Opinions needed on unmarked Kreigsmarine with Hammered Scabbard

[peterwyndavies]

I would be grateful for any opinions on this Kreigsmarine Dagger with Hammered Scabbard. It has no maker marks.I would be grateful for advice as to whether unmarked Daggers are less valuable than marked ones and if this type of scabbard affects the value if the item is genuine. I attach some pictures.
Thanks,
Peter.

[peterwyndavies]

Some more pics.

[peterwyndavies]

Yet more pics

[peterwyndavies]

Some views of the Tang.

[Stu W]

Hi Peter,

Hammered scabbards are more desirable than the Lightning Bolt types. Plain blades are less often found than maker marked ones in my experience. For some reason though most folks want a dagger with maker mark.

Regards,
Stu

[fdodge]

That's an original dagger there. Stu's right about the hammered scabbard being more desirable. As for the blade, if it's a plain blade without a maker mark, it better be near mint for me to own it. Just my opinion. I see quite a few of these at shows in this condition and they don't sell.

Regards,
Frank

[peterwyndavies]

Thanks Stu and Frank.
I think that you are right, unmarked Daggers don't seem to be as attractive as maker marked ones, hammered scabbard or not. This is coming up in auction along with some other stuff and I will bear your advice in mind.
Thanks,
Peter.

[peterwyndavies]

I thought that I would update this thread by stating that this dagger came with excellent provenance that it came from a U Boat. It was sold with a number of U Boat items and was obtained by a sailor who served on a submarine depot ship at the end of the war and was involved with the surrender and decommissioning of U Boats. Papers, service number and photographs were available for inspection by purchasers of any of the items. Must be unusual to have such a strong U Boat connection to a Kreigsmarine Dagger.
Peter.

[Tiger 1]

The pommel eagle looks to be a WKC product. Regardless of whether the blade is trademarked or etched this dagger has a lot of eye appeal and character. If it happens to be linked to the U-boat service that is just that much better.

Nice dagger.

Tony

[Ed Sunday]

This is a typical plain blade unmarked WKC product.

[peterwyndavies]

Thanks Tony and Ed. The scabbard seems to have retained quite a bit of the gilt and glistens in the light. Incidentally, something that has puzzled me is why would WKC or any other maker not mark a knife they had made?
Peter.

[Tiger 1]

Thanks Tony and Ed. The scabbard seems to have retained quite a bit of the gilt and glistens in the light. Incidentally, something that has puzzled me is why would WKC or any other maker not mark a knife they had made?
Peter.

Generally pieces that were not marked and had plain unetched blades were made to a no frills price point. These entry level naval daggers and swords were made to government order or for uniform effects stores.

The government owned pieces had accountability numbers with a capital N or O prefix to designate naval stations or depots. N for North Sea and O for Ostsee (BalticSea).

The uniform effects stores offered daggers and swords from the plainest no frills model to some really rare and stunning examples of the cutler's art all decked out with special order options such as genuine ivory grips and true damascus blades abd various levels of finish. It all depended on how deep the buyers pockets were.

That said, even the plainest daggers are collectables in their own right, espevially an honest seemingly unmessed one like the one shown here.

Hope this helps some.

Tony

[peterwyndavies]

Thanks Tony. I must say I have not seen any daggers with these numbers on, but that said I haven't handled many.
Thanks,
Peter.