DLVNSFK-001-26571 - DLV GLIDER PILOT - E & F HELBIG

This is an early example of highest quality construction. The fittings are a solid nickel having silvered finish. The piece does not appear to have been cleaned since the war and reflects very dark patination throughout. There are lots of frosting signs which show bright against the dark patination. The pommel is the three-staged variety and each section is still nice and crisp. There is frosting in the inner areas. The cross guard has the same look with frosting clinging around the protected areas of the center block and wing segments. This cross guard has two quillon wings which slope downward. They are in three stages and there is a letter “k” stamped into the end of one quillon. The wings are crisp throughout. The center block contains round medallion inserts which have black enamel swastikas. The obverse swastika has perfect enamel while the reverse swastika has a minor hit in the enamel at the top leg. There are two ferrules on these pieces, one at the top and one at the bottom of the grip. They perfectly match the other fittings of this hilt. The grip is a leather covered wood base. It is more bulbous in the center and slims at both ends. This leather covering has good graining throughout and is in perfect condition. It shows only the most nominal of wear at the reverse surface. The scabbard shell is straight throughout. This shell is covered with matching blue-black leather. This original leather still has all of its graining and there is not one cut or bruise on it. This is very unusual to see. The scabbard mounts exactly match the patination of the hilt fittings. These mounts are in good condition, although there is a little tap to the right side of the lower ball. It is not bad, though. These scabbard mounts are both decorated with twin lines near the edge where they meet the leather. They are retained by flathead style screws which are all there and are unbuggered. At the ring, there is also an original hanger. This hanger has a fine, brown leather construction. The leather is retained by two ovaled discs which are riveted together. The matching nickel snap clip is unmarked. This is a good condition hanger. The scabbard throat of this piece is marked with the DLV insignia. It consists of a winged swastika. The blade is the standard double-edge type. It is a beauty, still being bright and having nearly all of the original cross graining still in its surfaces. This blade has a needlelike tip and is in near full mint condition. It is rare to see a blade this nice on one of these knives. The reverse ricasso is etched with a double ellipse. The ellipses trap the firm’s name and its location, “E & F Helbig Steinbach Kr. M.”. Inside is the word “Saefler”. (Someday, somebody will tell me what this inside word means, as I have asked many times but still no results!) The blade has been protected by a fine, in-place, blue-pebbled washer. This is a very fine DLV. It is hard to find them in untouched condition like this, and other than just the one little hit in the enamel, this piece is near perfect.
Near Mint. $1,995.00

DLVNSFK-002-26351C - NSFK GLIDER PILOT - CARL JULIUS KREBS

The Carl Julius Krebs mark on a Glider Pilot knife is not seen too often. I have had a couple of these in the past. They have some differences from the normally seen pieces. Most of the standard DLV/NSFK pieces we see were produced by the same maker, assumedly the one who represents the “k” stamping on the cross guard ends. Because of this, these pieces are almost identical, the only differences being the maker marks on the blades. That is not the case, however, with the Carl Julius Krebs examples. These pieces are of lighter weight and there is no “k” stamping on the cross guard. Additionally, the screws are different and the medallion swastika inserts have a different look. This is the fun of collecting, to find things that are always not the same - at least it is for those who like to think a little. At any rate, the silvering throughout this piece is excellent, showing only the most nominal of age. It does not look to have been cleaned since the war. The pommel is the normally seen triple segment type. It is in good condition, showing no hits. The cross guard has the downward sweeping quillon arms. These quillons do not sweep as far downward as the “k” marked examples. It is interesting to note this subtle difference! They do, however, have good, crisp, three-stage segments. The center block on both sides is nicely squared off. The medallion insert, though, has a different color tone to the round background. It is almost a gold-yellow toning. The inside swastika, though, is the mobile type and is the same, having perfect enameled surfaces. There are two ferrules on this piece but, interesting, the lower ferrule appears slightly smaller than the upper ferrule. This, again, is different from the norm. The grip of this example is the standard wood base covered by a blue Moroccan leather. The leather is in totally perfect condition and has all of its grained surfaces. The scabbard leather exactly matches the grip and also is in perfect condition. Beautiful original leather here! The scabbard mounts are the type that have dual line decoration where they meet the leather. They look similar to the normal types, however, they are retained by headless, flush mount screws instead of the normal flathead screws we usually see. The ring has its original leather hanger. This hanger has good brown leather, having line decoration on all of the edges. The leather is retained by dual oval discs and they have two rivet retainage. The snap clip is a silvered nickel type, being marked on the reverse with a capital “A” and “DRGM”. There is also a Carl Julius Krebs issue tag attached to this piece. Whether this is original or not to the piece is hard to say, but it certainly does not hurt its appearance. This tag is a silvered metal surface paper having the firm’s name and location “Carl Julius Krebs Solingen” around the edges of the perimeter of the oval shape. Inside is the crown with a “k” beneath it. Under this is the start up date of “1866”. Both sides of the string tag are the same. The throat of this piece is unmarked. Again, this is something that we do not normally see with the standard types. I believe, though, that this is an okay situation, as this was a later made piece and we know that some of the Helbig aluminum pieces did not have marked throats either. The blade of this example is a real pleasure to gaze upon. It is in totally mint condition and has full 100% cross graining. A beautiful blade here with needle tip. The reverse ricasso is etched with the single oval mark that we see used by this firm on Army daggers. The oval contains the firm’s name and location around the inside perimeter “Carl Julius Krebs Solingen”. In the center is a crown over the letter “k”. This blade is protected by an in-place, blue leather washer. A fine, interesting example here for those of us out there that like something a little different. An absolute original dagger here and in choice collectible condition.
Near Mint. $1,995.00

DLVNSFK-003-26617 - Early DLV/Glider Pilot by Carl Eickhorn

This DLV/Glider Pilot example has good early silvered fittings. It features the 3-stage pommel, which is in excellent condition. The crossguard has the downswept wings, with the usual “K” stamped into one quillon end. The center box has fine enameled swastikas on both sides. These fittings reflect an old patination. The fittings look to have been cursory cleaned not too long ago. The grip is the standard wood type, with bulbous center tapering at the ends. It reflects the original leather covering, which is starting to flake at the area where the seam is, but otherwise, is in excellent condition. The scabbard shell is straight throughout. We recovered this leather, as the covering was missing. It looks the same as the grip leather, and would be difficult to tell that the recovery was done, as the leather matches perfectly. The scabbard fittings also match nicely, being the silvered type. The screws are present in the upper and the bottom example. The throat of this example is stamped with the DLV insignia. It consists of a winged propellor having a swastika in the center. There is no hanger on the ring of this piece. It has gone to time. The blade of this example is a fine early one. This blade is still bright throughout, having only minor age in the surfaces. It also still has most of the original cross graining and rates in near mint condition with still needlelike tip. The reverse ricasso is etched with the early trademark, consisting of the small double ovals. These ovals trap the firm’s name and location “Carl Eickhorn Solingen”. Inside is a seated squirrel having a serrated tail. The washer of this example has also gone to time. Not a bad dagger here, though, and it is an early Eickhorn! This dagger is fairly priced.
Excellent Plus. $1,195.00(#031808)

DLVNSFK-004-26662 - NSFK ALUMINUM GLIDER PILOT - F & A HELBIG

This example is the later style NSFK Glider Pilot produced exclusively by Helbig with the crackle finish. The fittings throughout are a fine satin aluminum. The pommel is the typical three-staged affair. It shows some minor usage, but still is basically crisp. The cross guard has outstanding center block black swastikas on both sides with no damage. The center block is still crisp. Outward from the block are the two descending quillon arm wings. They are three-staged and are still crisp. The grip is composed of an aluminum mass, having wider bulbous center tapering on both ends. The finish is the crackle type and it is painted a fine original blue color. The blue paint is still all there. The scabbard shell matches the finish and paint of the grip. This paint is still all there, only showing the most modest of thinning. The shell is fit with two satin finished aluminum scabbard mounts. These mounts show only normal usage but are still in fine condition. They are twin-line decorated where they meet the scabbard shell. These mounts are retained by flush mount headless screws, one in each of the sides. There is no hanger on this example. The blade is a fine one. It is nice and bright and has almost all of the original cross graining intact. The tip has just the slightest of a ripple, but it is nothing. This blade easily grades in near mint condition. The reverse ricasso is etched with a double ellipse. The ellipse encloses the firm’s name and location, “F & A Helbig Steinbach kr m”. Inside is the word “saeffler”. This fine blade has been protected by an in-place leather pebbled matching blue washer. A good aluminum Glider Pilot here! Excellent Plus Plus. $1,195.00