German Luftwaffe Sword

[mongomery1234]

First of all I'd like to introduce myself to the forum. My names Robert and i apologize if this is the wrong place to ask this question but ive recently found what i believe to be a german luftwaffe sword and would like some help authenticating it.
I purchased it for 300.00 from someone who got it out of a storage unit and didnt know that much about it. Upon inspection it has E&F Horster makers marks on it and appears to check out with others i have seen online the only difference being the hilt is brown vs black ones ive seen and the scabbard is aluminum and not black. There is also a "Schl.143. on the winged part of the sword. Im assuming its not a fake because of the makers mark and the age of it but i would love an educated answer as to its authenticity and possible value.
Also would it hurt to polish the tarnish near the hilt and everywhere else on it?

Thanks in advance for any help!

[gerrit]

Welcome to the forum Robert!

first of all the sword is an original Luftwaffe Sword.
The blade is proofed marked with the stylistic Luftwaffe stamp.
Nice thing about it that its unit marked on the lower crossguard.
normally this would be: Fl Sch. (this is a School marking, indicating this was Luftwaffe Flight Officers School Property (Fl. Sch.) sword No 143, why they only marked it with Schl. is unknown.
The leather on these daggers is blue, depending on maker ( ive seen them from deep blue almost black till a light blue on the Alu versions)
The scabbard is missing all its leather and the leather hanger is missing also, which is quite common.
Also washer is not present.
I think its an early nickel version, it still has some factory laquer on the crossguard.
Normally an Alu version does not build up a black patina, and appear to be very bright.

Its an original Sword, very salty but its been there!

Cheers Ger

[Larry C]

Hi Robert and No apologies necessary,, you came to the right place. Gerrit has given the best information about your Luftwaffe sword. Enjoy your stay here,, there are many resources here on this forum and through out the WRF website. Best Regards Larry

[mongomery1234]

Im glad to hear its authentic but with all the missing leather its beginning to make me think I got burned on the price? Does the sword still have a good value to it?
Thanks alot for the quick responses by the way!

Also does it hurt to clean some of the tarnish off like near the pommel?

[Gunny Hartmann]

Welcome to the forum, as for the tarnish i'd leave it alone but that's just me!...

[Adrian]

Hi Robert,

It depends on what currency you're using. £300 or $300 or €300? I don't think it's too bad a price for an original sword even with the mossing leather. Some may disagree.

Regarding the tarnish, my advice would be to leave it as is and keep the sword in a stable clean and dry environment. If you clean it your will have a sword missing the leather on the scabbard which has also been cleaned. The value will go down even more if it's cleaned. Collectors like to see an untouched piece and if you clean it, it will always look exactly that - cleaned.
The only steps I might take would be to brush any surface dirt and dust off using a soft brush but don't use any cleaners or chemicals on it. I'm sure some of the blade collectors will be able to advise further with regards to preserving the blade and leather so I'll let those more experienced chip in with their thoughts.

[mongomery1234]

300USD sorry I should have specified that. Thanks for the advice on cleaning though I wasn't going to risk hurting the value of the sword until I got a more informed opinion than my own.

[gerrit]

about cleaning the scabbard and top sunwheels, take the above advise at heart, its better left as it is.
The blade can use some TLC: you can use a little simichrome to clean the chromelayer, whipe it off with a soft cloth, do not polish it with a machine.
After the gentle cleaning with Simichrome you can put some Ren.Wax on it to preserve the blade from oxidating any futher.

and 300-- us dollar aint a very bad price

Ger

[rbminis]

about cleaning the scabbard and top sunwheels, take the above advise at heart, its better left as it is.
The blade can use some TLC: you can use a little simichrome to clean the chromelayer, whipe it off with a soft cloth, do not polish it with a machine.
After the gentle cleaning with Simichrome you can put some Ren.Wax on it to preserve the blade from oxidating any futher.

I would also like to add that when you are cleaning with simichrome, do not clean along the blade length, rather across it with the grain.
Ralph.
Not a bad deal either.

[maximus71]

Nice find!