Fireman Dagger and Rifle Association Dagger

[Harvey A]

Hello to the Forum,

I don't have photos yet (maybe next week) but today I looked at some pretty neat daggers. Neither dagger had the national emblem or anything connected with the NAZI party, so I thought they both may be Imperial.

The Fireman dagger had a crossguard which featured a helmet with crossed axes. The grip was wood, covered with leather and wire wrap. the blade was nicely etched and the scabbard was leather with stapled-on mounts.

The other dagger had a stag grip with three acorns on it. The counterguard was a clamshell design and the crossguard was a simple "S" shape with hoof-type finials. The etching was very nice and included rifle targets and what may have been shooting trophies. There was also a Gorget that had the same motifs; it was engraved and presented to someone who may have been a Mayor, but the owner got it from a different source than that of the dagger.

Sorry for no photos, but I hate to bother the guy and take a lot of photos without knowing what he has. Can any of you, by my poor description, tell what it is that I've seen and can you refer me to some place on the internet where I could view other ones and get some idea of their values?

Also; it's obvious that I need to purchase a good set of reference books on german daggers. I've thought of Johnson's and Wittmann's; what is your recommendation?

Thanks, Harvey

[Skipper Greenwade]

Tough call to make without photos, but it sounds like you might have a line on a fire official's daggerl and a hunting association cutlass. They could be either Third Reich period or earlier. In his new book from Schiffer Publishing, Tom Johnson states that at least one pattern of fire official's dagger, "...was adopted pre-Nazi during the Weimar period but continued service during the Third Reich. Whie the recognized Third Reich Hunting Association cutlass featuers the enamel hunting association logo with the tiny swastikas, I have a hunting cutlass of an earlier design, but with the 1935-1941 Eickhorn maker mark.

As for reference books, it all depends on what you want/need. If you simply want to be able to identify the various pattern dress daggers, Volume One of Johnson's Collecting the Edged Weapons of the Third Reich is a highly recommended first purchase and can then be followed up with the remaining seven volumes as the opportunity presents itself. The just released four volume Johnson series from Schiffer Publishing is also a very informative set of books that doesn't take up much shelf space. If you want more detail, the Wittmann books are simply the best works out there for the Army, Navy, Luftwaffe and SS.

Hope that helps,
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