Eickhorn Heer Miniature Dagger

[jwburchell]

Here is my only mini-dagger which is in superb condition: a Heer produced by Eickhorn with the squirrel proofmark logo used from 1941-1944 etched onto the reverse side of the blade. The detail is quite nice, with all of the silvering present. The overall length is approcimately 19.5 cm.

Interesting is that the grip is made from a sort of translucent-type of material that I have not seen before.

Even more interesting is the 1939 Knight's Cross/Iron Cross etched into the obverse top of the blade, which leads me to think that the original recipient/owner may have been a KC recipient, perhaps? Unfortunately, there is no way to know for sure, unless one of the dagger experts out there has some knowledge of this kind of marking on miniature Third Reich miniature daggers.

All comments and feedback will be appreciated.

Thanks,

John

[jwburchell]

Close-up of the grip, crossguard and scabbard top:

[jwburchell]

The crossguard and etched RK/EK:

[jwburchell]

Reverse view showing Eickhorn logo:

[jwburchell]

Back to the top for possible comments. What really interests me is any comment regarding the Iron Cross on the blade.

Thanks,
John

[Skipper Greenwade]

Given the general lack of oversight afforded period miniatures, their quality varied considerably vs. the standard production/issue pieces, but the crossguard details are not what I would expect from Eickhorn - even a later-vintage piece suggested by the over-the-shoulder squirrel logo.

As you noted, the grip material is also unusual and not what one would expect to see. I'm not sure what to make of that, but it looks like the same material used for the grips on a lot of post-war Navy and other model daggers from WKC, etc.

As for the RK/EK etch, could be the photos but I would expect better quality/detail from Eickhorn - especially if it was intended for a Knight's Cross winner.

Personally, it doesn't give me the "warm fuzzies"

My two cents',
Skip

[lakesidetrader]

John these things were for the most part Salesman samples. So I'm trying to figure out the cross on the blade? Who knows it could have been a gift to some winner. In my experience these mini's often look "crude" in pictures. I believe that this is because we are so used to seeing full size daggers . When one of these mini's comes along they are so small that high detail is near impossible- shoot the crossguard is only an inch wide!! Regardless, in my opinion this is real.

[jwburchell]

Thanks very much, Skip and Paul. Really appreciate your feedback, especially since you guys know your stuff about TR edged weapons. The points about variation of quality of these miniature pieces, as well as about actual size and level of detail are cogent. In hand to the naked eye, the miniature looks stunning. But once you get microscopically close-up, they obviously do not look as fine. Difficult to obtain a fine level of clarity and detail with small pieces like this, I would guess.

In any case, I am posting two more images of the etched logo and Iron Cross, just for additional inspection.

Thanks, again and best regards,

John

[jwburchell]

Iron Cross etch:

[lakesidetrader]

The RK looks more like an EKII on closer inspection, Is the blade plated?
Can this be disassembled, don't force it cause all can not be....

[jwburchell]

Not really sure if the blade is plated or not, Paul. I tried to disassemble the grip by gently turning the the pommel cap but this did not budge so, as you suggested, I am not going to force it.

If you are attending the Ottawa Military Heritage Show at the new location tomorrow (April 19th) you can have a closer look.

[lakesidetrader]

Sorry John, a bit travel weary. Just returned from Calgary earlier this week.
I won't be there. Likely this is plated. As I said I believe this is fine.
These exact fittings are shown in Witty's reference I would not loose sleep over it.