Rare Trademark Hitler Youth Knife by Eickhorn – D974
I must say, you won’t see many of these 1942 dated HJ knives manufactured by Eickhorn floating around. This certainly is a first for me at least. The description starts with a beautiful set of checked grip plates tightly riveted to the hilt of this youth knife. They remain in wonderful condition, void of any cracks, splits, or missing material. Likewise, the HJ diamond is about as perfect as the day that this knife was assembled. With bright enamel colors throughout, it really pops visually. The plating to this hilt has held up nicely, with some surface wear on the reverse side of the quillion.
The scabbard to this HJ knife is pretty good. It definitely shows that it was worn by it’s owner during the period. The shell remains straight, void of any splits, cracks, creases or hits. The period black enamel has some surface wear and age, though still rates a strong 90%. A fine looking hanger is in nearly new condition all in place, and tightly riveted to the shell. It’s interesting that the button to the snap has a plastic surface over the metal cap, which has the manufactures initials V&S.
This blade to this HJ knife is full length, straight, void of any sharpening, tipping, bends, or cutting edge chips. There is some spotting which was probably caused by moisture at one time, toward the tip on both sides. That being said, the rest of the surface has a nice matte factory finish, while displaying an excellent crossgrain in those areas. The blade washer is like new on this knife, and is seated tightly up against the bottom of the crossguard. On the reverse riccasso is shown the RZM contract number for the Eickhorn edged weapon firm, and the date; M7/66, 1942. Additionally and rare to see, is the smooth tail over the shoulder squirrel trademark; the last logo used prior to the end of 3rd Reich edged weapon production which followed shortly after this HJ knife was manufactured. A rare last production run HJ. SOLD