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

Original Item: One of a Kind. This is a very nice 1st Model Luftwaffe Dagger, made by the desirable maker E. & F. Hörster, Waffenfabrik of Solingen, Germany. The matte Aluminum fittings indicate that it was 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 almost all 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, which has wear on the top of the rounded portions through the finish. It is wrapped with twisted wires, though there have been some repairs to the wires in places.

The 12 1/4 inch blade of this piece, unlike many we see, is bright steel, and not nickel plated. The shape is still great, with no sharpening, and a great tip. There are however some areas of light staining and water pitting, which appear to be from contact with the scabbard. These have bene expertly polished out to put the blade in its best light. The original blue Moroccan leather blade buffer is in place on top of the guard. 

The reverse ricasso of this dagger is acid etched with maker name E. & F. HÖRSTER / SOLINGEN in an oval “lozenge” around the company’s trademark downward pointing sword piercing interlocking HHS initials. E. & F. Hörster & Co Gmbh, is a well-known maker from Solingen, the famous “City of Blades” in Western Germany, which marketed many fine edged weapons. Originally founded in 1850 as “Friedrich Hörster” in 1850, the company was renamed to E. & F. Hörster in 1870 at the behest of Friedrich Emil & Fritz Hörster. The firm lasted long after WWII, finally being declared insolvent in 1996. For more information please see GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS by J. Anthony Carter. 

The scabbard shell is straight throughout with no dents. The Moroccan leather covering the scabbard nicely matches the grip does shoe wear and tearing in the finish, as shown. The leather seams are however still tight, and cannot be seen. The mounts on this scabbard are all matte aluminum, and are still very attractive and only have a bit of minor denting and scratching. 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, which is marked on the back with the OLC in a diamond trademark of Overhoff & Cie. of Lüdenscheid, who produced numerous clothing accessories. It is also marked GES. / GESCHÜTZT, for Gesetzlich Geschutzt (Protected By Law), indicating that the clip was a trademarked design.

A very nice example of the classic 1st model Luftwaffe dagger by a very desirable maker, ready to display!

Specifications:
Blade Length: 12 1/8″
Overall length: 17 7/8”
Crossguard: 4 1/4”
Scabbard Length: 13 1/4”