My recent heer sword find

[panzer1]

Just thought i would show my German Army Nco's/officers Lionshead sword that i recently picked up.Straight out of the woodwork from the veterans family and never been on the market.Maker marked wMw Waffen(Max Weysberg)The photo's don't really do justice to the blade but it is really clean,near mint, looks to have hardly been out of the scabbard,even though it was stored outside in their shed!!

[darrenj40]

Great looking sword....one of these is on my list...but its half way down.

[Swordfish]

Well done.

As you said, it's clearly a WMW. The piece is WMW model Nr 404. I had to go back and search my digital archives and pull up period sales catalogs as the model number is not listed in any contemporary reference literature.

The hilt is comprised of heavy brass, with the black celluloid covered wooden grip. As you can see, the 6 strand twisted grip wire is also brass. Celluloid grip looks good. They are often found cracked, chipped, missing grip wire, and so on. Exposure to the elements over 70 years can cause the grip to be damaged. Fluctuations in temperature and humidity will often cause the grip to crack. While stored in a vets attick or basement, the piece would typically be exposed to the cold, causing the wooden grip core to contract, then when exposed to higher heat and humidity, the wooden grip cour would expand. This process happening over the 70 year period often leads to the celluid cracking under the presser of expansion and contraction of the wooden grip core.

This pattern is not an easy pattern to come by. I havn't seen one up for sale in the last few years. Condition is certainly nice as well.

Be sure to address any of the conditional issues now to prevent damage down the road. The blad appears to have some very pin-point spots of rust and oxidation. These blades are heavily nickel plated, and tollerate a mildly abrassive cleaninsing agent quite well. "Semichroms" is sort of a no-no in blade collecting circles because it's very easy to ruin a dagger with crossgraining with this cleanser. It's mildly abrassive, and that's what will cause damage to crossgrained blades, the gold colored gilting on your saber, and so forth. Using a soft rag and sparing amounts of the cleanser will clean the blade up nicely, and remove most of the small areas of concern. One you are satisfied you've addressed and mitigated any blade rust, follow up with a good coat of museum grade way. If preserved properly, the blade will last for eons. The hilt cane be treated with a lite concoction of sudsy amonia. No abrassives- never on the hilt. Sabers, unlike daggers, are preferred to appear as they did originally. Patina is not enjoyed on Heer sabers as it is on Luftwaffe or Heer daggers. Patina on Heer saber grips can and will lead to damage since the hilts is typically gilt covered brass (i'm not going to address aluminum or pot metal hilted sabers). It's a delicate process, but with the right touch, the right know-how and experience, a collector can reverse minor degradation and return the pieces appearance circa the 1930's/1940's. The sudsy amonia will remove dirt, reverse some of the discoloration and brighten up the gold colored gilting which is still intact on the hilt. It's the best measure for cleansing if a collector wishes to clean up the hilt of a Heer saber.

Nice piece. Nice score. Nice provenance. Hard to find pattern, in good condition. I would say you did very well.

Congrats-
Tom

[panzer1]

Hi Tom,thankyou for all the information and advice,really appreciate it.There are no cracks to the grip which is lucky and i do feel i have picked up a really nice piece.....Cheers Rob

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Rob, I am pleased you have bought it and rescued it from that shed! Very nice.

Cheers, Ade.

[LMG 1]

Very nice score,great looking pattern of sabre

[ncblksmth1]

Very nice.