Dune, Harkonnen Dagger

original movie prop

This dagger was used in David Lynch's production of Dune. It's made of steel with (I believe) a brass handle. The scabbard is leather with a gold-foil design.

This type of dagger is seen clearly in two scenes. The first is when the Harkonnen mentat Piter De Vries stabs the traitorous Doctor Yueh in the back. And the second is when a Harkonnen ornithopter pilot/guard uses it to stab his co-pilot while bringing Paul Atreides and the Lady Jessica out to the desert to die.

Unfortunately, the dagger appears too quickly for me to screen match it, and the scabbard isn't seen at all (as far as I can tell). However, after speaking to a couple prop experts and a couple people who work in various production positions in the film industry, it looks like there's at least a fair chance the dagger was used in one of those scenes. The knife has wear on the handle and blade consistent with use -- including finger prints on the handle. (If only I had access to the FBI or NSA database, maybe I could match them to an actor! Ha ha...) And because it's steel and not resin or rubber, there's a strong possibility it was meant to appear on camera. There are only two scenes... there couldn't have been that many steel daggers made for production. But again... I can't say for certain.

If anyone knows anything more about this particular prop, I'd love to hear your thoughts!