DRK Red Cross Leader's Dagger

[Rick C]

Been awhile since I posted a dagger. This came in today resulting from the ad I keep running in the local paper. Was told by the seller he had a "German Army dagger" he wanted to sell & since he had two of them he would let one go to pay some bills. When I met up with him - so much for the army dagger.

This seems swell to me & will look wonderful on the wall next to the EM Hewer I already had but I thought I might post it to get some opinions.

It escapes me how some folks establish 'condition' so I'm hoping for opinions on what "condition" we're looking at. Also, I went to Wittmann's site (fell off my chair when I saw what these go for) and notice with regard to the hanger loops that some are round (like this) and some have rectangular holes. Can someone tell me if there's any significance between the two designs?

If I need to post a specific view please let me know & thanx in advance for your comments. Rick C.

[Rick C]

Closer on the grip - there's a liitle knick one can barely see...

[Rick C]

other side

(I haven't cleaned this up so excuse the dusty look)

[Rick C]

blade - again, I'm not a blade expert so haven't a clue if this is "good" condition or better than good...

[Rick C]

DRK insignia

[Rick C]

The leather thingamabob is present but no markings at all which, having breezed through Wittmann's offering, perhaps none of them were. Can anyone say?

[Rick C]

scabbard is in good shape - no dings or dents - plating/finish is uniform

[Rick C]

Last shot - again, I look forward to your opinions such that I can justify having blown my next week's beer budget on this.

He ex-owner promised me he would call next week after he looked through his Granddaddy's box (inherited) to see what other "duplicates" he has and give me first shot at them. He did mention he had a couple of duplicate "black handled" daggers... we'll see

[Billy G]

Rick,

Because of the round holes, this would be referred to as a "Social Welfare" dagger. I suspect this distinction is something thought up by the dealers & many have put forth the thought that the round holes are merely a manufacturer's variation rather than a distinction for an entirely different organization's dagger. Many of these pieces come with hangers that have different cloth straps which is also a puzzle.

With regard to your piece, it's tough to see the condition of the blade. It looks to be pretty good with a lot of crossgraining & a few perpendicular scratches. From what I see I'd say it's at least Exc.++ but I'm conservative in this regard. I have no doubt a dealer would call this "near mint". Thanks for sharing it.

A few questions, is the grip cracked/chipped or just scratched? How's the pommel nut? Are there any marks on the blade tang?

[Skipper Greenwade]

Billy G answered both of your questions the same way I would have.

There are two different hangers normally associated with these daggers - Red Cross and Social Welfare. I suspect that hte hanger type is really what determined one's "branch of service" and tend to agree that the round holes were just a manufacturer's variation or that they came into play once it dawned on 'Fritz' how much easier it was to just drill a round hole on the tab on the side of the scabbard.

Great find

Skip

[Stu W]

Check this thread...

Hi Rick,

Very nice indeed. That's a dagger type I have recently been reading up on. Here is a thread you may want to check to learn a little more...

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=258579

Regards,
Stu

[Vaughan]

Absolutely right as rain & I also do not really believe that the holes being round or square is anything more than a variation rather than a distinction between DRK or Social welfare. However this is now generally how they are referred to. Condition is always subjective & a certain dealer would call this near mint but I think most collectors would rate condition more modestly as exc+ Exc++. Just my opinion but a very nice collectable dagger that is much under estimated by those who have not held one & somewhat under valued in todays market. Well done!

[Rick C]

Billy - I would have to say the grip is chipped in two spots. Very small & wouldn't have noticed them except when I wiped of the brime from the handle some of it got in the chip & I haven't use a tooth brush to clean it out yet. I should probably clean this stuff up before posting it here but I often get ahead of myself.

Marks on the "blade tang": What's a tang? (I'm a visor guy - I know I should actually 'read' some of the Johnson books on my shelf rather than look at the pictures... ) I don't see any proofs, numbers or marks of any kind, anywhere. Has anyone seen onee with a maker mark? Who's 'supected' of being the manufacturer?

Stu - thanx for the link. That will be my morning reading over coffee. I'm one of those backwards collectors who tend to research something once I've stumbled on something I want to keep & this one's a keeper. I've admired these since getting my Hewer & starting a little DRK segment to my collection. Always wanted a leader's dagger but never enough to actually search out pricing & data (I guess I focus on cap too much). This will add some contrast to some other DRK stuff I've picked up (below); so, based on everybody's opinions (and Wittmann's pricing of similar daggers) I'm pretty confident I didn't overpay for this at $250.

[Billy G]

Hi Rick,

I think you've got a great dagger, grip chips notwithstanding. I appreciate you showing it, the acquisition story is awesome too. And I don't think you overpaid at all.

The blade tang is the part of the blade that extends up into the grip. In order to remove the grip on a DRK officer's dagger, you need to take care not to chew up the pommel nut. Once you remove the top nut, you'll find there's a spanner nut under it also securing the grip to the blade. Several dealers sell tools that can remove these nuts but you can do it with whatever you have in your workshop provided you do it gingerly & slowly.

I was curious because I've heard some of these pieces have tang markings, suspected makers are Klaas & PD Lüneschloss. I have a standard DRK with an unmarked tang although it did come with a super mint set of hangers.

[Josh B.]

I'm pretty confident I didn't overpay for this at $250.

You lucky.... I'd say you got the deal of the year my friend...

And yes, in case you couldn't guess, I'm as jealous as a TR dagger collector could be.

I guess it's time to start running some ads. WELL DONE!