I had a question about Eickhorn "benchmarks" from a friend so I thought I would post a note with my thoughts.

The early maker-marked daggers by Eickhorn sometimes have what the hobby calls a benchmark on the underside of the lower crossguard. The numbers go from 0 to 9. No double digits. This applies to Rohm and Himmler daggers as well as ground Rohms.

- I think (note this is my interpretation*) they are numbers that workers used to keep track of dagger parts as they assembled them in batches of ten. For example, the worker would fit the grips to the upper and lower guard, then put the three pieces back in the compartment in a tray. Then he (or the next guy) would seat the lower guard on the blades ... then add the grips and upper guards from compartment 0 to crossguard 0. 1 to 1, 2 to 2, etc.

- The benchmarks were stamped onto the guard before assembly, probably by putting the guard onto a piece of metal or wood with a shape like the inside of the guard. It would be impossible to stamp the benchmark onto the guard of an assembled dagger without cracking the grip half the time. Besides it would be hard to clamp the finished dagger.

- There is no particular place where the number was stamped on the lower surface of the guard. I have seen several daggers where the number was partly or fully covered by the blade and only evident when the dagger was apart. This also proves, at least to me, that the benchmarks were put on before assembly.

Why did only some of the daggers get benchmarks ? Maybe it was early practice that was abolished - but I do't know.

Was it an early or late practice in the brief time the maker-marked daggers were made ? Don't know.

* That is my take on benchmarks, but if anyone else has different thoughts, lets hear them.

Dave

Interesting take Dave... I don't have the answer, but rather a question as Devils advocate...

Why would there be a need to match fittings as they were all manufactured to the identical tolerances from the same dies etc. so surely the grip to crossguard fit would be precise, as shrinkage or distortion would not be a factor. The blade may have required some fitting, however the blade would be finessed, not the crossguard?

Would love to know this one, as some believe they are benchmarks assigned to individual assemblers, but surely there would have been more than 10 workbenches assembling in a firm as large as Eickhorn?

Red

Red,

Take 5 early SS (or SA) daggers by any one manufacturer. Take them apart and see if the bottom of the grip of #1 will fit correctly and snugly in the lower crossguard of #2 or #3 or #4 or #5. It won't . You'll be lucky to get a bad fit on one. They were hand fitted and are seldom interchangeable.

The reason is that while the specs for the gars were published, there are minute differences in each guard, particularly in the inside.

Do you have 2 daggers you can try this with ?

Dave

Dave... I've found this problem even with daggers that aren't bench marked.

It's extremely hard to find parts that fit together.

Good topic!

Most of ALL the early daggers had some hand fitting. Try switching grips on luft or army daggers.

Dave

Well guys I need to speak up. It was I who talked to Dave on this issue.
Sold a Himmler below market cause it wasn't benchmarked. -No problem most collectors seeking these hi end pieces demand textbook.
Anyways, the dagger had never been disassembled and my customer decided to take it down. Low and behold he found the bench mark under the blade! He is thrilled and I'm happy for him. Never seen one in this location before, so I learned something along the way.
Now, I have to wonder how many others of these out there have this hidden....

Hi Paul - That is interesting. I came across a Vet acquired Eickhorn Rohm years ago with no benchmark and never disassembled it to see if there was a number hidden.

For the record:

Many of the Rohm and Himmler dedication daggers have benchmarks. Some don't. It should have no effect on value in my opinion.

Dave

Dave I agree and guys do not lay out that kind of money without a lot of research.
When they have a choice between a benchmarked dagger and a similarly conditioned one that's not, they go for the benchmark every time.

I can see where benchmarks are attractive, but I don't place a great deal of value on them, everything else being right. I own a "Himmler" without the mark that has the "serrated tail" trademark. The guards are internally marked "HE." That's good enough for me. I also have an SA partial "Rohm" with a benchmark and "HE" guards and a second "Himmler," benchmarked, with "AR" guards and a "smooth-tailed" trademark. I take each for what it is and enjoy the differences. Makes things interesting.

Dave, I agree you can't swop between makers or even different periods from the same maker. To try and swop between makers is near impossible. I have a few Eicks with HE marked crossguards and those match up perfectly. I have another Eick with AR marked crossguards I think, and they don't match up with the HE fittings...

It is interesting, some daggers can't even be put back into the scabbard upsidedown, I have an early REMEVE which fits so precisely it can only goes in one way

Red

If you look closely at many of the early SA/SS daggers, you will see that the far ends of the diamond-shaped upper scabbard fitting have been slightly extended with a small file. This was to allow the blade to fully seat in the scabbard.

On the official specifications, I think (need to check this) the blade width is 35mm wide ..... as is the opening in the scabbard. But a slightly too-wide (they were hand ground) or slightly too narrow opening (which happens with castings) made adjustments necessary.

Sometimes, if you peek into the scabbard with a good light, you will see that the upper screws have had a notch filed into them to permit the blade to pass. If someone turns that screw 90 degrees, the blade won't seat and can get buggered up.

Dave

Again Dave, that is great collector info. Thanks.

My realization :the most , or all !? , early eickhorn double oval's ss and sa bears this stamp .

My M36 Early SS is benchmarked 0 beneath the crossguard.