Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice Early Army Officer's Dagger, produced by the legendary Solingen-based firm Carl Eickhorn between 1933 and 1935. The pommel of this dagger is in very good condition, showing a little wear and scratching around the edge, showing the underlying brass alloy, but nothing bad. The silvering has a nice worn patina throughout, and the standing oak leaves and acorns are crisply detailed and have good backgrounds.

The silver plated brass 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. There is however some wear through the plating in areas, showing the underlying brass. The grip ferrule is also silver-plated, and is in very nice condition.

The grip is is a lovely pumpkin orange color, 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 bit, so it is slightly loose. 

The scabbard is a fine Carl Eickhorn example, and is plated nickel alloy, though it is magnetic on the upper half, probably from the throat. 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 screws on either side. The finish looks to be silver or nickel, and has faded to a lovely patina, with wear through the plating in areas.

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 wear, with most of the aluminum coating having worn off the bullion thread, which is now white. However, the the velvet on the reverse is almost completely intact. The hanger was repaired with blue Moroccan leather around the belt clip.

The very nice blade is mostly bright throughout, showing lots of the original cross grain in the light. The needle-like tip is still intact, with no bending. Overall finish does show some stains and small areas of oxidation, and there definitely was cleaning done over the years. However, the edge is still nice, with no chips or sharpening. The reverse ricasso is etched with the 1933-35 Eickhorn trademark logo: a double oval surrounding a seated squirrel holding a sword, with CARL EICKHORN / SOLINGEN surrounding the squirrel trademark. The original leather blade buffer unfortunately is missing, most likely having deteriorated over the years.

A very nice used example of an Early German Heer dagger, from a famous maker. A worthy addition to any edged weapon collection!

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.