2ad3a32e_es__World_War_II__Nazi_Germany__Description
[Grade] E++ [Item #] D293 [Description] 
Early Hitler Youth Camp Knife with Motto by Carl Eickhorn of Solingen. The Hitler Youth knife was actually the first edged weapon/side arm to be officially sanctioned by the NSDAP when it was introduced in 1933. It was originally designed for wear by all ranks until the HJ leader's dagger (HJ F�hrerdolch) was introduced in 1937 for the rank of Gefolgschaftsf�hrer and above. The earliest HJ knives had "Blut und Ehre! (Blood and Honor!) done in a facsimile of HJ Reichsjugendf�hrer Baldur von Schirach's hand writing acid etched into the blade, but this practice was discontinued in August of 1938. Established in 1865, Eickhorn was the largest producer of Third Reich era edged weapons. The numerous and diverse squirrel trademarks are synonymous to this day with the highest quality manufacture of pre, period, and even post war edged weapons and cutlery. This early camp knife features one of Eickhorn's small double oval trade marks stamped high on the reverse blade as it should be. This trade mark is circa 1933/34 according to my research so this knife would be one of Eickhorn's earliest examples. The "Blut und Ehre!" (Blood and Honor) motto is deeply etched into the obverse blade. Both sides show some very minor carbon spotting and subtle scratches from being cleaned with an abrasive. I'm sure they could be rubbed out with some semi-chrome or something similar, but all of the cross graining is still intact so I decided not to mess with it for fear of making a minor issue that much worse. The black bakelite grips plates are in near mint condition except for what appears to be some very old buffing compound in the grooves. This is something that can easily be cleaned away with a tooth brush, but I prefer to leave my veteran acquired pieces in "as is" condition unless I feel more damage will be done if not properly dealt with. The HJ grip emblem is near perfect and wiggles back and forth as it should, but it has a small flaw on the left side of the lower red section. It appears as though the transparent enamel lifted just a bit along that edge, but there's no crack and all of the enamel is 100% intact. The steel scabbard is in excellent condition with no dents or major damage. 85% of the black enamel is still intact with typical wear at the tip and subtle age spidering through out.
Third Reich Depot, military collectables, World War II, Nazi Germany
Description