Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice example of a mid-war production 2nd Model Luftwaffe dagger, complete with its scabbard, portepee, and hanger. It is a fine Solingen-produced example made by the well-known firm of F.W. Höller, Waffenfabrik (Weapons Factory), a highly desirable maker of edged weapons. The celluloid covered wooden grip of this dagger is a nice light ivory white color, and has not faded to orange as they so often do. It has the typical Höller tapered shape, which is wider than those used by other makers, and is tightly wrapped in aluminum bullion wrapped twisted wire, which is still bright. It shows a bit of scratching and staining, but no cracking or major damage.

The hilt mounts are in very good condition with a lovely lightly worn patina of age, lookin to be made of oxide coated aluminum. The pommel is very good and still shows most of the original detail. The "mobile" swas (hook crosses) on both sides are clear and show only light wear on the edges, and the reverse swas even still has some of the original gold paint highlighting. The oak leaves around them are raised out and heavily hand enhanced. The pommel and grip are still tight to the tang.

The crossguard is also made of Aluminum, which was an "Air Age" material, which was used to make most airplanes. It was considered fitting and desirable for the eagle-shaped guard to be made of this material. The front side is an eagle with a breast and talon area that is vaulted out much more so than the crossguards seen on other types of daggers. This guard shows little wear and has great feathering on the eagle. The bird, of course, flies to the left and grasps a mobile swas (hook cross) in his talons. The reverse panel is decorated with small pebbling, which is still clear. The leather blade buffer is still present in the recesses of the cross guard, however even with this the cross guard wobbles quite a bit on the blade. The ferrule looks to be nickel plated steel, and it is still in very good condition.

Wrapped around the grip and cross guard is a service worn original aluminum bullion portepee (sword knot), tied in the Heer fashion, which looks to have moderate to heavy service. It has fraying to the bullion coating on the threads, allowing the base threads to be seen, and the top of the "knot" is coming loose. There also is some grease or dirt stuck to the portepee in places.

The blade is in very good condition, looking to have seen some oxidation in the past, but still showing most of the original factory final polish grind cross grain throughout the blade. This texture is iconic, and is the definitive identifying characteristic for a real WWII German Blade. There is some scattered light oxidation staining throughout both sides, which has not been cleaned away, as that would harm the cross grain. The edge is correctly not sharpened, and the tip is intact, though it bends slightly towards one side for the last 1-2 inches.

The ricasso is maker marked with a "losenge" style trademark logo that reads F. W. HÖLLER / SOLINGEN, surrounding the trademark Höller "Thermometer" emblem. This is a well-known maker from Solingen, the famous "City of Blades" in Western Germany, which produced many fine edged weapons. F.W. Höller, Waffenfabrik (Weapons Factory), located in Solingen, the legendary "City of Blades" in western Germany. During the WWII Period they manufactured many SA and NSKK daggers, both with their "thermometer" trademark and later with the RZM code M7/33. They also produced numerous 98K bayonets and other edged weapons. The firm was founded in 1866, and registered in Solingen in 1883. By 1900 ownership had passed to Emil Höller, and it continued manufacture after WWII, finally closing in 1974. For more information please see J. Anthony Carter's fine work GERMAN SWORD AND KNIFE MAKERS.

The steel scabbard is in good condition, and looks to be made from zinc plated steel, now well patinated. It has definitely suffered some serious damage to the last 2-3 inches, which is probably how the blade got bent slightly. The scabbard looks almost like it was crushed in this area, and is bend backwards and narrowed. We have made no attempts to fix this, as it will most likely further damage it. In spite of this, the pebbled panels still look great, as do the oak leaf and acorn panels below them. The hanger bands look to be made from zinc alloy, and are well defined with hand enhanced oak leaves tipped at a 45 degree angle, showing an oxidized zinc patina. The throat is the wider version seen, retained a single flush screw on the rear of the scabbard. There is some loss of the plating on the narrow sides, which has allowed the metal to oxidizes.

Attached to the scabbard is a very good condition belt hanger, with functional pebbled spring clips with a great patina. The buckles and keepers are engraved with the same oak and acorn motif seen throughout the dagger. The clips are the pebbled hinged type, and it looks like the hardware on the hanger is made completely of aluminum, with some antiquing in the recesses of the buckles and sliders. The belt clip is marked DRGM on the back, indicating that it is a protected design The straps are in very good shape, showing the bullion on the front well, and the velvet plush material on the back shows light wear, with just a bit of fraying on the strap edges.

This really is a very nice 2nd Model Luftwaffe Dagger, made by a well-known maker and offered in very good condition. Complete with scabbard, hanger, and portepee, this is the full setup, ready to display!

Specifications:
Blade Length: 10"
Overall length: 15 1/4”
Crossguard: 3 1/4”
Scabbard Length: 11 1/2”