Original German WWII Army Heer Dagger by Robert Klaas of Solingen with Scabbard Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a great Army Officer’s Dagger, produced by the rare and desirable Solingen-based firm of Robert Klaas, Feine Solinger Stahlwaren (Fine Solingen Steelware). The fittings on this dagger look to be all silver plated zinc alloy, with a beautiful tarnished patina.

The plated pommel of this dagger is in very good condition, showing just a little wear and scratching around the edge, with some minor loss of plating. The plating elsewhere is almost entirely present, with a great patina and lovely darkening on the oak leaf side panel. The silver plated crossguard is in similar condition, with almost all of the plating intact, with a great patina. The details throughout the characteristic eagle are exceptional throughout the head, breast and wing feathering, talons and wreathed mobile swas. There is however some cracking through the base metal on the “left” side of the guard, common for zinc alloy. The magnetic grip ferrule is also plated, and is in lovely good condition, showing lovely overlapping oak leaves and acorns.

The celluloid grip on this dagger has faded just a bit from the original ivory color to a lovely amber color, with no major deterioration present. This grip is in almost perfect condition throughout, with just a bit of staining and wear. There is just the tiniest bit of wobble in the handle. The leather blade buffer is still present in the recesses of the cross guard.

The very good condition blade is bright throughout, showing almost all of the original cross grain. This texture is iconic, and is the definitive identifying characteristic for a real WWII German Blade. The needle-like tip is intact and unbent, and the edges have correctly not been sharpened. There is a bit of light staining on the blade near the tip, but no real rust, and it really looks great. There is just a bit of runner wear and scuffing from cleaning off the tip.

The reverse ricasso is maker marked with a trademark logo that reads ROB’T KLAAS / SOLINGEN under the trademark Klaas “Kissing Storks” trademark emblem. This is a well-known maker from Solingen, the famous “City of Blades” in Western Germany, which produced many fine edged weapons. The company was originally founded by Friedrich Robert Klaas, who married the daughter of knife maker Peter Daniel Pauls. After his father-in-law passed away, all was left to Klaas and his wife, so he merged his scissor business with the knife business, and registered with Solingen authorities in 1869. The company passed to his sons, and then his son-in-law. It survived WWI, WWII, and still exists today, per J. Anthony Carter’s fine work GERMAN SWORD AND KNIFE MAKERS.

The scabbard is a fine example, and is plated steel. 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, though they do show wear down to the brass base metal. The throat is the thicker style, retained by “cheese head” screws on the thinner sides of the scabbard. It is silver or nickel plated, and has a lovely oxidized look.

A great example from a rare and desirable Solingen maker, complete with scabbard and ready to display!

Specifications:
Blade Length: 9 1/2″
Blade Style: Spear Point Dagger
Overall length: 14“
Crossguard: 2 3/4”
Scabbard Length: 11 1/8″

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.