your views on this luft 1st model please

[jwithersrat]

ive recently aquired luft first from a dealer but i have my doubts whats your thoughts please..

[jwithersrat]

another

[jwithersrat]

the scabbard

[jwithersrat]

chain

[jwithersrat]

sorry cant see very well but maker marked tiger

[Dutchknive]

What's the maker of the dagger? and do you have a picture of it?

[jwithersrat]

hi the maker is tiger solingen with the pic of a tiger

[Skipper Greenwade]

Looks fine to me. Certainly nothing in the photos gives cause for concern. A lot of times the aluminum 1st Luft's can be misleading simply because the aluminum doesn't show age like the early production fittings.

Best,
Skip

[jwithersrat]

what i do not like is the color of the leather shouldnt it be blue?

[Skipper Greenwade]

There is enough wear to the leather to indicate that most of the blue has faded or worn away. It is possible that some dark blue Meltonian shoe cream could bring back the color, but a lot of collectors (to include me) prefer to see a piece like this show its age.

Hope that helps,
Skip

[jwithersrat]

thanks skip that really is a help nothing worse than having doubts over a piece nice to get a few opinions great stuff.....

[Brian S]

john,

sunlight is tough on the leather and color. if you get more leather covered items, try to keep them out of the light as much as possible on an extended basis. i'd bet under the alu you'd see blue leather that was not exposed.

[jwithersrat]

ok thanks mate will give it a try

[arnhem1944]

the hakenkreuz(or swastika) at the bottom of the dagger is the symbol of the SS Viking division too so it may be would had owned by a soldier(or officer) from SS Viking

[Skipper Greenwade]

Arnhem,

This is an Air Force dagger, so it is somewhat unlikely that there would be any affiliation with "Wiking".

In this case, the 'sunwheel' swastika was simply the design of choice, probably because it fit in the round pommel and the space afforded it in the crossguard. The sunwheel was also used on the top of the pommel of the 1938 model railway dagger.

Hope that helps,
Skip