SMGO-0454 Hitler Youth knife by Tiger Transitional Damaged Diamond

Well, it’s a nice knife overall, but it does have some obvious damage to the diamond. At first, I thought this was a problem dagger with a switched-out diamond since there is a notable gap in the grip plate and the diamond itself. It assumed that it was a small diamond incorrectly glued into the larger plate. Once i measured the diamond to be the correct 25mm size for this style dagger, I knew something was up. Turns out, this specific year of production (late 1938 or early 1939) had this gap! You can see the same fitment issue on Hogle’s book on page 762!  There are a few chips on the edge of plate as well, indicating that the someone thought it was the incorrect diamond as well and tried to pry it out with a flat head screwdriver and in doing so, caused all the damage! Fascinating stuff! Not a bad piece if you are ok with the diamond. The scabbard is fantastic with great leather.