Hitler Youth Knife by RZM M7/56 1940

German WWII > Edged Weapons > Hitler Youth and DJ Knives > RZM Hitler Youth Knives

A Model 1933 Hitlerjugend Fahrtenmesser by RZM M7/56 1940 - C. D. Schaaff of Solingen. The thick ricassoed blade on this one looks good. The stamped “RZM M7/56 1940” maker mark is perfectly executed. The tip comes to a perfect point and the fit is nice and tight. The blade rates Exc+. It has been ever-so-slightly sharpened, shows age grey and spotting throughout. The black leather buffer pad remains intact. The sheet metal based black re-painted scabbard is in excellent condition. It remains dent free. It has two runners. The scabbard’s cow hide leather hanger is quite interesting and is a perfect example of salvaging parts. The exterior leather is rougher and poorly treated in black. However, the interior is perfectly smooth brown tanned leather. Why would this happen? Come 1938 regulations, all scabbard leather had to be black. Clearly, the hanger was riveted inside out, offering a quick fix solution to a regulated industry. I come across this several times and explain it in my book: see page 95 of The Collector’s Guide to Hitler Youth Knives by Nathan Hogle. All of the hangers rivets remain intact. The button strap is missing its female snap portion. The zinc-based nickel-silver plated hilt retains is cracked to the center on both sides. It retains 20% of its plating. The grip plates are black checkered bakelite. They remain chip and crack free. Both solid steel rivets remain tightly secured. The large HJ diamond retains 99%+ of its enamel. 1937 to 1942, RZM dated Hartkopf examples are extremely rare.