Tapered Tang 2nd Model Luft by Alcoso – D1144
This listing is as the title states, a second pattern Luftwaffe officer’s dagger. When received, the blade was inserted the opposite way and hiding the trademark under the crossguard swastika. Easily switched properly it was discovered that this was an actual tapered tang variety blade. Something this is not all that encountered with Luft daggers of this vintage, and a nice characteristic in itself. Here it is.
A gorgeous dark orange grip starts the hilt of this edged weapon off with a wonderful appeal. It remains perfect in every way, and void of any chips, splits, fractures, or missing Trolon material. It is tightly wrapped with a double strand of decorative wire which is nice and snug within the turned grooves of this grip. The lighter aluminum pommel and crossguard fittings have toned over the years, giving this entire hilt assembly a striking look.
An excellent scabbard accompanies this Alcoso 2nd model. The shell remains fairly straight, exhibiting one minor surface depression just below the lower scabbard band. Other than that, it’s taken on a rich dark patina, beautifully contrasting the scabbard bands as well as the hilt fittings. Both of the bands are securely in place and hold the hanger rings properly. 2 flat head factory screws secure the throat.
And the blade. It remains full length, straight, drawn to a needle point tip, while being devoid of any buffing, sharpening, aggressive cleaning, or cutting edge chips. There is some surface age spots here and there as shown in the photos. All in all not that detracting for an edged weapon which basically has remained untouched for nearly a century. On the reverse is the 2nd trademark that this edged weapon firm was known to have used.
With the tapered tang trait and early trademark, this 2nd model no doubt was one of the initial production Luft daggers which Alcoso manufactured during the start up for these models in 1937. $875.00