Very Nice German RAD Enlisted Man's Dress Dagger

Description

11/3/26 - This is a very nice example of a WWII Reichsarbeitsdienst (RAD) Enlisted Man's dress dagger, commonly called a Hewer manufactured by Carl Julius Krebs of Solingen, Germany. The blade on this dagger is in very nice condition with a bright finish and clean, crisp acid etching. The front edge is not sharp, as we commonly see with dress daggers, but shows no signs of any chips or damage in the edge. There is some light surface patina present on the blade, however there are not areas of dense surface rust and it does not appear to penetrate beyond the exterior. The right side of the blade has "Arbeit adelt", which is the motto of the RAD and translates to "Work ennobles" (or "Labor dignifies"). The ricasso on the opposite side of the blade bears the maker's mark "RADJ // GES. GESCH. // CARL JULIUS KREBS SOLINGEN", and the number "1238" etched at the bottom. The decorative cross guard merges seamlessly into the metal fittings of the handle. There are a few sparse signs of some speckling and some patina near the grip panels, though it does not appear to penetrate beyond the exterior finish. The handle is flanked by two stag horn grip panels which are in excellent shape with no signs of any chips or cracks. The scabbard with this Hewer is in very nice condition and has retained a majority of its original black finish between the two decorative pressed metal ends. The bottom decorative section of the scabbard near the tip bears a RAD shovel and swastika icon on both sides. The right side of the scabbard shows more wear than the left, and has some finish loss present on both the decorative band and the center section. There is patina on a majority of the right side of the scabbard and the bright finish is worn away on some of the decorative bands. Overall this is a very nice example of a distinctive RAD EM Hewer dagger.