TENO Leader's Dagger by Eickhorn

German WWII > Edged Weapons > Other Daggers > TENO Daggers

Technische Nothilfe Dolch. Nickel-plated hilt fittings exhibit none of the commonly seen flaws where the plating freckles or is peeled off in places. It is quite rare to see one of these daggers with totally intact plating, given the fact that the base metal is composed of pot metal, which is not conducive to lasting intact for a long term unless the dagger was properly stored. This one was. The pommel features the three raised rings which go around a raised cog wheel. The factory burnishing remains intact. The cross guard features the unique Paul Casberg-designed TeNo eagle having exquisitely detailed open wings and feathering. The bird grasps a lined swastika in his talons. Superimposed at the center of the swastika is a cogwheel having the organization's initials being formed with a hammer device representing a letter "T", positioned over the capital letter, "N". Again, the factory burnishing remains intact around the eagle and along the raised line created by the lower portion of the guard. The matching ferrule is in perfect condition. The trolon grip is a very attractive yellow on the obverse and is a slightly lighter tone on the reverse. The grip is in near perfect condition. A fine hilt here! The scabbard is straight throughout. It is decorated with raised pebbled panels and smooth edges. The carrying bands have two accent lines that run around the mount. The edges are smooth. These scabbards were factory burnished and this example exhibits only minor thinning. Typical Eickhorn throat is a thicker type and is retained by a flatter-head screw that is located in the reverse center area. The throat surface is stamped with the serial number, "3713", which matches the etched version of the number on the blade's obverse ricasso. We feel the blades that are number etched versus stamped, were produced later in the period. The long blade is very nice. A polished style having full grain intact. This blade is mirror bright with needle-like tip. Minor spotting. The reverse is deeply etched with the TeNo eagle and special swastika, along with the 1935-41 Carl Eickhorn squirrel logo. The black leather blade buffer is in place and in fine condition. This dagger was adopted in 1938, with Eickhorn being the sole manufacturer. Ca. 42cm length. A difficult example to upgrade!