Sad looking Luftwaffe 2nd pattern dagger by Alcoso, Solingen with a little history

[Grimebox]

I have just inherited this Luftwaffe dagger which I believe is a 2nd pattern dagger by Alcoso, Solingen. It was brought back from the war by my uncles father. He was in the RAF, although I’m not exactly sure what he did. At the end of the war he visited Berlin and took a number of photos (there was a photo of Hitlers bunker, although that hasn’t been located at the moment). There are also photos of him with abandoned Luftwaffe aircraft, there is one with him next to an Me262 but again it has not been located at the moment. Unfortunately I do not know the story of how he acquired the dagger.

Unfortunately, for reasons my uncle couldn’t even explain, in the 1980’s he coated the dagger with wood varnish!!! At some point I’ll work out how to sensitively remove it - I have two 1941 dated kukris to practice on because he also covered those in varnish!!!

Any information on the dagger would be welcome as it’s not my normally collecting area (and don’t worry I’m not going to put the wire wool to it)

[CBH]

Nail polish remover on a cotton swab will work.

[Larry C]

Sad looking ...I would say alot of provenance. The photos and story of your Uncle are Great .

Best Larry

[Mitsu]

Hello,

Very nice Alcoso dagger

For cleaning, however, be careful with the grip with the solvent because if you have a painted wood or wood / celluloid version, I wouldn't have fun with ............ ACHTUNG! !!

await the opinion of specialists ....

Regards
Mitsu

[Grimebox]

I’m not sure if he coated the grip with varnish, either way it doesn’t look too bad so I was going to leave that alone. It was the blade and metal parts that I want to try and clean up. I’m going to see what results I get on the kukri’s before I tackle the dagger. I’m certainly not in any rush. What ever possessed him to cover them in brown wood varnish I’ll never know.

[rbminis]

The varnish was most likely clear when applied and has tarnished over the years.
I would leave the handle alone. Any of the metal pars that do not have gilding or frosting, can be cleaned with acetone.
It evaporates quickly, and can be applied gently with a rag, or soft brush.
Ralph.

[CBH]

Varnish was sometimes used to keep thing from tarnishing, it would start out clear and only go brown after many years. Here is a before and after of a Scottish Dirk that I cleaned.

[Mitsu]

yes for the metal parts no problem. but in case I preferred to say it ...
it would still be a shame to damage this beautiful family dagger !
I'm sure once cleaned it would look great. I would like to see the end result
Regards

[Mitsu]

Varnish was sometimes used to keep thing from tarnishing, it would start out clear and only go brown after many years. Here is a before and after of a Scottish Dirk that I cleaned.

yes CBH you are certainly right. The varnish must have protected it ... that's why I think it will be beautiful when cleaned well

[CBH]

I got the Dirk dirt cheap due to the vanish making it look so dirty and worn.
It really looked like the silver plate was worn away, but clean up nicely.
As stated above, be careful with the handle.