Original Item: Only One Available. This is a beautiful classic Lionhead German WWI Artillery Officer's sword. The all brass alloy hilt consists of a finely detailed lion head cat with floral backstrap and "P" guard. The Lion is fitted with blood red faceted "jewel" eyes, though one of them is missing. Nice detail throughout his whiskers, chin, muzzle, and especially the Lion's Mane. The handwork is beautifully rendered throughout this brass. The "P" guard has crossed swords under a shield, as well as an iron cross motif. The grip ferrule has the classic "Oak leaves and Acorns" design.

The crossguard has plain shields on each chappe, which are arrayed in laurel leaves, with a pebbled background, with lots of hand enhanced details. The brass alloy hilt still has some of the original gilded finish, making it very appealing. This was most likely mercury gilding, which unfortunately "evaporates" over time. You can also see traces of the gilding at the base of the blade by the crossguard.

The scabbard still has good original factory black lacquer and is mostly retained. There are very few cracks and no crazing present, but there are some random paint spots and some slight rust issues towards the tip. There are only a few tiny dents in the steel however, and the shape is almost perfectly straight.

The grip is a very nice black celluloid over a wood base. It is wrapped with three strands of twisted brass wire, with the central strand being much thicker than the outer two. There is some looseness in the wrappings, probably from the celluloid shrinking a bit. The original leather blade buffer is still present, and in great shape.

The 28 ¼ inch blade of this sword is in good condition, and only shows light any signs of use or abuse, mostly along the edge. These were ceremonial swords, and not really intended for cutting. The nickel plating is just shy of complete, with just a few specs of rust where the plating has worn. The plating does have some oxidation near the cross guard, but it could probably be polished out. We have left it as is to preserve any patina.

The reverse ricasso is stamped with the trademark "Knight's Helmet" (Ritter-helm) logo of legendary maker Weyersberg Kirschbaum & Cie of Solingen, over the firms initials of WKC. Unfortunately this marking is entirely obscured by the chappe, so photography is impossible. This company is a famous manufacturer of military swords and cutlery in Solingen, Germany - a city famous since the middle ages for its metal-working and craftsmanship in sword making. The traditional manufacturing of swords at WKC dates back to the year 1774 when the Weyersberg first registered the ''Kings head'' as their trademark. Later in 1883 the company merged with the Kirschbaums and the company WKC was formed as it exists today. For more information please see J. Anthony Carter’s work GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS.

Overall an very good condition high quality rare sword from a legendary German sword maker, based in Solingen, the "City of Blades" in Western Germany. Ready to hang on the wall!

Specifications:
Blade Length: 28 1/4"
Overall length: 34 ¾”
Crossguard: 4”
Scabbard Length: 29 ¼”
Handguard length: 4 ½”
Weight: 2 lbs. 4 ¼ oz.