Luft mod II ,Spesial silver finish scabbard

[LH 600]

Hello Keen collectors.
I have some Luft daggers into my collection.
This dagger pictured has a very spesial scabbard with "silver" finish all the way.
I got some info from 2 other well known collector this is a ekstra cost delivery for the customer ordering the dagger.
"Spesial order"

Is this type rarer than others ? What type of silvering stuff do the Germans use & why did they do this ?
I have never seen this type of scabbard before .
Hope for some help and info

Regards LH 600

Here some pictures











Paul Weyersberg makers mark and Luftamp Eagle "5"

[jancz3rt]

Hmm

Hey,

I have to see that I am having a hard time seeing a difference between this one and the others I have seen in the past. The finish seems the same. I am sure someone more knowledgeable will be able to shed some further light on it.

JAN

[LH 600]

Hey,

I have to see that I am having a hard time seeing a difference between this one and the others I have seen in the past. The finish seems the same. I am sure someone more knowledgeable will be able to shed some further light on it.

JAN

They are not common for sales. The silver finish are a extra cost for the buyer of the dagger.

Here some info i got from a well know dealer
I have seen these silvered scabbards on many occasions in the past. It was an extra cost option provided by the manufacturer. Some makers offered nickel-plated scabbards also

[Wim Vangossum]

Hi,

You certainly know what to collect: a Weyersberg, a stunning SMF...
The silvering is difficult to see on the pictures but it is true that officers could buy daggers with silvered scabbard or even with all the fittings silvered. That silvering received a transparant laquer wich coloured yellow with years. If the laquer is gone you have a dark patined scabbard like you will see on many untouched Armies

Regards, Theo

[jancz3rt]

Second look

Looking at it again, I do see what you meant. There is a difference there after all. Nice piece all the way!

JAN

[Frogprince]

It could be just the lighting. But especially with the second dagger, what I seem to be seeing is a mixture of aluminum and zinc finished parts. With seemingly more of a gray color than the deep blacks normally associated with silver. FP

[LH 600]

It could be just the lighting. But especially with the second dagger, what I seem to be seeing is a mixture of aluminum and zinc finished parts. With seemingly more of a gray color than the deep blacks normally associated with silver. FP

The Grey color of the SMF is typical of this type of maker and the aluminium color band.
I got this from Lakesidetrader some year ago

The Weyersberg is a very spesial and nice dagger too, with that scabbard silver finish.

LH

[LH 600]

Here is a late typical Alcoso Luft with hangar.
Look at the orginal period scabbard finish .

Regards LH



Sweet



Grip

[Skipper Greenwade]

I would like to see a period catalog or other document that confirms the silvered scabbard option. I'm not saying that this wasn't the case, but IMO the silvering was simply a function of the production period and/or the manufacturer. The same goes for the aluminum scabbard bands.

I have a Krebs 2nd Model Luftwaffe with a true silver plated scabbard with amazing patina and never gave it a second thought...I think it's just an earlier production piece.

Hate to rain on the parade here, but until I see something - again, i.e., a period surce document - that lists a scabbard finish option, I think we're just looking at standard production pieces that happen to be of particularly high quality.

Best,
Skip

[Frogprince]

Please permit me to expand a little on my earlier comment. The matt gray finish is a zinc phospahte (like some period Wehrmacht issue guns and bayonets). And while aluminum does not rust like steel, it also does not easily electroplate very easily. With the ‘zincated’ pre-finish providing a base for the gold plated pommel swastikas - and the matt gray phosphated finish seen in the recessed areas of dagger parts. With the matt gray being polished away - leaving the exposed highlights a natural aluminum color, and the recesses gray.

Steel scabbards/various components will eventually rust unless plated (or painted). And for many it was was zinc. Or gray phosphate over the zinc in the case of the matt finished examples. (Silver plating was also used in a number of applications. But as it is exposed to the atmosphere it eventually turns black, like the example Skip cited, not gray.)

My point being I was looking at how they were made, without judging the merits of the various makers. With some examples that still have some matt gray (for example) in the pebbled scabbard recesses simply lacking some of their original finish. FP

[Wim Vangossum]

Hi Frogprince,

I'm (a little bit) aware of the difficulties to work on alumnium, so I find this interesting. So in fact they first zinc plated the entire pommel for a better cohesion of the gold finish? And what we always call the matt grey finish which covering sometimes the entire luftwaffe daggers is a zinc phospated treathment?

Concerning the SMF I think it's possible to create contrast we see today: If they zinc phospated the scabbard fist and applied afterwards the natural aluminium scabbard bands, right?

Regards, Theo

[LH 600]

Silvered dagger Luft II

...............

[Dick Pumphrey]

Scabbard finishes.

Gentlemen,
I have in my collection an Eickhorn 2nd model Luftwaffe, that my father-in-law brought back, that has a GOLD finished scabbard. It came with a shortened hanger with gold hardware. I have shown it to other collectors over the 40 someodd years I have owned it and have never received a satisfactory reason for it. I had always thought that it might be a "generals" dagger?????? Any ideas? Thanks.
Regards,
Dick

[LH 600]

...........

[Dick Pumphrey]

Hi LH 600,
Thanks for your reply. I do have some good photos of my dagger but I have never been able to post photos here. I would be happy to send them via email to someone kind enough to include them here.

My daggers scabbard has a very bright gold finish with the hanger bands in the aluminum finish. Is this similiar to yours?
Regards,
Dick