We are delighted to present you an EXTREMELY RARE ROYAL BULGARIAN Dagger that has not been described so far by the writers of specialized books on Bulgarian daggers! The dagger in question was worn by the Royal Bulgarian high ranking officers and is almost impossible to find. It was fabricated in limited quantity.
Please, read the lines below, for they provide interesting information which sheds light on this item of rarity.
BACKGROUND OF THE DAGGER
The dagger started to be employed by the Bulgarian Royal commanders in 1934. The dagger was to be worn by the officers of uniformed police (not by civilians). During WWII in Bulgaria there were 350-400 militarized officers. After the WWII was over and communists took control of the country, those people were exposed to severe repressions. All of the police attributes were completely destroyed so that everything related to royal power had to be rooted out.
As we already mentioned, the first model of police daggers dates back to 1934. It was used by experienced high ranking officers. What is most characteristic about the dagger is that the scabbard is covered with black leather. Compared to other Bulgarian daggers, the dagger we present you is longer: 54 cm/21 inches.
It is extremely rare. The high ranking officer in the front row in the photograph has the same dagger we have. We have enclosed below a picture of police officers taken during the Police parade.
There is another model like this one described in T. Predov’s book: “Bulgarian daggers”. It is from a later period, maybe before WWII. It is characterized by a more beautiful and exquisite make. The dagger is 41 cm/16 inches long. The length of the cross guard is 7 cm/2.7 inches. Most probably there were fabricated small quantities of the daggers in Germany, before WWII and they were worn by high ranking officers.
During WWII, due to economic reasons, the police daggers were produced in Bulgaria, as their appearance was not considered a main priority. What was aimed at was that every deputy police commander graduated from a police school to receive a dagger
At that point, we should mention the dagger we are offering. After a long research, we reached the conclusion that the young officers wore daggers like the one we present you. In order to shed more light on the dagger we offer, we will make a comparison between some of the measures of the dagger of more intricate make and the one we offer:
>>As we already mentioned, the dagger that is more popular is 41 cm long, whereas ours is 47,5 cm long, which is 6,5 cm/2,5 inches longer.
>>The cross guard of the more “popular” dagger described in Predov's book is not perpendicular to the hilt and is 7 cm long.
>>The dagger we offer has a cross guard perpendicular to the hilt and is 9,4 cm long (2,4 cm/ almost 1 inch longer).
>>The hilt of the dagger we offer is also longer, with approximately 3.5 cm/ 1.4 inches more
Considering all the facts mentioned above, we have drawn the conclusion that the daggers of the policemen of the parade photo (the longer ones) are the same as the dagger we listed.
Another interesting thing is that in the photos we have provided there can be noticed black helmets which are nowhere to find and absolutely unfamiliar to the collectors. Just like the police dagger we offer.
THE DAGGER'S DETAILS
Its full length (together with the scabbard) is: 47,3 cm/18,6 inches. The blade only is 29,2 cm/ 11,5 inches long. The knife is 43,5 cm/17,1 inches long.
The scabbard is made of metal, nickel plated. It is well preserved despite the years that have passed. It is in very good condition, only the lower end is a bit affected as you can see in the photos. The loops for attaching the dagger to a carrier are connected by means of thin braces. The braces are a bit twisted.
The blade of the dagger is in almost perfect condition for its age. The surface is intact. Only the glossy layer has become darker at places.
The cross guard is 9,4 cm/3,7 inches long. Its two ends are sharp like. In the middle of the cross guard is visible a part of an oval shape, which was most probably intended for the initials of the holder of the dagger. On the one side of this rounded place can be noticed the “C” initial.
The hilt is most probably made of black polished horn. The wire inserted in the spirally engraved hilt is silver like. The pommel is made of metal, and it is a solid one.
The photos we have provided give a realistic information of the condition of the dagger. Item is as in pictures.
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