Original Item: Only One Available. This is a great example of a mid-war production 2nd Model Luftwaffe dagger. It is a fine Solingen-Produced example made by the legendary firm of Carl Eickhorn. The celluloid grip of this dagger is a nice light caramel color, having faded from the original ivory white, and remains in very good condition throughout.  It has a nice slightly tapered shape, and is tightly wrapped with sillver bullion wire.

The hilt mounts are similarly great on this dagger. The pommel is crisp and excellent. The "mobile" swass on both sides are clear, with most of the original gold highlighting present, and the oak leaves around them are raised out and heavily hand enhanced. The pommel appears to be solid aluminum, and not plated, so it would not have the blackening seen on plated examples. It does have a bit of wear around the edges. 

The crossguard is also 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 great 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, which is still clear. The ferrule looks to be zinc, and much of the plating has worn off. Tied around this is an original portepee, which is in good condition, and tied in the Luftwaffe style. There is definitely fraying and loss of bullion in areas: this dagger appears to have been worn quite a lot.

The blade on this example is not nickel plated, which is common for later produced blades. The ricasso is etched with the 1935-41 Eickhorn trademark: a seated squirrel holding a sword, with the word ORIGINAL above and the firm's name and location, Eickhorn / SOLINGEN below. Carl Eickhorn is a legendary maker from Solingen, the famous "City of Blades" in Western Germany, which marketed many fine edged weapons. As this is under the "eagle" it was not possible to photograph entirely. The original leather blade buffer is in place within the deep recesses of the guard.

The blade is in very good condition, and bright, with a lot of the factory crossgrain visible in the light, particularly near the cross guard. It does appear to have had some oxidation in the past, which was polished out, making the cross grain faint in many areas. The tip also looks to have been repaired, and there are some tiny nicks on the edge, which has not been sharpened.

This steel scabbard is a fine, straight example, having most of the original plated finish, with a lovely dark patina. The bands are zinc alloy, and are well defined and have outstanding hand enhanced oak leaves tipped at a 45 degree angle, with some wear. The throat is retained by two flush mounted screws, one in each side, and is the narrower version seen.

Comes complete with genuine original hangers that are in good condition, with wear from service, particularly around the end clip, and on the back. The Buckles and other hardware seems to be zinc, and the clips are marked D.R.G.M. on the back, indicating they are a trademarked design. The clips are the more desirable "sliding" type. The back of the belt clip also has the RZM logo next to U. E. 10. "U.E" indicates Uniformeffekten Erlaubnißschein, (Uniform Accessories License), and the manufacturer’s numerical code, "10". It appears the combined RZM/U.E., markings were utilized circa May 1933 to March 1935. These were used when the RZM was still being officially organized. There is unfortunately no listing of the early RZM makers.

The bullion side of the hanger is retained very well, however the velvet backing shows a lot of wear, which would indicate that this dagger was indeed worn quite a bit. Definitely not a closet queen here!

This really is a really nice service worn 2nd Model Luftwaffe Dagger with portepee and hanger, made by a legendary maker and offered in very nice condition, ready to display!