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Wardaggers.com
has supplied this page for the German Army dagger
enthusiast and period edged weapon collectors
Worldwide. The information it contains is my
interpretation of the individual Solingen manufacturers
traits and timescales and as such is open to debate
and correction.
Constructed in conjunction with this
websites German Army dagger cross-guard reference
page information, it lists both in house produced
German army dagger patterns and also patterns or
parts known to have been utilised from other makers.
Please bear in mind when assessing an authentic German Army dagger, that
many manufacturers did also include a Generic design
in the production order and not all Generic daggers
are listed below.
Please do not copy or distribute the information
held within this page without my consent or I will
choose to introduce password protection.
Note: This page is a work in progress and is updated
as new information becomes available, also many
makers did swap parts on occasion. If your dagger
configuration is not listed below, it does not mean
that the German Army dagger itself is questionable.
I have only listed recurring or widely accepted
variations. © wardaggers.com
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KEY: 5 / 3 = ( 5 cross-guard patterns used, 3
manufactured in house ) |
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ALCOSO |
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MAKER MARKS - 5
CROSSGUARD VARIANTS - 4 / 4
( ACS-1st,
ACS-2nd,
ACS-3rd,
ACS-4th )
Alcoso or ACS was a large family owned firm
registered in 1821. The Coppel family where of
Jewish descent and although many family
members had achieved prominent standing within
the Solingen Community , the Nazi regime was
un-sympathetic. Carl Gustav Coppel, born in 1857
took his own life on 25th Sept 1941 after the
firm had been seized by the Nazi Party. His
daughter Anna Coppel died in Ravensbruck
concentration camp 1942, and ultimately
Alexander Coppel who established ACS, was
deported to the Terezin Ghetto on July 21st
1942. He was to die two weeks later from
starvation and exhaustion.
The company was involved in the early manufacture of German Army daggers
and produced their own in house cross-guard in 1935 in an effort to try to secure an official
manufacturing contract. Many of these early
designs used a variety of base metals and
finishes to the fittings and a few select
examples have come to light in recent years with
a special attribute that appears to be unique to
this maker. Known affectionately in the
collecting community as "Eisenkopf" and
only observed on Alcoso army daggers, the firm
used ferrous base metals with a large iron
content. These fittings will feel very heavy in
hand in comparison to the normal base metals and
will react strongly to a magnet. In many cases
the parts will also lack detail although there
are exceptions to the rule.
Another Alcoso feature that appears to be more prolific than any other
maker was to fix the pommels in place after
factory assembly. This procedure has been noted
on all four designs by ACS and involved using a
resin or glue on the inner thread of the pommel
to fix it permanently to the blade tang. On very
early daggers, the pommels were filled with sand
or a fine slag type material that basically
achieved the same secure fixing of the pommel
when tightened. In most cases this filling
material is lost to time, as the pommels have
been turned over the years. This technique of
fixing the pommels has caused issues 60+ years
down the road,. The blade leather buffers wear
and shrink and the grips contract resulting in
loose hilt fittings.
Other traits unique to Alcoso manufactured army
daggers are flared pommels and smaller tapered
grips to suit. A triangular shape to the wings
on the later three designs of crossguard with a
sharp dramatic rise to the birds lower wings. |
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EICKHORN |
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MAKER MARKS - 4
CROSSGUARD VARIANTS - 4 /
4
( EICK-1st,
EICK-2nd,
EICK-3rd,
EICK 4th )
Paul Casberg, a renowned artist from the period
was working for Eickhorn when he was asked to
submit drawings for a new dagger design for the
German armed forces in 1935, it stands to reason that
arguably the largest manufacturer of its time
would have been the first to complete and
assemble an early base design that would remain
a template for other manufacturers for the next
seven years. The firm was established in 1865
and the back to back squirrel trademark found on
many early edged weapons, sabres, swords,
bayonets etc first made an appearance in 1906.
The earliest German Army daggers made by Eickhorn bear the double oval
trademark, this mark was only used for a very
short period in 1935 before switching to the
1935-1941 trademark that most collectors will
recognise. These earliest contributions are
normally matched with a slant grip ( later grips
also ) and the very early brass based type 1
cross-guard. The practice of using slant grips
by Eickhorn was very short indeed before
switching to the standard grip design late in
1935, it is my personal opinion that the
firm never returned to using slant grips after
this date and care should be taken when
assessing daggers that do not bear the double
oval trademark. Eickhorn also had a habit of
mixing some early and slightly later parts
during assembly throughout the early years and
this can cause confusion when assessing the
parts on period daggers.
It is thought that Eickhorn introduced three of
the four cross-guard designs ( one transitional
) within a 12-24 month period starting in 1935,
before finally settling on the prolific 4th
pattern around 1937. Many early daggers will
have C.E. cast onto the blade tang, with the mid
and later designs having the typical Eickhorn
flat banded ferrule and scabbard bands and
thicker throat to the scabbard. The last two
trademarks shown above were only in production
for a very short period as resources and
materials became short and the war effort took
it's toll. Probably the largest manufacturer of
Army daggers during the period, Eickhorn
produced one of the finest quality edged weapons
of the era including many presentation,
Damascus, Etched, Ivory & Glass gripped
examples.
Note: There are three variations of the last
"over the shoulder" trademark from 1942 found on
period army daggers. |
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E-PACK |
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MAKER MARKS - 3 (
With Variations )
CROSSGUARD VARIANTS - 5 /
4
( WKC-1st,
E-PACK-1st,
E-PACK-2nd,
E-PACK-3rd,
E-PACK-Generic )
( WKC 1st ) The E-Pack trademarks will show slight variations
between daggers, it would appear that Pack
sourced or manufactured their blades from
various locations or held several templates of
the same makers mark with minor differences. The
second transitional mark without the Siegfried
scroll is extremely rare on German Army and
Luftwaffe daggers, it was used for a very short
time probably around 1936 and the examples that
have come to light in recent years can be
counted on one hand.
E-Pack was a large company and was very quick off the mark in 1935,
assembling an early contribution army dagger
using purchased parts from WKC. The fittings on
these earliest E-Pack daggers are probably the
most detailed and heavily hand enhanced and
chiselled of any early slant gripped German army
dagger from any manufacturer. With extreme punch
work to the pommel and leaf veining and heavy
chiselling to the cross-guard eagle and scabbard
bands, limited examples where released and would
have been an interim or short term solution
while their own in house fittings were being
finalised. These WKC fitted E-Pack daggers bear
the earliest blacksmith trademark positioned low
on the tapered tang blade and of course an early
slant based grip.
( E-Pack 1st )
The firm quickly adopted their own design and continued in most cases to add
extreme hand chasing and chisel work to the
fittings. E-Pack along with Klaas certainly went
the extra mile when it came to workmanship on
these early daggers. Due to the amount of 1st
Pack fittings found today on daggers by other
manufacturers who utilised this pattern, it would suggest the
timescale that it was introduced was very early in 1935. Using only
quality materials and mostly brass based
fittings, the firm also introduced their own
scabbard design ( thin scabbard bands and twin
dome headed screws ) that remained consistent
throughout the period and became very popular
with other manufacturers involved in early army
dagger production. Packs first
pattern dagger can be found with or without
nickel plated blades matched with the first
style E-Pack trademark, and in most cases a slant grip.
Several firms chose to purchase and assemble
Packs early design and fittings/scabbard and to
add their own trademarked blade, these include
Spitzer, Heller, Henckels, Wingen, Helbig,
C.Schmidt, Voos, Grafrath, Hartkop and Tiger. The level of
hand finishing employed by these makers on the
1st Pack fittings was nowhere near the level of
Pack themselves and as such the appearance and
differences of the same base fittings can be
quite dramatic.
( E-Pack 2nd ) The next design introduced by E-Pack, in many cases is mistaken for a
modified first Pack, however after studying
several identical German daggers by Pack and the fittings, it
is my belief that it is in fact a unique
transitional
pattern
probably used late in 1935 and before the
introduction of Packs final and very common
third pattern cross-guard. Still heavily hand
enhanced ,the fittings, grip
and scabbard remain of early construction. With
the first style trademark to the blade and a
slant grip, the only major difference to the
first pattern dagger from Pack, is the
cross-guard eagle itself. The head and beak are
cropped in comparison to the 1st, with a
chequered weave pattern to the breast of the
eagle compared to the diamond cut of the normal
design. The leg feathering is not evident on
this second design and in many cases the eye of
the eagle has the lazy eye or half moon shape,
evident on the third pattern configuration but
not on the first, which normally has a punched
circular eye. This cross-guard has also been
observed on early German daggers by Spitzer.
( E-Pack 3rd ) E-Packs final dagger configuration and fittings proved to be just as
popular with other manufacturers as it's first
design. Weyersburg and Holler purchased Packs
3rd and modified the fittings to suit.
Introduced possibly early in 1936, the casting
and mould's utilised had been refined resulting
in a more detailed and crisper end product. Hand
finishing although still evident on some of the
earlier production runs of this pattern was in
decline as it was not necessary to add
personalisation to unique in house detailed
fittings. The quality of the materials and
plating techniques remained high on the initial
introduction of these fittings but declined over
time as resources became short and many of the
factory workers where conscripted for the war
effort.
( Aluminium Generic )
Not only did Pack produce one of the most highly
detailed and intricate German Army daggers of
the era, the firm was also the primary
manufacturer of aluminium hilted Heer daggers.
These unique fittings had an extruded or matte
finish and a high aluminium base metal content
which resulted in a lightweight, typically
aluminium coloured cross-guard and pommel that
was completely different to the normal plated
varieties. Extremely desirable and collectable
Worldwide, E-Pack introduced the new Generic
type design probably in 1936. Initially based on
the 1st Pack standard cross-guard, the firm also
continued to produce these aluminium fittings
slightly later, using the standard E-Pack 3rd
template or mould, although not to the extent
seen earlier in the period. The majority will
display heavy hand finishing and enhancing and
remain extremely detailed and resilient to wear,
in part due to the high quality aluminium base
metals utilised and the fact that the hand
finishing or chiseller work was not filled with
a silver plate. Most will bear the earliest
trademark and be matched with a non-slant grip
and the typical early Pack scabbard. Rare silver
plated examples of this
Pack
Generic design also exist.
Visit this link for VERY high quality examples >
ALUMINIUM HILTED German army daggers. |
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HELLER |
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MAKER MARKS - 2
CROSSGUARD VARIANTS - 1 /
0
( E-PACK-1st )
( E-Pack 1st ) Gebruder Heller or "Balloonman" was a smaller
cottage maker who purchased parts from other
manufacturers, adding their own trademarked
blade and in some cases personalising or adding
unique chiselled enhancing to the hilt fittings
by skilled factory workers. This procedure of
hand finishing the product was to add some
degree of individuality and to alter the look of
the parts produced by another company. It is
interesting to observe the details on these
early daggers by the small makers, in many cases
it is possible to recognise the individual
skilled workers handiwork during comparison of
two separate daggers by the same manufacturer.
This particular firm's German Army daggers have become highly desirable
and collectable by advanced collectors Worldwide
for a number of reasons but mainly because of
the unique and somewhat comical trademark added
to the high quality nickel plated tapered tang
blades. The company went the extra mile during
the very short period the firm was in army
dagger production in 1935, using the early or
first E-Pack quality brass based fittings and
twin domed screw scabbard that where so favoured
by many of these smaller firms trying to secure
Government contracts. The addition of a thick
nickel plated blade and the labour involved with
hand finishing ultimately drove up costs but
this is testament to the steps these firms would
go too in a time of recession and huge
competition to secure lucrative business.
Heller army daggers, although ONLY assembled by the firm during 1935/6 and
with the earliest hilt fittings from E-Pack, are
thought to be a relative late comer, with most
examples found in collections today having the
slightly later non-slanted grips. This practice
of mixing early hilt fittings and scabbard and a
later style grip is almost unique to Heller
during the early years and examples without the
Pack fittings or with the addition of a slant
grip need to be scrutinised. All blades should
bear a tapered tang and as far as I am aware,
all should be nickel plated. |
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HERDER |
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MAKER MARKS - 2
CROSSGUARD VARIANTS - 1 /
1
( HERDER )
( Herder ) Rich A Herder was not involved in the early
production of German Army daggers but did
produce a relatively large number of mid to late
war daggers fitted with a cross-guard very
similar to the Generic type B. It was initially
thought that the prevalent Generic B cross-guard
that was purchased and used by many of the
smaller makers was based on the original design
by Herder, I personally think it makes more
sense that the Generic B design was based on the Wingen 2nd which is also very similar and in
many cases cannot be distinguished as a
different pattern. Wingen was also producing
Army daggers from the offset early in 1935
whereas Herder is known to have only joined the
game probably late in 1936. The Wingen 2nd,
Generic B and the Herder designs are virtually
identical with the only obvious difference being
a flat head to the eagle on the Herder design in
comparison to the discreet dip between the brow
and beak on the other two.
A large percentage of Herder produced daggers will be nickel plated over
an inferior base metal, this method of plating
was cost effective for the period but does not
hold up well over time. Any slight knock or
damage to the thick nickel plate allows the air
to penetrate and moisture to react with the pot
metal base. Herder also used two trademarks
although I am not sure which came first. Both
trademarks can be found on daggers that are
identical in design in finishing and also on the
earliest silver plated patterns which I believe
to have been amongst the first daggers released
by Herder around the end of 1936. These silver
plated examples can also bear the earlier
tapered tang blades which would suggest that
Herder purchased in stock from other earlier
manufacturers and added their own trademark to
suit. |
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HOLLER |
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MAKER MARKS - 1
CROSSGUARD VARIANTS - 5 /
2
( HOLLER-1st,
WKC-1st,
E-PACK-3rd,
HOLLER-3rd,
E-PACK-3rd )
( Holler 1st ) Do not be fooled by the single trademark used by F.W.Holler throughout production, the firms use
of several German dagger configurations and repeated
use of purchased and modified cross-guard
designs is probably the most complicated of any
manufacturer. One of the larger companies and
producing from the offset in 1935, Holler was a
quality manufacturer employing highly skilled
workers and purchasing only the best quality
materials and fittings, many of which where hand
enhanced late into the period. The firm
appears to have been very successful, securing
an early production contract after submitting
its first unique in house designed German Army
dagger that bore little resemblance to any other
maker, other than dimensions and proportions.
This early 1st Holler had several unique
attributes including horizontal cross-graining
or polishing to the centre segment of the blade,
heavy hand enhancing to the fittings, slant
grips and tapered tang blades. The dagger was
matched with an early scabbard fitted with twin
dome headed screws and in all likelihood was purchased from WKC.
( WKC 1st ) Holler decided very early in the period and probably shortly after
securing it's production contract that it would
purchase parts from other suppliers as a cost
cutting measure and the second Holler design
probably introduced halfway through 1935 featured the
WKC 1st cross-guard and fittings. These parts
where heavily modified, adding Hollers unique
punched eye to the eagles head, the half moon
crescent tool mark to the rear of the head and
double stamped acorn's to cover the seam on the
scabbard bands. The polishing to the blade also
changed with the more recognised vertical
cross-grain returning, which may suggest that
these early tapered tang blades where also
sourced. Still showing early production, slant
grips and quality materials this pattern German
army dagger was
only used for a very short period.
( E-Pack 3rd ) The third dagger configuration from Holler
can be considered rare and featured a modified E-Pack 3rd
base cross-guard, the fittings in most cases
will be heavily chiselled and will show typical
Holler characteristics with a circular punched
eye, tool marks to the head and neck area and the
enhanced acorns to the
scabbard bands. The continued use of tapered
tang blades suggests that this third heavily
chaste offering was still an early contribution,
probably in the latter part of 1935 or early
1936. Many will have the horizontal cross-grain
or polishing to the centre segment of the blade,
with the outer flanks having the more recognised
vertical polishing. The grips had changed at his
point of manufacture to the non-slanted variety
and most will be matched with a Holler scabbard
and single flush mounted reverse placed throat
retaining screw.
( Holler 3rd ) Around 1936 most of the successful companies who had achieved contracts
and who had been producing expensive quality
products, chose to streamline and standardise
the fittings on German daggers in an effort to reduce costs and to
increase production. Holler was no different,
switching to a cheaper in house designed
cross-guard ( Holler 3rd ) and hilt fittings
that required limited finishing and no hand
enhancing. This design was prolific and was used
by the company for at least 4 or 5 years, the
majority of Holler pattern German Army daggers
will feature this design. Due to the continued
use of quality base metals and heavy silver
plate even late into the period, this design
remains one of the most detailed and resilient
patterns produced by any manufacturer. It can be
found with and without a tapered tang to the
blade, although the grips are nearly always of
the non-slant variety. The scabbard is Holler
produced on most examples although Generic
scabbards have also been observed and the throat
is retained by a single flush mounted reverse
placed screw. The practice of hand finishing the
scabbard bands with acorns appears to have been
aborted after standardisation in 1936/7 although
a few examples will still be found. Probably
excess parts from earlier production.
( E-Pack 3rd ) The final design from Holler see's a return to a previously used pattern (
E-Pack 3rd ) but with differences to the
modifications and enhancing. Why Holler chose to
use or purchase this pattern very late in the
war could be for a number of reasons, possibly
lack of materials and resources to produce their
own or simply that they held a stock of base
Pack 3rd fittings from earlier in the period.
Either way this German dagger configuration can be
classed as scarce as it was only in use for a
short period, probably around 1941-42. It
closely resembles the standard E-Pack 3rd
cross-guard but instead of the normal lazy eye,
this design has the simple circular punched eye
synonymous with Holler production. It is
normally found with silvered hilt fittings and a
Generic scabbard. The tangs are always the later
shouldered variety.
Note: There is a possibility that Holler
utilised early Horster fittings on the very
first daggers it produced, prior to producing
their own. This is yet to be confirmed as
examples have been very limited.
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HORSTER |
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MAKER MARKS - 2
CROSSGUARD VARIANTS - 4 /
2
( WKC-1st,
HORSTER-1st,
WKC 2nd,
HORSTER
- 2nd )
E&F Horster used two variations of the same
trademark, one large ( used on the first three
dagger configurations ) and one small, used on
the last and latest dagger pattern. Horster
adopted an almost unique procedure of
internally marking it's parts, on the very first
daggers produced they allocated the dagger a
number and marked each part internally or on the
underside. It is thought the first 45 daggers
produced feature the 1st WKC cross-guard,
numbers post 45 seem to be matched with the 1st
Horster fittings. This suggests that the firm
only produced 45 daggers utilising the earliest
WKC parts and as such are extremely rare. On
later daggers the company switched to marking
the parts with the firms logo, an H with sword
and this mark can be found on the underside of
the cross-guard under the leather blade buffer
and on the interior of the pommel. It was
originally stated that Horster did not produce
an early contribution, this was mainly due to
the fact that Horsters1st in house fittings
always appeared to be matched with the later
type B non-slant grip that was not in use until
later in the period. Horster did in fact use WKC
parts for it's initial German dagger release
prior to producing their own parts, which did
include a slant grip.
( WKC 1st ) The earliest Horster will feature the WKC 1st cross-guard, 14 leaf pommel
and unique scabbard with a thicker throat and
two small dome headed side screws. The blades
are polished, with a tapered tang and bear the
larger Horster trademark positioned relatively
close to the cross-guard. The fittings should be
marked or stamped with a number lower than 45 (
I would like to now if you have one with a
higher number ). As with all early WKC parts
they will be of the highest quality, probably
brass based and with a heavy silver plate. The
grip should be slanted. Be aware also that
Horster is known to have produced an aluminium
hilted version of this early WKC variant,
although I am not sure if the parts are marked
internally in the same way. This initial dagger
release would have been early in 1935 and was
probably used to secure a manufacturing
contract.
( Horster 1st )
Next came Horsters own factory version and
unique Horster 1st cross-guard. A limited number
of slant grip examples have been noted although
the majority will have the slightly later type B
grip. These scarce slant gripped variations
appear to have continued to be numbered
internally and further information is required
if you own one please. I suspect that this
pattern or the unique Horster in house fittings
where not produced until contracts had been
secured. This theory would tie in with the
initial release of the early Horster army dagger
fitted with another companies parts and
assembled to secure the contract .Then the
apparent addition of the later style grip that
was only in use by the time that Horsters in
house parts rolled off the production line. It
is of course purely speculation.
Highly desirable in the collecting community,
this very detailed German army dagger consisted
of early parts and in most cases very high
quality. The blades should be tapered, polished
and have the large early Horster trademark. They
can be found with both slanted and non-slanted
grips although 90% will be the latter. The
scabbards should have a thicker than normal
throat and be retained by small diameter dome
headed side screws. The pommels remained
consistent on all three of the earlier releases
and many daggers will display some form of hand
chasing. Another Horster characteristic evident
on this pattern was to have a raised circular
platform under the swastika on the cross-guard.
( WKC 2nd ) It is listed in Tom Wittmanns
excellent reference that Horster produced four
in house patterns, however pattern 2 ( page 39 )
is in all likelihood a Herder or Wingen
production and pattern 3 ( page 40 ) a WKC 2nd.
Therefore in my opinion, Horster only
manufactured two cross-guards themselves. I was
also unable to find enough convincing examples
of a Horster fitted with the Herder or Wingen
parts to list it here but I do believe the WKC
2nd transitional was used as a stop gap or
filler around 1936 between the Horster produced
1st and 2nd. These daggers in most cases will
still have a tapered tang to the blade and the
second style smaller trademark which was moved a
little closer to the cross-guard and was
probably introduced as part of Horsters
standardisation. The twin dome headed scabbard
with a thicker throat was carried over from the
previous design as was the pommel.
( Horster 2nd )
The final German Army dagger configuration from Horster and by far the most widely used was the
Horster 3rd. This design was a typical post
1936/7 production using poor base metals,
inferior plating and in my opinion a very bland
and basic cross-guard pattern, similar in size
and proportions to the Eickhorn 2nd. Produced
after standardisation and cost cutting
improvements on or around 1936/7 it remained in
production until the latter stages of the war.
Often constructed using a pot metal base, the
plating was prone to peel and lift and the
fittings easily lost definition and detail. The
blade had the later shouldered tang and was
normally etched with the smaller trademark.
Occasionally the fittings can be found with
nickel plating and the parts are often cast with
the raised company motif internally, an H with
sword. The scabbard also changed slightly and
for cost cutting reasons, with a single reverse
centre placed retaining screw, the thicker
throat remained. The pommels on this late
pattern dagger are often lacking detail and with
a basic flat 14 leaf design. Occasionally the
blade tang will also have a cast "H" motif on
later German Army daggers by Horster. |
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KLAAS |
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MAKER MARKS - 2
CROSSGUARD VARIANTS - 3 /
1
( KLAAS-1st,
WKC-2nd,
E-PACK-3rd )
( Klaas 1st ) The Klaas companies production run is very
unusual compared to other manufacturers as their
initial German army daggers featured little or
no enhancing. Fitted with an in house designed
cross-guard, unique pommels and scabbard, the
earliest slant gripped daggers from Klass can
have nickel plated or polished blades, both with
a tapered tang and many of these nickel plated
quality blades will also bear a hole in the tang
that was used to suspend the blade in the
plating tank. Another trait was to cast the
firms twin stork logo onto the blade tang.
During the first couple of years starting in
1935 Klaas chose to add heavy enhancing and
chisel work to it's sole design as time
progressed, totally the reverse of most other
makers. Although the firm opted for the more
expensive nickel plated blades, I do not think
these started to appear until slightly later in
the production run due to most examples being
matched with the later detailed cross-guards and
fittings. Klass polished blades have also been
observed to have the horizontal cross-grain on
the centre segment of the blade compared with
the normal vertical polishing. This procedure
has only been noted on daggers by Klass and
Holler.
Another unique Klass attribute was to add an
asterisk or star shaped chisel work to cover the
seams on their scabbard bands, which remained
consistent with two flat headed throat side
screws throughout the period and also a raised
platform beneath the swastika on the
cross-guard, unique to Klass and Horster
manufactured army daggers.
On the slightly later daggers bearing the same enhanced cross-guard, the
quality of the finishing and overall appearance
of their daggers seemed to improve with a
heavier silver plate, quality nickeled blades,
very detailed and chiselled pommels and scabbard
fittings and in most cases the later style type
B grips. The use of tapered tang blades was
still in use although they seemed to be
producing both plated and non-plated versions (
possibly an extra cost option ). In many cases,
these hand chiselled fittings will display a
raised circular platform beneath the swastika on
the cross-guard, deep cross-hatch chisel work to
the breast feathering, and heavily enhanced wing
feathering and pommels.
( WKC 2nd & E-Pack 3rd ) The later daggers from Klass probably in use from late in 1936 utilised
parts purchased from other manufacturers. I have
listed the transitional WKC 2nd as a
configuration used by Klass although it was only
used for a very short period and limited numbers
would have been produced. This pattern of Klass
produced German army dagger will continue to
include a tapered tang blade marked with the
first style trademark and also the inclusion of
the horizontal cross-grain in some cases. The in
house produced scabbard with asterisk marked
scabbard bands and twin screws and the continued
use of the 12 large leaf enhanced pommel
continued. Klass then quickly adopted the 3rd
Pack cross-guard and the quality of the plating
and base metals started to deteriorate even
though these daggers could still be found with
nickel plated early tapered tang blades. This
configuration of typical Klass produced parts
and scabbard matched with the E-Pack 3rd
cross-guard continued for a number of years,
they can be found enhanced and chiselled even
late into the period and with a wide scope of
base materials and plating techniques. The first
style trademark was still in use at this point.
( Generic )
The Klass final and latest pattern army dagger
featured the Generic B or A style fittings, I
have stated that I would not list Generic parts
as most manufacturers used them at some point
however Klass appears to have produced a
relatively large number of daggers using these
standard parts. Also the rare second trademark
made an appearance on Klass produced daggers
fitted with Generic parts and appears to be a
late war alteration. Plated blades and Klass
manufactured scabbards are often matched with
these Generic fittings.
Note: There is also some debate regarding wire
wrapped grips on Klass marked daggers, while I
personally believe that this was a unique extra
option offered by the firm I also believe that
many are post war additions. The firm also used
up a stock of black Railway dagger grips on
German army daggers, probably as a cost saving
procedure, many of these grips had a white coat
of thick paint added that was prone to chipping
and also yellowed over time. They are also known
to have used wood cores, painted white on many
late war grips.
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LUNESCHLOSS |
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HORIZONTAL STAMPED
P.D. LUNESCHLOSS |
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MAKER MARKS - 3
CROSSGUARD VARIANTS - 3 /
0
( WKC-1st,
E-PACK-3rd,
GENERIC )
( WKC 1st ) It is thought that Luneschloss joined production of
German Army daggers late in 1935, not producing
their own parts, they purchased the early
fittings from WKC and added their own
trademarked polished blades. Due to the
amount of early examples found in collections
today it is apparent that PDL only manufactured
a relatively small amount of early German daggers in
comparison to other smaller cottage makers and
ramped up production later in the period with
the introduction of the standardised Generic
parts. The earliest examples are extremely rare,
bearing a vertically placed stamped trademark
hidden under the cross-guard and the first style
earliest WKC parts which includes the typical
WKC twin flat headed screwed scabbard, brass
based fittings and WKC 1st cross-guard. I am yet
to see an example of this early design with a
slant grip, all appear to be the later type B
which is what you would expect from a company
joining the game late. All examples should have
a tapered tang to the blade.
( E-Pack 3rd ) PDL then switched to E-Pack designed fittings, using the 3rd pattern
parts. This dagger configuration was probably in
use from 1936/7 and production appears to
increase probably after a manufacturing contract
was achieved. Normally found without hand
enhancing and with either the second or third
PDL trademark ( Picture required of 2nd TM
please ) the quality of the parts remained good
with heavy silver plate, the type B grip and a
WKC or Pack scabbard. The majority of these Pack
fitted German army daggers will have a tapered
tang polished blade although later shouldered
tangs have also been noted. Both of the stamped
trademarks from Luneschloss can be considered
scarce due to the limited production run, with
the first vertical mark being almost impossible
to find within the collecting community.
( Generic ) The final configuration from PDL was by far the most prolific and easily
the worst quality. As with many of the smaller
firms, they quickly switched to cheaper Generic
parts on later daggers saving costs by any means
possible. These later daggers, normally found
with Generic B parts vary in quality as time
progressed and nearly always bear the last and
widely recognised trademark helmet and dagger
inside a double oval border. Another cost
cutting routine utilised mainly on the latest
army dagger production run was the introduction
of wood cored or plaster filled grips. These
grips had a plastic or celluloid coating which
did not change colour over time and as such a
very large amount of PDL daggers will have a
white grip. It should also be mentioned that the
firm's final trademark was widely used on fake
Damascus blades in the 60's and any German dagger found
with an apparent high cost engraved, Damast or
personalised blade should be scrutinized.
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SEILHEIMER |
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MAKER MARKS - 2
CROSSGUARD VARIANTS - 3 /
0
(
HORSTER-1st,
WEYERSBURG-1st,
WKC-1st,
GENERIC )
( Horster 1st ) This is one of the most intriguing manufacturers of the
period especially on the early production German
army daggers. The firm was heavily engaged in
the manufacture of bayonets and swords during
the period and is somewhat overlooked as an
early producer of Heer daggers. The reason is
say intriguing is because the two initial early
daggers from this maker featured two
cross-guards from Horster and Weyersburg who's
products are hardly ever found on early daggers
by other makers. Seilheimer obviously focused on
individuality and wanted a unique design in
order to set it's product apart from other early
manufacturers who chose to use products from the
larger companies. The earliest design observed
by Paul Seilheimer will feature the 1st Horster
cross-guard and fittings and a slant grip
matched with a tapered tang blade and the early
first PS motif trademark. This pattern of
cross-guard is rare enough to find on Horster
marked daggers let alone by other makers (
Seilheimer, G.Weyersburg ). Limited examples of
this configuration have been observed and it is
thought the firm quickly switched to the second
design probably late in 1935/6.
( Weyersburg 1st & WKC 1st ) Both early designs from Seilheimer have quality brass based fittings and
the second offering had a very rare Weyersburg
modified cross-guard design that originally was
manufactured by WKC. Seilheimer appears to have
chosen this pattern of cross-guard because it
had already been hand enhanced and modified by
Weyersburg from WKC's initial design saving them
the time consuming and expensive option of hand
enhancing and chiselling. These highly desirable
daggers dating from the later stages of 1935 or
possibly 1936 have a non-slant type B grip but
with the bonus of heavy hand enhancing to the
fittings courtesy of Weyersburg and normally a
WKC scabbard with enhancing to the scabbard
bands and the typical twin flat headed WKC
throat retaining screws. Both early designs have
the first style large centre placed trademark
and tapered tang polished blades. Examples
bearing the same fittings but with an
un-modified WKC 1st cross-guard have also been
observed.
( Generic ) I was unable to find any information on Seilheimer daggers during the
standardisation period late in 1936 or early
1937 when most smaller cottage firms used an
intermediate design such as the E-Pack 3rd
before switching to the Generic fittings. Due to
the amount of daggers observed and in
collections today with the second configuration
of Weyersburg parts I doubt that this design was
in production for very long and in all
likelihood there will be another configuration
prior to the introduction of the final
Seilheimer German army daggers fitted with
Generic parts.
These Generic daggers are typical of the smaller
cottage maker designs later in the period,
featuring the Generic A or Generic B
cross-guards and pommels, Generic scabbards and
the second style comical trademark of a dog with
a dagger in its mouth. The blades should have
the later shouldered tang to the blades and as
with most Generic parts daggers they can be
found with a variety of finishes, deteriorating
as time progressed with the final daggers
showing limited silver plate or silver wash,
plaster or wood filled grips and in some cases
pressed scabbard throats with no retaining
screw.
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SMF |
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MAKER MARKS - 1
CROSSGUARD VARIANTS - 1 /
1
(
SMF )
( SMF ) SMF ( Solinger Metallwaffenfabrik ) only produced
one early German Army dagger configuration and
you can understand why after studying the rather
constipated chicken that featured on the
companies in house designed cross-guard. The
firm was obviously not successful in achieving a
manufacturing contract based on this early
design and I was reliably informed that the
factory workers only stopped laughing, late in
1945!. The dagger itself was a poor contribution
when compared to the early designs and the
quality of the materials used by other
manufacturers. The base metals on the majority
of the fittings by SMF are an inferior alloy or
aluminium based metal that did not hold the
detail or the silver plate. Several examples
have been found with brass based fittings and
these were probably the earliest produced by the
firm, as such the detail holds up much better
and for a type collector would be the preferred
choice.
Fitted with slant grips and an in house scabbard with slim scabbard bands,
the dagger design itself is unmistakable as it
bears no resemblance to any other manufacturer
of the period, the cross-guard also has a
noticeable slimmer taper to the rear section and
larger than normal swirls to the quillions. The
blades should be a tapered tang polished variety
and the pommel's are generally flat in
appearance with chiselled oak leaf detailing.
Although comparatively unsuccessful in German
Army dagger production, the firm excelled in
Luftwaffe edged weapon production, manufacturing
large quantities of 1st and 2nd pattern Officers
daggers and paratrooper gravity knives.
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SPITZER |
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MAKER MARKS - 2
CROSSGUARD VARIANTS - 4 /
0
(
E-PACK
1st,
E-PACK GENERIC,
E-PACK
2nd,
GENERIC )
The information supplied here regarding early Spitzer German daggers remains
under review as new examples come to light,
however after studying all available German Army
daggers from this smaller cottage maker I
believe this production order and configuration
data to be correct. This page contradicts my
cross-guard page, as I have Spitzer listed as
producing a unique in house design ( also listed
in Mr Wittmann's Army Dagger book ) but on
reflection I am not sure this is correct. All
E-Pack fitted army daggers by Spitzer will have
the larger Spitzer trademark positioned close to
the cross-guard, the later Generic Type A and
Generic Type B daggers mostly will have the
slightly smaller block lettered second
trademark. Spitzer used three early designs, all
utilising E-Pack fittings and in some cases
heavily enhanced. Because these three variations
all bear tapered tang blades, the early
trademark and slant grips, it is very difficult
to judge which came first , however based on the
production order from other firms during the
early years, I believe this order to be correct.
Spitzer did not produce their own fittings, but
did alter the appearance with hand chiselling.
( E-Pack 1st ) The initial German dagger release from
Spitzer has the typical E-Pack first
configuration, bearing early brass based
fittings, a tapered tang polished blade with the
first Spitzer trademark positioned close to the
cross-guard, a 14 leaf Pack pommel and matched
with the usual twin dome headed side screw Pack
scabbard. They will be encountered with or
without detailed enhancing and all should have a
slant variety trolon grip. This will be the
usual configuration
of fittings to be found on early slant gripped
German army daggers from Spitzer.
( E-Pack Generic ) I should firstly state that I
have only ever seen two examples of Spitzer
German army
daggers fitted with this configuration of parts,
but due the the fact that it is shown in Mr Wittmanns bible as a unique pattern and because
of it's rarity, I think it deserves to be
listed. The Pack Generic cross-guard is normally
only observed and reserved for Aluminium hilted
army daggers however silver plated examples are
known to exist. I believe the example shown on
page 59 to be a modified and hand enhanced
silver plated Pack Generic design, although on
first appearance this is not apparent. Spitzer
is also known to have produced a period
aluminium hilted version utilising the same
cross-guard pattern and these are also usually
found with heavy hand enhancing to the same
areas.
There are
several unique Pack characteristics that lead me
to this conclusion, including the wing
feathering positioning, wreath work and large
oversized feet to the eagle. Both daggers
observed using this rare configuration of silver
plated Generic Pack parts had heavy hand
enhancing, completely altering the appearance of
the eagles head and chest weave, slant grips and
the first style trademark on a polished blade
positioned close to the cross-guard.
Note: E-Pack themselves are known to have used
limited numbers of the plated Generic design.
( E-Pack 2nd ) In use for only a short period
and probably as a transitional design, this
pattern is occasionally found during the latter
stages of 1935 or early 1936 as firm's where
experimenting with alternative designs and prior
to standardisation in 1936 and the introduction
of Generic parts favoured by many of the smaller
cottage makers. The cross-guard pattern itself
is largely un-recognised as a Pack design,
however as listed above in the E-Pack section,
too many daggers featuring exactly the same
characteristics, eagles head, wreath, body shape
etc and matched with other E-Pack parts
throughout leads me to believe it is definitely
E-Pack production. Spitzer German daggers can be found
in both slant gripped and non-slant versions and
are usually matched with Pack scabbards (
although variants have been observed ) and the
slightly later Pack pommel and typical ferrule.
In many cases these daggers are still hand
enhanced to include the scabbard bands,
cross-guard and pommel and the blades remain
polished with the early first Spitzer trademark
with a tapered tang.
( Generic ) Spitzer's final German dagger pattern featured
Generic parts and the quantity produced remained
limited. The firm also had a redesign of the
trademark, switching to a slightly smaller oval,
with changes to the Lion and a bolder font to
the external lettering. The TM placement was
also moved further down the blade to provide
better exposure for the product name. Many of
these Generic daggers will feature a white grip,
this could be an indication that Spitzer
produced very few German daggers after 1936/7 and
ramped up production once again later in the
period. It is not thought that these plastic
coated white grips became mainstream until the
latter part of the war. Trolon coloured grips do
exist on these Generic Spitzer's but they are
certainly less prolific. Normally nickel plated,
a few examples have also been noted with E-Pack
scabbards, probably surplus stock from earlier
production.
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TIGER |
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MAKER MARKS - 6
CROSSGUARD VARIANTS - 3 /
0
(
E-PACK
1st,
WKC 1st,
GENERIC )
Tiger had more trademark variations during the period than any other maker
which is a little surprising for a firm that
purchased parts from larger manufacturers and
who did not produce their own. It quickly became
apparent while studying trademarks for this page
that Tiger used a double punch process in the
striking of the later stamped trademarks. One
for the Tiger motif and another for the font.
This can cause confusion and the misconception
that certain daggers have a unique variation
trademark. The positioning of the motif and the
font can vary wildly and was obviously a result
of hand punching by eye. The trademarks shown
above do not include any positioning variations
but instead are based on either differences to
the font or the Tiger motif itself. I am afraid
I was just too lazy to determine exactly when
each trademark was used, however I do believe
the order in which they are placed matches the
production order.
( E-Pack 1st ) Tiger was another small cottage
maker who was quick off the mark in 1935,
purchasing fittings from E-Pack and assembling a
very desirable early slant gripped dagger, in an
attempt to secure a manufacturing contract for
the firm. Using a large oversized etched Tiger
trademark to add personalisation to the polished
tapered tang blade, this was the only Tiger
trademark of the period to be placed
horizontally across the blade. The fittings are
normally brass base metals, silver plated and
heavily hand chaste or enhanced, with punch and
leaf work to the pommels and scabbard bands.
This first production run from Tiger will
feature a Pack 1st cross-guard, 14 leaf pommel,
a slant grip matched with a tapered tang blade
and a Pack scabbard which unusually normally has
twin flat headed screws instead of the usual
dome head Pack screws.
( WKC 1st ) The second Tiger contribution
switched to WKC supplied parts and would have
been manufactured late in 1935 or early 1936.
These daggers can be found with either a slanted
or a type B grip but other than this slightly
later grip, it remained of early construction
with the first or second style Tiger trademark
and tapered tang blade. The scabbards from Tiger
during this transitional period are also worth a
mention as I have noticed that many daggers
feature parts from both E-Pack and WKC. For
example a typical Pack produced early scabbard
but with WKC twin flat headed throat retaining
screws, or an early WKC scabbard shell matched
with Pack dome headed screws. The firm obviously
held a stock of parts from both manufacturers at
this time and assembled ad-hoc.
The majority of these WKC fitted Tiger German
Army daggers will still display hand enhancing
and early quality fittings and in my opinion are
more scarce to find than the initial Pack 1st
contribution.
( Generic ) Typically, as with most of the
smaller firms based in Solingen, the company was
quick to reduce costs and improve on production
techniques once a manufacturing contract had
been achieved. The firm streamlined production,
opting for Generic produced cheaper cast
fittings that would remain in place for the
remainder of Tiger production from 1936-7 and
throughout the war until 1941-42. Many of these
earliest Generic A or Generic B Tiger army
daggers still retain the highest quality, albeit
without any enhancing. As with most
manufacturers the quality deteriorated as the
period progressed and resources where
re-directed to the war effort. The use of the
final five trademarks made an appearance during
this 5-6 year period on these Generic style
daggers. It should also be noted that a variety
of higher cost options was available to the
purchaser which included ivory or glass grips,
Damascus or etched blades and personalisation,
to increase the appeal of these Generic
fittings.
Note: There is a chance that the final Tiger
trademark has merely only had half a stamp,
limited examples are known to exist and it may
just be an oversight on behalf of the factory
worker.
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VOOS |
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HORIZONTAL
STAMPED
EMIL VOOS & STUMP |
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MAKER MARKS - 5
CROSSGUARD VARIANTS - 4 /
0
(
E-PACK
1st,
UNKNOWN,
PACK 3rd,
GENERIC )
Voos is well known for being the primary manufacturer of mid to late
period German Army daggers with etched blades
and high quality Generic daggers with additional
cost extra's. I do not plan on going into the
rights and wrongs of blade etches in this
section as the subject is rather involved and
virtually impossible to tackle without high
resolution pictures. Correct examples however
are almost always matched with the Generic type
A cross-guard and bear the fifth style single
oval trademark. ( Voos did use the Wingen 2nd or
Generic B but these are normally found sans etch
).
Voos assembled a variety of early configuration
daggers using fittings from numerous
manufacturers but they did not produce their own
parts early in the period. All but the earliest
will have a nickel plated blade.
( E-Pack 1st ) The earliest Voos production
dagger featured the typical Pack 1st style
fittings but with a few variants observed. In
most cases these daggers will have the usual
slant grip, 1st Pack cross-guard, 14 leaf
pommel, a tapered tang polished blade bearing
the double oval trademark ( very rare examples -
snake with stump ) and a Pack twin dome headed
screw scabbard. However several variants have
been noted, which included all the above but
with a later non-slant type B grip, scabbards
with twin flat head side screws and occasionally
nickel plated blades. More in keeping with
Heller assembly techniques than E-Pack.
( Unknown ) This particular cross-guard has been
observed on German Army daggers by Voos, Puma,
Krebs and Wusthof but as yet is still unknown as
to it's origins. If I was to hazard a guess it
would be a Klaas variant. The other fittings on
the limited number of Voos examples that I have
seen, had what appears to be an Alcoso pommel
and scabbard and a high quality nickel plated
blade bearing the double oval etched trademark
to the reverse. Most will be matched with the
later type B grip suggesting the assembly period
to be late 1935 or 1936. The cross-guard on this
particular Voos configuration remains an
anomaly, only found on daggers by the smaller
cottage makers, Mr Wittmann suggested that it
was produced by Wusthof ( page 259 ) and is as
good a guess as any!. A very scarce variant.
( E-Pack 3rd ) Voos followed tradition with it's
third early configuration, as with many other
smaller manufacturers, the firm adopted the
popular E-Pack 3rd cross-guard and fittings.
This version employed a new trademark with a
perpendicular stamped name and stump ( third
style ) onto a tapered tang or shouldered nickel
plated blade. Using the later E-Pack parts, this
dagger would have been constructed for a short
time only, probably in the transitional period
and prior to the introduction of Generic parts.
Normally observed with a 12 leaf pommel, type B
grip and twin headed screwed scabbard. This
configuration of 3rd E-Pack fittings was used by
many of the smaller manufacturers and in some
cases by the larger firms also such a Holler.
The Voos contribution was of very high quality,
normally heavily silvered with brass based or a
quality base metal and matched with the more
expensive option nickel plated blade in both a
tapered and non tapered form. All early examples
of German Army daggers by Voos can be considered
scarce.
( Generic ) The majority of Voos maker marked
daggers will feature the Generic type A
cross-guard. In most cases these Generic daggers
feature the last style oval Voos trademark, it
is thought the horizontal stamped TM was only
used on the first production run of Generic
daggers and was in use for a short time only.
The firm continued to use the nickel plated
blades and introduced blade etching on this
configuration of German army dagger. It was this
high quality blade etching that was to become
synonymous years later as a Voos speciality. As
far as I am aware original Voos etched examples
will always feature the Generic type A
cross-guard and if maker marked, the last style
trademark. A large number of these blade etched
daggers can be found without a trademark which
is a little surprising as you would have thought
the company would have wanted to broadcast it's
name on such a high quality item. These unmarked
etched daggers and indeed all blade etches need
to scrutinized, reproductions are
prevalent. Occasionally the firm also added
additional cost extra's as part of the Generic
dagger offering to include ivory and glass
grips.
Voos is also known to have used the other style
of Generic fittings during the mid to later
production period. These Generic B daggers have
been observed with polished and nickel plated
blades and also feature the oval style
trademark. To date, I have never seen an etched
example.
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P.WEYERSBURG |
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MAKER MARKS - 2
CROSSGUARD VARIANTS - 3 /
2
(
WKC 1st,
WEYERSBURG 1st,
WEYERSBURG 2nd
)
Ultimately one of the most desirable makers of German army daggers, Paul
Weyersburg joined the game early with a dagger
fitted with early parts from WKC. The firm
employed a technique of numbering all of the
parts ( including stamping the blade tang )
associated with these initial daggers and after
in depth studies of this makers daggers on
various forums we now know the production order
in detail. The first 200 daggers featuring
unaltered WKC parts are all fitted with polished
blades and a larger double oval trademark
positioned low on the blade, somewhere around
dagger 200 the firm switched to a nickel plated
blade and between daggers 211-290 moved the
trademark closer to the cross-guard. The firm
also started to add in company enhancing or
personalisation to the WKC eagle, adding the
trademark sleepy Weyersburg eye to the WKC eagle
and accentuating the birds forehead and raising
the breast feathering.
( WKC 1st ) As stated above the initial 200
German daggers by Weyersburg will feature typical un-enhanced WKC
cross-guards, a polished tapered tang blade with
the trademark positioned 2 or 3" down the blade,
a slant grip and what I believe to be a unique
in house produced scabbard. These scabbards have
twin flat headed throat retaining side screws
and a unique flaw or mark to the pebbling just
under the scabbard throat. The majority of these
earliest Weyersburgs will be numbered internally
to include a stamp to the blades tang and under
the cross-guard, and in most cases a hand
written number to the grip collar. From between
dagger's 211-290 the firm started to add minor
enhancements to the WKC crossguard eagle, which
included mostly chiselling work to the head and
eye of the eagle on the cross-guard and
moved the blade trademark closer to the hilt.
( Weyersburg 1st ) Shortly on or just after dagger
number 300, the company ceased the numbering of parts on
individual German Army daggers and introduced a
new unique cross-guard variation ( Weyersburg
1st ), which was based on the earlier WKC base
cross-guard. I suspect that this offering would
have happened towards the end of 1935 due to the
continued use of hand enhancing and the fact
that they are found with both slant and non
slant grips. All daggers bearing this slightly
later configuration of Weyersburg produced parts
should have plated blades and the trademark
positioned closer to the cross-guard. Other
traits observed on this Paul Weyersburg produced
German army dagger includes a change to the
scabbard side screws with a move away from the
previous flat head variety, to a wood type
screw. Also many wreath / swastikas on the
cross-guard will show a fine stippling effect to
the background which is unique to this firm. The
eagle has a more rounded head to the bird than a
standard WKC 1st with the addition of a large
oversized sleepy eye which became consistent on
the remainder of production. At this stage of
manufacture all of the blades should still
retain a tapered tang.
( Weyersburg 2nd ) This final configuration
featured a change from WKC purchased parts to
E-Pack. Weyersburg opted for the Pack 3rd
probably in 1936 and probably as an entry dagger
to secure a manufacturing contract. The fact
that this is the final dagger or configuration
found from Weyersburg would suggest that their
bid was unsuccessful. The hand enhancing
techniques and detailing found on the earlier
WKC enhanced cross-guards was carried over to
the 3rd Pack base cross-guard, with the typical
lazy eye and rounded head to the eagle being the
most obvious. The blades are nickel plated with
the trademark positioned close to the guard and
as far as I am aware, are all tapered tangs. The
unique wood type scabbard screws were carried
over from the previous design but because of the
later production period we see a move away from
slant grips to the standard type B grip. The
continued use or addition of the stippling
behind the swastika was also employed and is an
easy way to differentiate between Weyersburg or
Pack manufacture. This particular configuration
or pattern from Weyersburg is extremely rare, it
was only used for a very short period,
especially as the firm was thought to have
ceased German Army dagger production by 1937.
Weyersburg however was very successful in the
manufacture of Luftwaffe edged weapons.
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WINGEN |
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MAKER MARKS - 2
CROSSGUARD VARIANTS - 3 /
2
(
E-Pack 1st,
Wingen
1st,
Wingen
2nd )
Wingen used two trademarks throughout the period, the first of which was
only used for a short time in 1935 on the first
initial daggers featuring E-Pack 1st fittings.
The firm probably used these Pack parts as an
interim or short term solution while they worked
on producing their own in house design . The
Wingen company quickly completed it's initial in
house contribution, which was fitted with a
unique brass based cross-guard that lacked
detail and was prone to wear. It did however
consist of very early parts and either a slant
or non-slant grip with a tapered tang blade, the
company also introduced a new trademark and was
obviously keen to introduce a totally new design
and step away from the widely utilised Pack 1st
fittings. Both Wingen early configurations can
be classed as rare, with the slightly later in
house Wingen 1st cross-guard rating as one of
the hardest to find on the open market.
The firm introduced a new design once again
probably in 1936 and it is thought that the
Generic B cross-guard was based on this final
design from Wingen. This introduction became
prolific for Wingen, with the firm using it for
the remainder of production and several other
firms also purchasing the parts. It has also
been noted that the trademarks on Wingen German
army daggers can appear in various locations up
and down the blade, especially on the early
designs.
( E-Pack 1st ) Fitted with the typical 1st
E-Pack early parts and the first style
trademark, these daggers are amongst the
earliest produced. They also appear with a
variety of base metals and finishes which is
unusual for Pack produced parts ( It may just be
coincidence ). These daggers feel very heavy in
hand and Wingen employed a technique of
securing the pommel by filling the thread and
internal void with a slag type material or
filler which formed a seal as the pommel was
tightened. All of these earliest Wingen German
army daggers should have a slanted grip, a
tapered tang blade, Pack pommel and ferrule and
a Pack scabbard with twin dome headed screws.
Wingen held a large stock of these early Pack
parts as they used the excess pommels and
scabbards on the subsequent design.
( Wingen 1st ) On every example I have seen of
this 1st Wingen in house produced cross-guard,
they have lacked definition and detail and have
the appearance of being poorly finished. That
being said, they are extremely hard to find for
the type collector. They can be found with or
without a slant grip are normally finished with
Pack parts to include the pommel, ferrule and
scabbard, probably excess stock from the
previous design. Normally observed with a brass
base metal to the fittings they are rarely hand
enhanced and have noticeably larger swirls to
the quillions than most other makers. Many of
these daggers will have the second style
trademark positioned a long way down the blade (
3" from cross-guard ) and was probably a company
ploy to advertise their product to the maximum
extent. It should also be noted that several
examples of this 1st Wingen in house cross-guard
have also been observed matched with apparent
later production fittings, i.e. milk stone or
galalith grips, generic pommels etc, although
most will always have some form of Pack produced
parts as well. Another example of the firm using
up existing stock of parts.
( Wingen 2nd ) This final design from Wingen was
extremely prolific and was adopted by several
other manufacturers and smaller cottage makers
shortly after standardisation in 1936. It is my
opinion that what we commonly refer to as the
Generic B cross-guard today, is in fact an
unaltered Wingen 2nd as there are no discernable
differences other than the plating or base
metals. Generic or Wingen, the design proved to
be very popular and can be found with any number
of finishes, heavy silver plating, nickel plated
or silver washed and from a number of
manufacturers based in Solingen during the
period. Wingen used this design for the
remainder of production and late into the war
with an obvious degradation of materials as time
progressed and resources became scant. Without a
doubt, the Herder designed in house cross-guard
pattern was based on this Wingen design, with
Herder only making a slight adjustment to the
eagles head ( no dip from brow to beak ). Most
examples of this design from Wingen with have
the later shouldered tang to the blade and the
firm moved the second style trademark closer to
the cross-guard. A large amount will feature
nickel plated parts, generic 14 leaf pommels and
generic scabbards although earlier heavy
silvered examples can be found and are sometimes
dressed with the earlier Pack pommels and
scabbards.
Note: I have also noticed identical Wingen
German army daggers fitted with a mixture of
parts from all three designs. Very unusual but
totally legit in my opinion. On first glance
these daggers would immediately be discounted as
parts daggers with a 1st Pack cross-guard, slant
grip and later production Generic pommels and
scabbards. However this firm was obviously very
frugal as already mentioned and probably used up
excess parts just to confuse me!.
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WKC |
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MAKER MARKS - 1
CROSSGUARD VARIANTS - 3 /
3
(
WKC 1st,
WKC 2nd,
WKC 3rd )
WKC or Weyersburg & Kirschbaum was arguably the largest manufacturer of
German army daggers during the period with the
possible exception of E-Pack and Eickhorn. The
company already had an extensive history of
manufacturing edged weapons and high quality
steel products for decades ( 1883 ). They appear
to have joined the game very early, being one of
first to introduce an in house unique produced
dagger pattern that was extensively used by many
other makers from the offset. ( E-Pack, Holler,
Horster, Luneschloss, Seilheimer, Tiger ) to
name a few of the larger firms. Other
companies such as Paul Weyersburg purchased the
base cross-guard and hand chiselled or adapted
the features to make it their own. I suspect the
WKC factory and resources already in place at
the time of the introduction of the German army
dagger design by Casberg, gave them a huge
advantage in responding over their competitors
and it appears that many of the other firms used
this design as a short-stop while they worked on
getting their own designs and production up and
running. Surprisingly WKC did not alter their
trademark at all during the period. Some grips
from this firm also can be found with a
production number stamped onto the collar
although I cannot remember the exact figures?
(236?).
( WKC 1st ) WKC did not miss a trick in the
early production and supply of fittings and
parts for German army officers daggers. They
produced their own pommels, ferrules,
cross-guards, blades and scabbards which were
unique to the company and making them relatively
easy to spot for collectors today. The early
introduction from WKC featured a tapered tang
polished blade with the trademark normally
positioned close to the cross-guard and can be
placed either on the obverse or reverse of the
blade. The cross-guard featured an eagle
that was small in proportions compared to other
designs, with a square shaped profile to the
eagles head and a sharp step down from the brow
to beak. The body of the bird is squat and the
wings of the eagle are sleek and have a slimmer
profile than any other design. These early
daggers, in most cases will be matched with a
slant grip ( non-slant's have been observed )
and a 12 leaf WKC pommel. The scabbards on the
earliest daggers from WKC are fitted with twin
flat headed side screws and unique wide leafed
chiselled scabbard bands. This configuration
from WKC was probably produced throughout 1935
and into 1936, the occasional dagger later
grip supports this theory.
( WKC 2nd ) This transitional dagger from WKC
was only used for a short period and was only
recently recognised as a unique pattern
attributed to WKC. Still featuring the early WKC
parts, pommel and scabbard and early tapered
tang blades etc, the grip's in all cases to date
are the later type B. This pattern of dagger
would have been used as an interim prior to
standardisation, probably in 1936 and can also
be found on daggers by other makers with a
history of purchasing parts from WKC ( Horster
and Luneschloss ). The dagger had a unique
cross-guard with an eagle that sported a large
rounded beak, giving it an almost vulture like
appearance. The slim profile to the wings
remained and all fittings on these transitional
daggers from WKC are normally of the highest
quality and heavily silver plated. A rare
pattern or design that can be found on daggers
by numerous makers including the smaller
companies who joined production slightly later.
( WKC 3rd ) The most prolific design of
cross-guard used during the period, this pattern
featuring the tomahawk style eagle from WKC was
utilised for approx 6 years. It was undoubtedly
the design that was used, on which the Generic
type A was based, with the only discernable
difference being the flat head to the WKC
compared to the step down from brow to beak on
the Generic type A. Due to the length of time
that this configuration of parts and fittings
was in use, the range of finishes, plating
techniques and base metals varies hugely. The
early contributions dating from 1936 will
normally be fitted with a tapered tang polished
blade, the type B grip and the earlier WKC
produced pommel and scabbard ( with twin side
screws ). Mid period daggers from WKC featuring
the same affectionately named tomahawk
cross-guard, remain of a very high quality,
heavily silvered with quality base metals but
with a change to the parts employed. These
daggers will normally have a shouldered tang to
the blade and with a variety of later style
grips to include glass, galalith, wood and
plaster cored and the usual type B,C trolon and
just about every other type of grip you
can imagine. The pommels also change as part of
the WKC standardisation, to a preferred crisp 14
small leafed design that remained consistent for
the remainder of production. The scabbards on
these mid period tomahawk WKC fitted army
daggers are modified, with a streamlined cost
effective single flat headed side screw version
to replace the earlier more expensive twin screw
config. It is also worth noting that I have
never seen hand enhancing or chisel work on this
design from any period.
The late war examples suffer greatly due to the
lack of materials and resources as the war took
it's toll, cheaper alternatives are often
observed and the quality suffered as a result.
Often silver washed over a zinc base instead of
silver plated and with the use of cheaper coated
plaster or wood filled grips,sounded the end of
an era ( and my typing...thank god ). WKC was
unable to source enough raw materials to
maintain in house production late in the war and
was forced to purchase parts from other
manufacturers who still held stock. This is
probably why we occasionally see WKC marked
daggers fitted with Generic parts.
Note: WKC sometimes used a unique oval shaped
scabbard throat insertion hole that accompanied
many of their daggers. On most scabbards the
outer corners will be squared slightly, the
completely rounded versions are typical of WKC
manufacture.
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KEY: 5 / 3 = ( 5
cross-guard patterns used, 3 manufactured in
house )
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