UBB.threads Forums Edged Weapons European Edged Weapons Hlinka Guard Dagger with Swastica

Just got this item in. This is a Hlinka Guard Dagger with a swastica insert that appears to be absolutely pre WWII.

1st the dagger then my speculation.

Most of these have long had their gold plating removed (if they ever had any), however this one has close to 90% in the fron areas.

Here is the grip close up. Both fittings show much gold. The swastica is either copper or the copper plating. There are some traces of gold.

The blade was covered in either grease or laquer. In any case, I removed it and found a nice blade with only minor rust, but, both edges had been filed. Still, a hansom blade for a non German Dagger.

Much of the provinance of this dagger comes from the fact it was veteran acquired and came out of the woodwork as they say. 60 years of gunk bore that out.

So how does an American Veteran get a Slovak Dagger. My assumption is that the Slovak was on assigment in Germany. This would also explain the swastica insert and the method of wearing the dagger in the scabbard.

Any other ideas?

Jim

Very interesting dagger if you have infomation about selling the slovak army dagger to sell please post it. Regards zet

Hi Zet.

Are you refering to this dagger which is the Hlinka Guard, the equivalent of the Nazi SS/SA combined, or the slovak government forces dagger? Let me know and I will deal with it.

Jim

I've never seen one of these with a swastika emblem before. The dagger is original as is the red fabric bag. These are great daggers and are getting very hard to find. A complete rig - case, dagger, bag and hanger can be seen in colour on page 150 of Volume IV of A GUIDE TO MILITARY DRESS DAGGERS. Nice acquisition Jim!

Jim sorry ive mean Hlinka Guard dagger, my mistake .I was thinking about this dagger in your post and typed slovak ,once more sorry. I asked Craig about Hlinka dagger he had one for sale but it was a little to much compare to my budget. If you have Hlinka dagger for sale or maybe trade send me mail.Regards zet

Thank you for the clarification Zet.

Because of the acquisition of this dagger, I do have one for sale. I will email you with photos.

These are very rare, and therefore expensive daggers. But, Poland has some good prices and maybe we can work out a trade. I would like to help fellow collectors.

Kurt, thank you for your words. Based on slight differences between the scabbard and dagger plating, it appears that the grip fittings and swastica were plated at the same time indicating a jeweler did the modification post production. The swastica base is a beautifully shaped dome that fits the contour of the grip. I have the hanger for this so it is a complete set.

Jim

Thanks waiting for mail zet

Bringing this back up due to inquiries. Any ideas on value.

I see them sell for about $900 for the basic dagger. There is a premium for some of the rare group marks.

Jim

I like these HG Daggers, they fit in well with the German politial series. I bought mine years ago before people where 100% sure what they really were.

Craig G, had one like this earlier this year, it sold on ebay , if i recall it did fetch @ $1000 i cant remember the exact figure, sure someone else will.

The conclusion at the time was that the emblem on the handle signified it was a "Transport" version. Dont recall if it was proved though.

One was for sale recently in the UK for @ $3500
may have been more, as i remember being very suprised at the price. with original hanger clip. It's not for sale any more...

I believe Fred Stephens did some research on them years ago, and found the photographic proof as to what they were... Drop him a line..

Mark

Hi Jim,

It indeed is a very nice dagger indeed, but please forgive my slight negative opinion.

I feel that the the swas could be period, however it is very crude. Maybe its just the picture but the swas seems elongated and kind of rough compared to the rest of this beautifull dagger. I maybe even could have done a more accurate job in making the insert. Although I will not dare to question the period as I cannot prove this, I think this is DIY embellishment. Nice piece non the less, but I would go for the standard version.

Like I say just my opinion. Don't hang me for it.

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Wallace:


So how does an American Veteran get a Slovak Dagger.

Jim, you could very well be right, but many U.S. units ended up in western Czechoslovakia during the war, most notably units of Patton's Third Army.

http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/wwii/articles/liberation1945.aspx

My only question would be--why would the grip swastika be on the reverse of the grip? It just seems to me that whoever put this on did not seem to know the front from the back or??? Why would there be a need to conceal it on the back??

There is an original period book on this unit showing the dagger in wear. This is how it was identified post the original ID by Angolia as a possible Spanish Official's dagger.
The book is super and a large format with several pictures of this dagger in wear.
Ron Weinand
Weinand Militaria

This is the dagger Craig had up for sale. As to this being a version of the transportation units dagger, Craig had received incorrect information. I have the model for the transport unit and the crossguard is properly marked HDG instead of just HG as is normal.

Good point Houston, I rather assumed that because the emblem was not authorized the individual had it placed on the reverse.

Jim

I wonder if it is possible that the grip is on backwards?

While I have never taken one of these apart, and do not intend to, you might be correct. On inspection from the outside, I believe the grip could be reversed. Or, for that matter, we can just reverse the dagger in the scabbard.

Based on the photos i have seen, the crossguards often point in opposing ways. This seems to be normal.

Thank you for your comments.