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1st Pattern Luftwaffe Dress Dagger

1st Pattern Luftwaffe Dress Dagger

  • Product Code: EWSK-1050-SOLD
  • Availability: Out Of Stock
  • $1.00


This is a very nice example of the 1st Pattern Luftwaffe Dress Dagger as adopted for use by the German air force (Luftwaffe) in 1934. These first pattern daggers were derived from the earlier Luftsportverband or DLV, the paramilitary Nazi sports flying federation that was established in 1933 to establish a consistent system of training for future military pilots. The chairman of the Luftsportverband was Hermann Göring, with SA leader Ernst Röhm serving as the vice-chairman. The 1st Pattern Luftwaffe Dagger was officially superseded by the 2nd Pattern Luftwaffe Dagger in 1837, with the newer version was adopted. The earliest 1st pattern daggers were manufactured with nickel silver hardware on the dagger and matching mounts on the scabbard. The later production 1st Pattern daggers were constructed with aluminum hardware and mounts, including the hanger (suspension chain). The daggers had blades of approximately 12.5” and overall lengths of around 18.9” – dagger dimensions tended to vary slightly from manufacturer to manufacturer. The wooden grip was wrapped with dark blue leather and further secured and enhanced by triple twisted silver (or in some cases gold) wire. The cross guard and pommel cap were adorned with pinwheel style Swastika, which was finished with gold wash. The scabbard was covered with the same style blue leather used for the grip and the mounts were retained by blued, flush mounted, flat head screws that enter from the edges of the mounts. As lt. Col. Thomas Johnson notes in his seminal work Collecting The Edged Weapons of the Third Reich, “Luftwaffe side arms were designed to reveal the new spirit of our ear of simplicity, linearity and plainness”.

The 1st Pattern Luftwaffe Dress Dagger offered here is one of the later production daggers with aluminum hardware and scabbard mounts. The dagger was produced by SMF (Solingen Metallwaren - Fabrik Stocker & Co) of Solingen and is about FINE+ overall condition. It bears the usual  SMF makers mark, a Seated King with Swordtrademark, astride the company initials SMF, and over the word SOLINGEN which is in an upswept arc under the logo. The blade is additionally marked with a Luftwaffe Eagle / 5 waffenamt, above the makers logo. The blade retains lots of its original polish and is in lovely condition. The very point of the needle tip of the blade has either worn down or been blunted over time and the very tip appears to have been re-pointed, with no noticeable loss of blade length. The aluminum mounts are in very fine condition and the pinwheel Swastikas on the cross guard and pommel cap retain about 95%+ of their original gold wash. The blade and mounts show only a hand full of minor scuffs and minute abrasions – no abuse or excessive wear. The original blued Moroccan leather blade washer is in place on the dagger, and retains about 50% of its original finish. The blue Moroccan leather grip wrapping is in nearly fine condition and is 100% complete. It shows only some minor wear along the high edges, the result of actual use. The scabbard is in FINE condition as well and retains nearly all of its original pebble grained blue Moroccan leather covering. The leather shows handful of minor scuffs and some light wear marks from actual use. The reverse of the scabbard shows a few more scuffs and wear marks than the front and there are a couple of tiny areas of finish loss present on the reverse as well, due to normal wear and tear. The aluminum scabbard mounts are retained by the correct flush mounted, flat head screws and retain much of their original bright polish. The mounts do show a number of minor scuffs and abrasions, which is not uncommon due to the softness of aluminum. The original aluminum hanger chain is in place on the dagger, with 6 links on the forward hanger chain and 8 links on the rear chain. The original aluminum snap clip is in place at the end of the hanger chains and is clearly marked on the reverse GES. GESCH. over the initials OLC in a diamond. The logo mark is that of Overhoff & Cie, who produced a variety of military items during the war, including belt buckles. The words “GES. GESCH>” are the German equivalent of “Patent Pending”. The clip is in fine condition and still functions flawlessly.

Overall this is a really attractive and fine condition example of a 1st Pattern Luftwaffe Dress Dagger.The dagger is 100% complete and original with a lovely scabbard, hanger chains and belt clip. Early Luftwaffe daggers in this condition are getting harder and harder to find these days, and this one is simply a lovely example that you will be glad to add to your collection or display.

SOLD

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Tags: 1st, Pattern, Luftwaffe, Dress, Dagger