UBB.threads Forums Edged Weapons Miscellaneous Dagger Forum Enquireing minds want to know.

Has anyone ever come across a Red Cross Officers or Social Welfare dagger with a white grip? Almost every single period photo I see of one in wear has a white grip. Yet I personally have never seen one. It would make sense to me that if some Army, Navy, Teno & 2nd Luft Dagger grips are still white, why no Red cross Or Social Welfare?

Notaguru, imho you can´t judge the color of the grip in b&w photographs. When yellow grips are newly made (I have had them eg. on unissued army daggers) they are in a very light yellow, nearly white. So the difference (I would think even to a slightly darker yellow, how RK Leader daggers do come nowadays) cannot be recognized in period photographs (and I have a lot of them).
Why there are now no white gripped RK daggers today? The material which was (only) used for the RK grips simply tend to become (always) yellow and even orange. Grips that stay white (like many armies or lufts or navies) are mostly celluloid with any fillings of from very brittle "milkstone" or the expensive ivory and are obviously not usable -or in case of ivory too expensive- for the kind of RK daggers.
I have seen one or two RK daggers with "true" white grips but these have been CLEAR totally faked daggers.
Regards,

Notaguru, I have never seen a TENO officers dagger either in person or in photographs that had a white grip. All have been yellowish orange or orange in color. Yes, TENO sub-hewer daggers did have white grips. That most likely is what you are referring to.

Best Regards,
Ed