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GERMAN ARMY - HEER DAGGER CROSSGUARD
IDENTIFICATION PAGE |
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" You no more win a war than you can win an
earthquake " Jeanette Rankin |
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Below is a
pictorial reference guide to aid in identifying the correct
manufacturer for your German army dagger, each maker during the
years of production starting in 1935 used one or more type of
eagle design incorporated into the crossguard. Today, these are
recognisable for each manufacturer and can be used to determine
if the configuration of parts on your German army dagger is correct for
a maker marked dagger. I have tried to select
crossguards with the finest detail in order to make life
easier and these are listed in order of manufacture by each
maker.
Please contact me if you require help or have any
concerns and also if you can assist with any of designs I am
missing.
Please note, this reference is my interpretation of design order
by manufacturer and is open to debate. |
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____GENERIC TYPE A____ |
____GENERIC TYPE B____ |
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| SIMILAR TO
: WKC 3rd - This guard will be seen on the
majority of daggers produced by the smaller companies who did
not make their own. Notice the step down from the forehead to
the beak not observed on the hatchet type head of the WKC eagle. Observed
in all base metals and finishes. |
SIMILAR TO :
Wingen 2nd & Herder - This eagle was taken
from a design by the Wingen company and is observed on daggers
by virtually all makers with the exception of the larger
companies. Almost identical to the Herder produced crossguard but
with a discreet dip from brow to beak. |
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____ALCOSO____ |
| ALCOSO 1ST |
ALCOSO 2ND |
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| SIMILAR TO
: NONE -
Easily distinguished by the "chicken fillet" type legs, squat
body of the eagle and the low neck line. The
swas on the early ACS daggers is normally deformed or mishapen. |
SIMILAR
TO : NONE -
Sharp angle to the lower wing, head of the eagle level
with top of the guard and a sharp down-turned beak. The
wing shape is a tell tale sign of Alcoso marked daggers due to
the dramatic rise and very pointed wing tips. |
| ALCOSO 3RD |
ALCOSO 4TH - HI
LIFT |
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| SIMILAR TO
: Eickhorn 1st
- Note the
gentle upward curve of the final section of the wing in
comparison to the Eickhorn, smaller eye detail and a rounder
body to name a few. The 3rd
style was prone to wear due to the inferior base metal utilised. |
SIMILAR TO :
NONE - Recognisable by the raised outward
profile of the eagle ( HIGH LIFT ), unique feathering to the
rear of the head and the appearance of the flared legs. It is
also the only German army dagger crossguard to exhibit
feathering that raises above the upper wing. |
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____CARL EICKHORN____ |
| EICKHORN 1ST |
EICKHORN
2ND |
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| SIMILAR TO
: Eickhorn 2nd - On all 3 designs by
Eickhorn you can visually see the progression of one eagle to
the next. This early guard is rarely encountered and although
similar to the 2nd design there are differences to the legs,
size of the swastika and breast feathering. The quillions are
also noticeably thinner. This type was also heavily hand
enhanced so variations will exist. |
SIMILAR TO :
Alcoso 3rd & Horster 4th - Normally seen
cast in brass base-metal with fittings to match and silver
plated. Similar to Horsters last design but with differences to
the cut of the breast feathering and body shape and sharpness to
the rear of the head. The second pattern was more widely used on the
earlier daggers by Eickhorn, and is wrongly attributed the title
of the type 1. |
| EICKHORN 3RD |
EICKHORN 4TH |
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| SIMILAR TO
: Eickhorn 2nd - The head of the previous
pattern Eickhorn crossguards was carried over into the third
design but with the addition of a wider stockier body and
enhanced breast feathering, again this design was only used for
a short period and can be classed as rare. My
thanks to Denny R for his assistance with the Eick section. |
SIMILAR TO :
Eickhorn 3rd - The final design and by far
the most numerous, bears the addition of another head design,
added to the body carried over from the previous design. This
bird is more commonly known as the type 2, which we now know to
be wrong and should in fact be the type 4. |
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____E. PACK & SOHNE____ |
| E-PACK 1ST |
E-PACK GENERIC |
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| SIMILAR TO
: Heller & Henckels - Early 1st style pack
normally observed with thick silvering and brass base material,
the head has a unique shape and notice how high the inverted "V"
between the eagles legs rises into the body. Commonly seen with
heavy hand enhancing. |
SIMILAR TO :
NONE - This example by E-PACK was known as
a generic type and was used by several other German dagger
makers as was the 1st style. This style of eagle was also used
along with the 1st type on the desirable aluminium fitted army
daggers. |
| E-PACK 3RD |
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| SIMILAR TO
: Holler 2nd - Made of lightweight base
metal but still observed with hand enhancing late into the
period. Very similar to the Holler 2nd who are thought to have
purchased from a sub-contractor and modified to suit.
Differences in the wreath work, breast feathering and beak
shape. |
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____HERDER____ |
____HELLER &
HENCKELS____ |
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| SIMILAR TO : Generic B & Wingen 2nd - The
differences between these three styles of crossguard is marginal
and confusing on eagles with little or no crisp detailing. The
body structure on the Herder is slightly more upright than the
generic B and there is no dip between upper head and beak. It
sometimes will require magnification to be sure. |
SIMILAR TO : E-Pack 1st - Heller,
Henckels and E-Pack undoubtedly used the same early crossguard
template and adopted their own style of hand enhancing or mould
to determine some form of individuality. Note the circular
punched eye, enhanced wing feathering unusually to the spline of
the wing and breast
enhancement but both retain very high quality and
materials. |
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____F. W. HOLLER____ |
| HOLLER 1ST |
HOLLER 2ND |
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| SIMILAR TO :
Alcoso 1st - As with most early examples this German crossguard by Holler is
normally seen made of a heavy base metal and heavily silver
plated. The 1st pattern Holler bears a resemblance to the Alcoso 1st.
Some early
Hollers show a crescent moon tool mark on the head to the right
of the eye and is a sure sign of Holler production. |
SIMILAR TO : E-Pack 2nd - A scarce and
rarely observed crossguard that originally must have come from
the same source as the E-Pack 2nd. Normally seen with a more
defined cross pattern to the breast area and a rounder or
stubbier look to the head and beak. Holler was a quality dagger
manufacturer and all designs normally show a thick silver
content in the plating. |
| HOLLER 3RD |
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| SIMILAR TO
: NONE - The 3rd pattern Holler is the
style normally seen on German army daggers produced by this
manufacturer. The appearance is unique and the detail normally
stands up well with little or no wear. The head shape and parrot
like beak are dead give-aways as is the broad ^ shaped feathering above
the legs. |
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____E & F HORSTER____ |
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HORSTER 1ST |
HORSTER 2ND |
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| SIMILAR TO :
NONE - The body appears squat and
undersized normally with heavy broad feathering to the chest
area, beak is sharp
downward facing, the head is large and close to the top of the
guard. The feet almost appear to come straight out from the
underside of the body with little evidence of legs, also early Horsters display a raised circular platform beneath the swas
unique to this maker. |
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| HORSTER 3RD |
HORSTER 4TH |
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| SIMILAR TO
: NONE - This eagle is rarely encountered
and is relatively easy to spot due to the birds head. It looks
more like a vulture than an eagle with an oversized prominent
hooked beak, the top of the head is rounded and normally bears a
large punched eye. The majority of Horster crossguards will also
display a stamped "H" to the underside. |
SIMILAR TO :
Eickhorn 1st - The similarities between
the Horster 4th & Eickhorn 1st are very close indeed as the
heads are virtually identical. Look for a shorter neck, more
defined chequered patterning to the breast area and the inner
wing feathering showing more horizontal on the Horster. |
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____ROBERT KLASS____ |
| KLAAS 1ST |
KLAAS 2ND |
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| SIMILAR TO
: Klaas 2nd - Both of the Klaas
examples are thought to be the same, although side by side they
look nothing alike the 2nd pattern was extensively hand
chiselled to a very high standard. Notice how the lower left
wing appears higher on both examples than the right wing, with a
bend to the upper left. |
SIMILAR
TO : Klaas 1st - Probably the most
intricate design encountered on any German army dagger with the
exception of some early Pack designs due to the high quality of
the hand enhancing. Klaas also utilised the E-Pack crossguard
onto many of its daggers along with the generic B on later
examples. |
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____SMF____ |
____SPITZER____ |
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| SIMILAR
TO : NONE - The SMF eagle is unique
in that it is probably the ugliest of all the birds encountered
on period German army daggers. The head is a very unusual shape
with a downward turning mouth and a rounded hook beak. The body
detailing or feathering normally extends high up the neck area
into the head unlike most other crossguard designs. |
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____WKC____ |
| WKC 1ST |
WKC 2ND |
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| SIMILAR TO : NONE
- This early guard is sometimes seen with detailed hand
enhancing, the upper head and brow area are almost square in
appearance with a small sharply downward nose like beak. The
half crescent moon eye is another feature typical of the 1st
WKC. Although not obvious from the above picture, the wings of
the eagle are very slender in appearance compared to other
manufacturers. |
SIMILAR TO : NONE
- The 2nd WKC is rarely seen and was only recently acknowledged
as a separate design by this maker. The body bears similarities
to the final and more profuse hatchet head 3rd pattern but with
the head displaying a pointed triangle to the rear and a drop
from forehead to beak lacking on the later design. Also note the
top of the head is very close to the top edge of the crossguard. |
| WKC 3RD |
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| SIMILAR TO : Generic
type A - Easily confused with the
generic type this design can be distinguished by the square
profile of the head and beak without the drop from forehead to
beak. Along with Eickhorn this manufacturer produced huge
quantities of army daggers most observed with this tomahawk
design and can also be seen on early daggers with a tapered tang
to the blade. |
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____WINGEN____ |
| WINGEN 1ST |
WINGEN 2ND |
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| SIMILAR TO : NONE
- I have yet to see this design with crisp detailing and most
examples seem to be worn possibly due the early brass base metal
utilised. The head has a very slight dip to a hatchet styled
beak and a body that has a squared appearance and large inverted
V between the legs. Also note the single oversized claw. |
SIMILAR TO : Herder
& Generic B - More like the Herder in design but with a more
squat body and a slight dip between brow and beak. The beak
appears with less of a "snarl" than both the generic and Herder
designs and with straighter edges to the body sides than the
generic B.
All 3 can be considered unique designs but the differences are
marginal. |
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____WEYERSBURG____ |
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SIMILAR
TO : NONE - The Weyersburg eagle is
very scarce and should only been seen on early quality
manufactured army daggers by this maker. The head appears
slightly oversized in proportion to the square sided body which
normally has a coarse hand enhanced chequered patterning. The
head features, eye and mouth are exquisite and highly detailed. |
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