stanier
Well-Known Member
I'm looking for some help on a topic, though related to our interest goes way off the beaten track in terms of my knowledge. Can someone here point me in the right direction please?
Some years ago I came by a Luftwaffe dagger that was given to me by an elderly gentleman my father knew. My father had helped this gentleman with a number of model engineering projects and in conversation happened to mention we'd had a weekend at a WWII preserved railway reenacting event and that I was very interested in the era. The gentleman subsequently revealed that during the closing stages of the war when in Germany he'd collected German military daggers and kindly asked my father to pass a Luftwaffe example on to me, along with a strict instruction to keep the blade well oiled and don't touch it with bare fingers for fear of staining the blade! Below are some pictures of the dagger I have and some pictures of the gentleman's bigger collection that he sent along too.
Anyway, notwithstanding the gentleman's enormously kind generosity (I personally never met him!) in the cold light of day having an 11.5 inch bladed weapon (just under 17 inch total length when in scabbard) adorned with swastika's is something I'm personally not hugely comfortable with and I'm looking to sell it. It's been sitting at the back of a locked cupboard for some years now. Trouble is, I'm not too clear how to go about it and where to get honest advice I can trust. I did contact an online dealer who said that because there is no makers mark on the blade it is a repro and he offered peanuts for it, but then I found a forum that said there were Luftwaffe daggers made with no makers mark and mine has several other features consistent with pre-May 1945 daggers, such as scabbard with no seams very fine oak leaves castings and wood lined handle amongst others, no "Berlin" marks anywhere, plus the history of how the elderly gentleman acquired it.
As I say, anyone know where I could get help with this please? It will be much appreciated. And rest assured I won't be posting this item anywhere or selling on an internet forum at all!
Pics are here:
Some years ago I came by a Luftwaffe dagger that was given to me by an elderly gentleman my father knew. My father had helped this gentleman with a number of model engineering projects and in conversation happened to mention we'd had a weekend at a WWII preserved railway reenacting event and that I was very interested in the era. The gentleman subsequently revealed that during the closing stages of the war when in Germany he'd collected German military daggers and kindly asked my father to pass a Luftwaffe example on to me, along with a strict instruction to keep the blade well oiled and don't touch it with bare fingers for fear of staining the blade! Below are some pictures of the dagger I have and some pictures of the gentleman's bigger collection that he sent along too.
Anyway, notwithstanding the gentleman's enormously kind generosity (I personally never met him!) in the cold light of day having an 11.5 inch bladed weapon (just under 17 inch total length when in scabbard) adorned with swastika's is something I'm personally not hugely comfortable with and I'm looking to sell it. It's been sitting at the back of a locked cupboard for some years now. Trouble is, I'm not too clear how to go about it and where to get honest advice I can trust. I did contact an online dealer who said that because there is no makers mark on the blade it is a repro and he offered peanuts for it, but then I found a forum that said there were Luftwaffe daggers made with no makers mark and mine has several other features consistent with pre-May 1945 daggers, such as scabbard with no seams very fine oak leaves castings and wood lined handle amongst others, no "Berlin" marks anywhere, plus the history of how the elderly gentleman acquired it.
As I say, anyone know where I could get help with this please? It will be much appreciated. And rest assured I won't be posting this item anywhere or selling on an internet forum at all!
Pics are here: