Original German WWII 1st Model Luftwaffe Dagger with Aluminum Fittings by E. & F. Hörster Original Items

Original Item: One of a Kind. This is a very nice 1st Model Luftwaffe Dagger with Aluminum fittings made in sometime after 1938. Previous to this, the mounts had been of alloy brass or nickel, but Aluminum was an “Air Age” material, which was used to make most airplanes. It was considered fitting and desirable for the mounts to be made of this, and the later 2nd model continued to use aluminum as well.

The aluminum mounts defy all age and remain nice and mostly bright, with a fine matte finish. The pommel has 100% of the original gilding intact on the “Broken Sun Cross” swas medallions, and the same is true on the cross guard. The guard is the standard down swept “wing” type, with good detailing.  The rim of the pommel shows some small dents but nothing major.  The grip is a carved wood base covered in blue Moroccan leather, though the leather finish is worn, so it is partly brown now. It is triple wrapped with silver wire, the center example being twisted.

The blade of this piece is a high quality nickel-plated example, though unfortunately the plating has degraded in some areas, and overall has a slightly peppered look. However, the metal of the blade itself is in very good condition, with only a few small nicks on the edge, and no damage to the tip. There is runner wear from being removed from the scabbard, which removed some of the plating.

The blade’s reverse ricasso is maker marked E. & F. HÖRSTER / SOLINGEN in a circle around the company’s trademark downward pointing sword and interlocking HHS initials emblem. This is a well-known maker from Solingen, the famous “City of Blades” in Western Germany, which produced many fine edged weapons.

The scabbard shell is straight throughout with no dents. The Moroccan leather covering the scabbard nicely matches the grip and is in very good condition. There are some areas where the leather has cracked, and the finish is missing, but that is expected on a scabbard of this age. The mounts on this scabbard are all matte aluminum, and are still very attractive and only have a bit of minor denting.  These mounts are retained by headless flush mounted side screws.

The attached aluminum chain has six ringlets making up the upper chain and nine on the lower. These two chains are attached to an aluminum snap clip marked OLC in a triangle and Ges Gesch., indicating that this was a trademarked design.

A very nice example of the classic 1st model Luftwaffe dagger, ready to display.