Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice Army Officer's Dagger, produced by the legendary Solingen-based firm Carl Eickhorn. The pommel of this dagger is in very good condition, showing a little wear and scratching throughout the bottom, but nothing bad. The silvering has a nice aged patina throughout, and the standing oak leaves and acorns are crisply detailed and have good backgrounds.

The silver plated crossguard is in similar condition, with a nice clean finish, with oxidized accents. The details throughout the characteristic Carl Eickhorn eagle are exceptional throughout the head, breast and wing feathering, talons and wreathed mobile swas. The grip ferrule is also silver-plated, and is in very nice condition, having been protected by the portepee.

The grip is has faded to a nice pumpkin orange, typical of celluloid grips from this period. This grip is in almost perfect condition throughout, with just a bit of staining and wear. It has shrunk a tiny bit, so it is slightly loose. Wrapped around the grip and cross guard is an original aluminum bullion thread portepee (sword knot), tied in the Heer fashion. It is in good condition as shown, with fraying in the contact point areas.

The scabbard is a fine Carl Eickhorn example, and is plated zinc alloy. This straight scabbard has very crisp, finely grained panels. The carrying bands have an excellent pattern of overlapping oak leaves and acorns, which are nicely enhanced, but also show some wear. The throat is the thinner style, and has securing screws on the thinner side of the scabbard. The finish looks to be silver or nickel, and has been cleaned recently, so it looks great. There is only a bit of flaking around the throat, and the rest is almost completely intact.

Attached to the scabbard is a very good condition belt hanger, with functional pebbled spring clips with a great patina. The buckles and keepers are engraved with the same oak and acorn motif seen throughout the dagger. The hanger straps show light wear, with a bit of fading on the bullion side, however the velvet on the reverse is almost completely intact. The hardware is marked D.R.G.M, indicating that these were registered in the German trademark office.

The very nice blade is mostly bright throughout, showing almost all of the original cross grain in the light. The needle-like tip is still intact, with no bending. Overall finish does show some light staining in a few places, though the edge is still nice, with no chips or sharpening. There is the usual runner wear on the blade surface. The reverse 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. The original leather blade buffer is in place within the deep recesses of the guard.

The German Army (Heer) first carried a dagger beginning in 1935. The weapon was worn in lieu of occasions not demanding the wearing of a more formal sword. The dagger design was quite attractive featuring silvered heavy fittings with white or colored grip. The crossguard depicted a Wehrmacht open-winged eagle clutching a wreathed swas.

The pommel depicted oak leafing around the outer circumference. The scabbard had panels of pebble designs. Later produced examples were plated with nickel, and late war-made pieces were unplated, finished in a gray color metal. These daggers are often encountered with an aluminum portepee.