Need help: Good Eickhorn Heer Dagger?

[TheJackal83]

Hi,

I want to buy my first german army dagger and came across one for a reasonable price (I think). Since it's my first, I'm not sure wether it's all original though (all parts original and not put together pieces from different daggers)?

I've looked at reference material for several hours now and from what I've been able to make out: It should be a very early Eickhorn Solingen Heer dagger, based on the blade (logo). The Eagle / Crossguard looks more like a 3rd pattern to me though? I also read that the early Eickhorn daggers are supposed to have slanted grips? Kind of hard for me to make out in the pictures, but maybe a pro (you guys) can tell?

What about the scabbard: This one seems to have a single screw on top, as opposed to two screws on the side - Does this match the type of dagger?

Any help would be much appreciated!

[TheJackal83]

How should I interpret the silence: Too difficult to determine, for anyone to leap first or did I ask too stupid questions to deserve an answer?

[Larry C]

Hi Jack be patient please..your dagger will not go unanswered....and the answer is no to both your questions..but your assumption leads otherwise.

It appears you done some of your homework and my thoughts can not be enough once our Heer authors arrive to tell you exactly what you have..but I would have to agree with you that the scabbard should have 2 side screws and not sure of that crossguard belonging to this dagger.

Gerrit , Danny or Tom Kendal will be along soon and could give you an exact answer.
If your in a rush...I would say patience is a virtue good things come to those who wait

I guarantee your thread will not go unanswered...as the reply has already begun.

Best Larry

[TheJackal83]

Hi Jack be patient please..your dagger will not go unanswered....and the answer is no to both your questions..but your assumption leads otherwise.

It appears you done some of your homework and my thoughts can not be enough once our Heer authors arrive to tell you exactly what you have..but I would have to agree with you that the scabbard should have 2 side screws and not sure of that crossguard belonging to this dagger.

Gerrit , Danny or Tom Kendal will be along soon and could give you an exact answer.
If your in a rush...I would say patience is a virtue good things come to those who wait

I guarantee your thread will not go unanswered...as the reply has already begun.

Best Larry

Thank you for your reply!

I guess my nerves did get the best of me... Patience is indeed a virtue, but one I sometimes struggle with when it comes to things I want badly, like a nice dagger! In this case I’ve been refreshing this thread over and over, hoping for good news, eager to close the deal on the dagger before someone else buys it from under my nose.

Your reply makes be both happy and disapointed at the same time: Happy because it seems like I did indeed manage to learn some things while researching the dagger (blade vs crossguard & scabbard), but disapointed, because I had of course hoped for an answer telling me the dagger is all OK, just a less known / documented variant.

So as of now it seems like the dagger might be a ”Frankenstein” mix of parts. What would a piece like this be worth approximately? The seller is asking 370€, which I realize would be cheap for a all original dagger (especially since it even comes with a portapee), but hey - sometimes you get lucky! Would that price be reasonable for this mix of parts though?

[Larry C]

Gerrit will be chiming in soon. Dont worry your thread wont get lost I will keep it at the top until you get the answers you need.
Have you tried our forum sponsor > Lakesidetrader | German WWII Daggers & Medals

[TheJackal83]

Gerrit will be chiming in soon. Dont worry your thread wont get lost I will keep it at the top until you get the answers you need.
Have you tried our forum sponsor > Lakesidetrader | German WWII Daggers & Medals

Thank you!

I’ll have a look at the site. So far I’ve stuck to German and local (Swedish) dealers for German militaria, in order to keep shipping costs and risk of the goods getting lost on the way to a minimum, but for the right item I’m willing to venture across the pond as well.

I have bought several modern day Marine Corps equipment items from the States before, generally a good experience, although Swedish customs tax the hell out of me when the packages catch their eye...

[Larry C]

I heard those horror stories Jack ..and is sad to hear.
Send him an email his shipping success is unequaled as he has shipped all around the world.

Me may know how to get it to you.

[gerrit]

Well here we go...taken from the referencebook "Heeresdolche" page 64 & 65 and an enlarged picture of the Eickhorn pattern 2
crossguard.
Just compare it, if all is the same well then its a textbook one, the double oval 1st type Logo is a nice bonus.
The pics you posted are not that great therefore i post the pages of the book Danny and I published in 2016.
The scabbardbands are 1st pattern too, but the backsidescrew on the scabbard is the second type, first batch had two sidescrews.

Regards
Ger

[TheJackal83]

Thanks a lot Gerrit!

I compared the pictures of the dagger to the one in the book and the crossguard seems to match, although the eagle's head isn't fully clear in the seller's pictures - I suspect it might be worn down a bit. But the feathering and other visible details match from what I can tell.

The scabbardbands are 1st pattern too, but the backsidescrew on the scabbard is the second type, first batch had two sidescrews.

What does this mean? Is it that the scabbard is manufactured in the transition period and hence a "mix" of patterns or was this not practice and this therefore a indication that the scabbard has been tampered with / put together from different pieces by a collector / dealer?

On a similar note: The blade having the double oval logo; are there known second type daggers with this logo or is it another indicator that it has been put together with parts from different daggers?

[gerrit]

No this is not a parts dagger.
Eickhorn made 4 different crossguards, they also made 2 different scabbardbands and pommels.
They were a master in mixing different production types when they switched to a new type crossguard.
Yours is an early type dagger made of mostly first initial parts!

Ger