Kriegsmarine Dagger by Hörster

Product Description: This Kriegsmarine Dagger by Hörster is a mega example. The blade is fantastic, with crisp etchings on both sides depicting a naval motif. The etchings retain much of the original darkening, and great contrast with the original luster of the blade. The blade ricasso is neatly etched with the commercial type manufacturer marking of E. u. F. Hörster in Solingen. The blade buffer pad is still intact. The handle on this one is gorgeous, with only extremely slight age toning to the brass fittings and the white synthetic grip. There is almost no wear to speak of. The original grip wire is nice and tight, and the grip is undamaged. The handle features a textbook officer portepee, still tied to the handle with the original, elaborate knot. The portepee shows only very minor wear to the wire braid in a few small spots. The beautiful hammered scabbard on this Kriegsmarine Dagger by Hörster retains wonderful original finish, and is nice and straight, with no dents or damages. The suspension rings on the scabbard are intact, and the push button scabbard release is still functional. Overall, this is a really very nice dagger, in excellent condition.

Historical Description: The German Navy adopted the use of a dress dagger for its officers in the 19th century. In 1935, the Nazi leadership reintroduced universal conscription for German men as part of a plan to greatly expand German military power. The German Navy became part of the new Wehrmacht and was renamed the “Kriegsmarine.” The leadership of the Kriegsmarine was largely very traditional and initially retained many pre-Nazi traditions including the traditional dress dagger which was unchanged since WWI. But in 1938, a new dagger was introduced for the Kriegsmarine, that bore the Nazi swastika emblem. This pattern of dress dagger is known today as the Second Model Navy Dagger. The earlier “flaming ball” device used on the first model pommel was replaced with a German national eagle emblem clutching a wreathed swastika. The crossguard on the second model Navy dagger was longer than that found on the first pattern. The standard blade was acid etched with a fouled anchor and ornate foliage pattern. Because it was expected that these daggers would be worn at sea, all parts with the exception of the blade were initially made from brass. The Second Model Navy Dagger was made by more than a dozen manufacturers in a number of variants until the end of WWII. As with all officer dress daggers, they were not issued, but were private purchase items. Officers could customize these to suit their own tastes by upgrading them and customizing them in various ways.

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