Not one you find everyday. A true General's Army Dagger by Herder. Just as the German mid-war Naval Badges turned grey as the gold lost its color, so did the few general's daggers. Here is one that is straight from the veteran's possession with traces of gold remaining. See the ferrule and edges of the scabbard and note the grey color on the crossguard and pommel.
-
-
scabbard -
moreComment
-
more goldComment
-
What a rare & nice conditioned piece! The dagger was obviously well stored, & It's amazing how much of the golden/finish was absorbed. Thank you for showing Ron..Comment
-
Beautiful dagger
Comment
-
Great dagger, Ron.
Thanks for showing.
JComment
-
Discussed at length on multiple forums at different times, the topic of gold daggers for generals ultimately showed that period regulations specified a specific type of gold finish hanger in conjunction with standard daggers and was authorized for both the German Army and Luftwaffe (for generals and a few other ranks/positions). So I would love to see and have copies of some some actual period documentation that authorizes actual gold color daggers. That said, I've seen a number of zinc base (and/or plated) daggers/scabbards (and hangers) which are all later period with the original finish worn down to a yellow/gold zinc chromate pre-finish that was developed and used in the TR period by some but not all makers to try and protect zinc from a common specific type of corrosion. With the items posted below a small sampling of some discussions and supporting data.
PS: Any photos that I may have posted that are not there for some reason are archived and available for re-posting. FP
WAF 2013:
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...light=chromate
zinc chromate finished bolts (not a paint with the same name):
https://www.amazon.com/Yellow-Chroma...chromate+bolts
Hangers:
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...light=chromate
WAF 2011:
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...+dagger&page=2
GDC:
http://forum.germandaggers.com/ubbth...=254879&page=1
WAF 2012:
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...=dagger&page=5Comment
Comment