First purchase help needed Heer dagger by Eickhorn

[maximus71]

Hi all, Im still looking to purchase my first army dagger, how does this Eickhorn look? These are the only photos I have to go on, I just want to make sure there are no red flags or areas of concern before I take the plunge! Thanks for the help, it is very appreciated.

[Degens]

The dagger fittings are Eickhorn throughout, a shot of the scabbard bands and throat is needed if you want to know if that is also Eick also.


Late war piece and a nice blade!.

[maximus71]

Thank you, Im trying to figure out the handle, looks like type B glass? the price is very good considering it also comes with the hangers and port, not sure if they are original to the dagger but beggers cant be choosers lol

[Degens]

The grip is Trolon, you can tell because of the lighter tone to the rear and the deeper orange colour to the front of the grip. Glass was not subject to colour change. The grip will be a type "C" which is normal for a late war dagger .

[davejb]

That is a very interesting piece of observation re the colour change to the grip, i assume its due to exposure to the sun and elements due to the daggers mode of hanging,is that correct

[maximus71]

oh wow your right, I didnt even observe that, a two toned grip due to sun or light exposure over the years I assume, I have seen so many different shades and colors depending on the material or how they were stored or displayed, thats really cool to see how they age/patina. I am going to pick this one up, 450 is the lowest I ever saw for a nice Eickhorn dagger, I will take much better and closer pictures when I get it and post them here, hopefully I wont have to pursue the money back guarentee lol

[Wagriff]

The portapee and hangers are worth $150 bucks just by themselves. $450 for the set is an excellent price. Nice find, for sure!

[Degens]

Dave,
There was a huge debate several years ago as to whether Trolon was subject to colour change and whether most original army daggers all left the factory with white grips. I do not really want to re-hash the whole argument again on this forum as everyone has their own opinions but I think nowadays most people accept that the Trolon grips do change colour, at least to some degree, over time and exposure to light.

There was a fabulous picture I came across a few years back that had a mixture of different grips that had been covered since the end of the war with just parts of the grips exposed ( think it was a T. Johnson find ). The colour change was drastic to say the least.

If I can find it later, I will post it here.

Jon

[maximus71]

This is all fascinating stuff to research, so trolon is white originaly? I could see maybe the orange turning to a light yellow over time but going from white to orange is pretty amazing over time if true, and I would believe its possible, we are talking 70+ years passing, but anyway this dagger is on its way to me, the seller claims he got it directly from a vet estate sale and assures its all original and that I will be very pleased with it, merry christmas to me! now I just have to convince the wife that santa brought it lol.

[Wagriff]

Trolon most certainly does, indeed change color from white to a vivid orange and even a cherry red or strawberry red when sunlight exposed. In the US, they used an almost identical type of plastic for tube radio cases in the 1930's and 40's. It was called Catalin. It changed from white to amazing colors(totally unintended) when set in the sunlight for too long. In Europe, Catalin was basically called Trolon. Either way you spell it, these plastics were not altogether too successful, as, aside from the sun exposure and color change problems, they were highly brittle and tended to crack Very easily. This is why so many dagger grips will be found with splits and cracks when made of this material. Yours is in great condition and is an excellent piece! Nice pick up and Great price for sure!