A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO AQUIRE AN ORIGINAL, UNTOUCHED AND UNCLEANED, SS OFFICERS EARLY DEGEN FROM MY OWN COLLECTION!!

Perhaps one of my favourite edged weapons. This is from my own personal collection. Whist I don’t know the full history of this piece, I bought it from a prestigious West London auction house as part of an estate from one of the ‘landed gentry!’ (their words, not mine and they wouldn’t tell me who!!). Had been stored, along with many other artefacts in a house in West London. It has not been cleaned or touched in a great many years. To that extent it is not a mint sword, but boy does it have character!!!! These swords were awarded and PRESENTED to eligible SS officers. They couldn’t buy them themselves and these were not available to anyone else. The sword is one of the first made and has a SOLID NICKEL ‘D’ guard hilt, ferrell etc. This, like the rest of the sword is dull and uncleaned. The hardwood/ebony grip is perfect with no damage or cracks. It’s lost most of the original black finish due to wear and age, showing the wood underneath which is nicely polished by handling. The large nickel SS runes button is deeply set into the middle of the grip along with the nickel grip wire. The nickel back cover plate is present. The top pommel is untouched and never been unscrewed. I’ve gently tried to unscrew it by hand, but it’s frozen in situ after nearly 90 yesrs!! The original white blade buffer is in place and of course the underneath of the crossguard and the top throat of the scabbard fitting are stamped with the SS Kulturzeichen marks.
The blade is in near perfect condition with no damage and is the normal slightly dull finish. This sword is unmarked. All these early ones are either unmarked or marked by Petr Dan Krebs. I’ve never had a short SS sword, and this is no exception. Has a 34“ blade with an overall length of 40“. The scabbard also remains untouched and perhaps has suffered more with age than the rest of the degen. Top and bottom fittings are nickel plated (as ALL SS degens are, only the D guard nearly swords in solid nickel) The black painted steel body has lost perhaps 40% of the original gloss black paint. The steel underneath is still black and not rusty, but you can see where the paint has been lost. I was thinking of restoring the scabbard with a new paint job, but decided to leave it completely alone. It will be up to the next owner do something or not. The very bottom scabbard fitting has suffered from being stored in a damp place, and has lost more of the original nickel plating. This degen was probably stored upright in an attic or loft, or perhaps even an outhouse, as this is the part of the sword that sat near or on a damp source. Other than that, this is one of the most original, untouched SS degens I have owned. I love it, I hope someone else does too.

“The sale of Knives and other Edged Weapons are restricted to those aged over 18. Verification of age is required before purchase is concluded.”

Code: 5260