I recently acquired this dagger and am curious as to its value. It is in very nice condition, especially the blade, with its nice needle point and nearly 100% gray etching backgrounds. The grip has a few dings, but no chips, cracks, etc. It appears to be made of ebony or another wood used late in the period for "RZM" SS daggers. The guards are nickel-silver and appropriately marked internally for the "K&M" daggers. The scabbard is the standard "RZM" type, painted black, with plated fittings. There is a black "RZM" hanger attached. The scabbard paint is original and rates at about 99%. No dings, creases, etc. I would appreciate informed estimates of its value. Thanks very much.

Motto

Grip

I thought by 1939 the makers had settled on gold or copper washed fittings on marine daggers. I have seen a few early pieces that claim to be early marine daggers. They had black handles, but they had early maker marks. Could I see a close up of the entire grip.
I recently posted a Klittermann&Moog with same mark as yours. My cross guards were not marked inside.

Randal.

There is no sign of a gold or copper wash on this dagger. I would think by 1939, such washes would have been scarce, if they existed at all. Perhaps someone has such a dagger with the wash. I don't know. The eagle is aluminum. The grip perfectly fits the guards. The fit of the blade to the lower guard is well within acceptable tolerances and nearly perfect. K&M is known to have used nickel-silver guards and scabbard fittings well into the "RZM" period. I would not be surprised to find 1939 daggers by K&M to have a mixture of parts, including crossguards. Here is a shot of the entire front of the grip, as requested.

I should also mention there is no "Gau" mark on the lower guard.

Here is a RZM period NSKK Marine. Although it's not a K&M. It's marked M7/66 1939 for Eickhorn.

Randal.

#1

Nice example. The "Eickhorn" leaders daggers often have the copper wash. Of course, 1939 covers an entire year and a lot could change in that time, especially that year. My dagger is an out-of-the-woodwork example. I had to "unfreeze" the pommel nut when I obtained it. I have no doubt it is "unmessed with." It could be it had a light wash of copper on it and it was removed by polishing, etc. However, since I can see no trace of wash, I think it more likely it came from the factory as seen.