UBB.threads Forums Edged Weapons German Sword & Miniatures Forum SS officer at yardsale!!!

the upper scabbard fitting appears rather crude in its execution. rough edges, no evidence of any background darkening. it reminds me of a type sold by johnson in the late 80s early 90s. they came with ss proofmarks as does this one. ive also seen that number or one very close to it somewhere before. could it be some accountability number from an ss nco blade, you know the ones that were signed out to be used by ncos at parades etc? just my thoughts, anyone else have anything to add? regards,,mike leone dds max life member

Well I guess people will go to any means to make a $100!
The scabbard on one of my SS degens is about 1 inch longer than the blade. Did it come this way from the manufacturer when someone put it together? Did the officer who received it decide he wanted a slightly longer scabbard? Did the scabbard that came with the sword become damaged and was it replaced by this one?
This sword was purchased from a vets family so I think post war replacement is unlikely.
Furthermore; I've obtained a lot of strange combinations in this manner. Recently I purchased an Army saber with a shooting lanyard attached to the scabbard ring. The owner,who was related to the vet that brought it back, told me he thought it was the swords hanger!
Jim

In my opinion, every proper assembled 3rd Reich sword will be within a 1/2 inch or less from the tip of the scabbard. That is unless the blade has been blunted, retipped, or the scabbard was switched for one that has nicer paint, somewhere along the line.

But back to the sword that was initially posted, can we get some better shots of the hilt, grip and runes ?

My expert assessment here is that the blade should always be a bit shorter than the scabbard. If it is longer it wont fit, cause it dont go in all the way. So in that event a hole will have to be drilled or cut open so the blade wont bottom out at the tip. Now, in order to prevent insuries the pertruding blade tip will have to be wrapped in duck tape. This arrangement comes in handy at times cause the owner can go spear fishin' (or horse apple pickin') without removing the scabbard. Yessir.

I agree Manfred, the blade does need to be shorter than the scabbard, but a good test that the blade and scabbard are matched is to lay the sword on top of the scabbard, hilt to bottom of the "D" guard. Most proper ones will be aproximately 1/2 inch or less. Those showing an inch or more are cause for a suspected switch-a-roo.

if you want to see pics in high resolution go to:

http://photos.yahoo.com/trustno1_jal

I have seen a few Dachau types with the blade tip sticking out of the scabbard. I believe this came about from GI's putting them together.

Dale: Gee, I sure like to find one like that. Thems are the ones I always wanted.

In the final analysis I would say that for a 100 bucks at a yardsale one can be mightly tolerant about minor discrepancies that ultimately can be fixed.

Jim.M- the length of the handel is 70mm if i've measured it right

could anyone tell me what the diameter of the runebutton should be. mine is 21-22mm.

the sword is all magnetic except for the runebutton that is non-magnetic

http://www.milprom.com/German/daggers/ss-sword.htm

The rune buttons on my two are 21MM. Magnetic fittings are the norm for late SS degens in my expeience and I believe that Manfred verified this in another thread based upon the many he has handled over the years.
JAL I stand by my original post. I think you have a legit SS degen and the pictures posted of another example with the rune button mounted high clinched it for me. The one thing I really don't like about the sword is the new appearing look of the upper scabbard fitting. Did you clean it or does it appear to have been cleaned recently?
BTW: THe above link is to a site that sells $400 repos that aren't even close to an original.
Jim

i purchased the exact type of upper scabbard finnting in the early 1990s from tom johnson, look in the old sales lists and you will see them there. they came with ss proofs but had that odd hue we see in the pic from jal. they didnt have the holes tapped for the screws as well. but, as someone said in a previous post, for $100.00 bucks, you cant go wrong. ive only owned 3 ss officer swords, all being the early non take apart type. one out of the woodwork, gailen david remembers that one! and one from tom w. and one from chip gambino. all with knots two of which had the little rzm tag sewn inside the strap. michael leone dds max life member

Aside from the discussion of the sword’s components the number on the blade may or may not be period. Similar numbers are are seen on some movie studio prop house swords being inventory control numbers. Not commonly seen now some as most of the assets from studios and suppliers to studios have long since been sold off. While most of the swords were nothing to write home about, and many had been fooled around with, there were some very nice swords in their collections. And not all of the markings were so deep or obvious although that tended to be the rule with the lightly or more discretely done examples being the exceptions still having one example of same. FP

JAL:
If you would like to recover the cost of this sword because of the questions raised send it to me. I'll pay you $100 plus shipping for it!
Jim

I'll double that offer!!

Geez, 56 posts and still going......