made from plated brass, which has now lost most of the plating, and all show a lovely matured patina. The guard is the standard down swept "wing" type, with good detailing. The rim of the pommel shows some small dents and wear but nothing major. The grip is a carved wood base covered in blue Moroccan leather, which has wear on the top of some rounded portions through the finish. It is wrapped with 4 aluminum wires, with the center pair twisted, which are still in great shape and tightly wrapped. The hilt is still solid on the blade.

The blade of this piece is a high quality nickel-plated example, which is in very good condition, still bright and shiny, showing just a bit of scuffing and oxidation on the plating. The edge is correctly unsharpened, and we did not notice any dents or nicks on the edge. The tip area of the blade does look a bit "off", as the central ridge goes off to one side, and the edge is slightly less tapered on one side. We do not see how this could have been done by post manufacture damage, so it must be from original manufacture. The original blue Moroccan leather blade buffer is in place on top of the guard.

On the rear of the blade, there is a Puma's Head Logo over PUMA / SOLINGEN, the trademark logo of Lauterjung & Sohn, Puma-Stahlwarenfabrik / Puma - Werk of Solingen, Germany, the legendary "City of Blades". This is a known producer of SS, SA, and NSKK daggers during the Pre-WWII period and after. This company was originally founded on a small scale in 1796, Nathanael Lauterjung officially opened a cutlery and knife making workshop in Solingen during 1855. After his death, the name was changed and registered as "Puma-Werk", to avoid confusion with the other Lauterjung-owned workshops in Solingen. For more information, please see J. Anthony Carter's work GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS.

The steel scabbard shell is straight throughout with no major dents or bends in the steel body. The Moroccan leather covering the scabbard nicely matches the grip and is in good condition, showing a few tears and other damage from long service and age, as well as some bruising from dents. The mounts on the scabbard body are plated and oxide coated steel, which still retain much of the original oxide coating. There is some oxidation of the steel present, particularly on the chape fitting. All five flush-mount securing screws are still present on the fittings, though they show oxidation.

The attached nickel chain has nine ringlets making up the upper chain and fourteen 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 above this with GES. GESCH., for Gesetzlich Geschutzt (Protected By Law), indicating that the clip was a trademarked design.

A very nice transitional example of the classic 1st model Luftwaffe dagger by a well-known and desirable Solingen maker, complete with the original scabbard and hanger. Ready to display!

Specifications:
Blade Length: 12 1/8"
Overall length: 17 3/4”
Crossguard: 4 1/4”
Scabbard Length: 13 1/2”