Original Item: Only One Available. This very good condition mid war period produced NSKK Dienstdolch (Service Dagger) has nickel-plated fittings throughout, and is fitted with a very nice blade. This example was made by the the rare Solingen-based firm of Wilhelm Wagner, Stahlwarenfabrik, located in the Merscheid District. We have only previously had one other item by this maker.

These daggers are identical to the SA dagger, except they have a black finished scabbard. The guards and tang nut are nickel plated alloy, probably zinc or some other "pot metal", and both have lost a good amount of the plating to oxidation, especially near the wooden grip. Both also show a crack on one side, which can occur due to pressure from the tang nut, or actually can occur simply from left over stresses and aging of the alloy, which can slowly change shape over the decades. The steel pommel nut is missing most of the plating as well, and shows signs of tightening on the outside rim. The grip overall is still tight on the blade.

The grip is a fine product having a fine dark reddish colored mahogany tone in the surfaces and medium center ridge construction. This grip is in excellent condition with great grain, and fits the crossguards well. There is no cracking in the wood that we can see, just some pressure denting and a few small stains, with no chipping we can see. The SA / NSKK button itself is nicely set having fully intact enamel, and the plating intact with some verdigris and oxidation as shown. The details are still there to the inlaid nickel eagle, including the beak, breast feathering, wing feathering, talons, wreath and mobile swas.

The blade of this example is in very good condition and has the factory final polish grind crossgrain easily visible throughout the blade. This texture is iconic, and is the definitive identifying characteristic for a real WWII German Blade. There are however areas of oxidation staining, which have been left intact to avoid marring the blade. There is also the usual runner wear and swirl marks from cleaning. The original factory edge is intact, with no signs of post-manufacture sharpening, and the blade tip is unbent. The acid-etched Alles für Deutschland (Everything for Germany) SA motto is deep and crisp, with a fine frosted background that is retained almost completely.

The rear of the dagger is etched with both the trademark "Double W" logo address marking and RZM code of Wilhelm Wagner, Stahlwarenfabrik (Steelware factory):-

WIL. WAGNER
(W Logo)
SOLINGEN-MERSCHEID

(RZM)
M7/25

Located in the Merscheid district of Solingen, the legendary "City of Blades" in Western Germany, this company was founded in 1876, and and manufactured a variety of cutlery and scissors before and during the war. They were listed as a maker of SA/NSKK daggers and HJ knives during the war by Die Klinge, per J. Anthony Carter's excellent book GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS. Early SA and NSKK daggers had just the circular trademark logo, while later examples were marked like this, with the addition of the RZM number.

The Reichszeugmeisterei (National Quartermaster's Office), or RZM, was was based at the Brown house in Munich and NSDAP party headquarters in Berlin. The RZM ensured that the manufacturers of military items were consistent in design, quality of materials and other characteristics of the items. It also defined standards of design, manufacturing and quality and published an authoritative color chart for textiles. The M7 in the code stands for knives/daggers, contractor 25 stands for Wilhelm Wagner of Solingen-Merscheid.

The scabbard the mid-war style, which has a black enamel lacquered steel body fitted with nickel plated steel. The shell does have a bit if a bend, caused by some dents on the obverse, which are sizable but do not interfere with sheathing the blade. The original enamel is still retained at over 95%, showing crazing and checking in the finish, indicating that it has not been repainted at any time. The upper and lower fittings look great with just a bit of wear, and no denting to the lower ball, though there is some plating loss. The throat nicely matches the crossguards, and all fittings have their original dome headed screws, which show some oxidation.

Attached to the scabbard is a very nice black leather hanger loop, which shows a good amount of wear. The stitching around the buckle has pulled, and it is also missing the spring clip that would attach it to the belt loop.

A lovely NSKK dagger from a very rare maker with a very nice blade and original scabbard. Ready to display!

Specifications:
Blade Length: 8 3/4"
Overall length: 13 3/4”
Crossguard: 3”
Scabbard Length: 10”

History of the SA and NSKK-

The SA or Brown Shirts, were a private political formation which Adolf AH and the NSDAP used to maintain order at organized Party meetings and demonstrations. The group was formed in 1921, and grew to a huge force of nearly 3,000,000 men by the later 1930's. To instill esprit de corps, as well as create employment for the Blade City of Solingen, it was decided each SA man would carry a dagger with his Brown Shirt uniform. Huge quantities needed to be produced to accommodate the demand. The dagger initially was produced of hand-fitted nickel mounts with attractive finished wood grip and brown anodized (a bluing process) finished scabbard.

The blade was etched with the SA motto, Alles für Deutschland. Examples produced prior to 1935 were stamped with the German sector of the SA group on reverse lower crossguard. Later examples underwent standardization through the RZM ministry. These pieces were produced of cheaper plated zinc-base fittings and scabbards were simply painted brown.

Prior to his "unmasking" as a traitor, Ernst Röhm was the leader of the SA. In 1934, he distributed approximately 100,000 SA daggers with his personal inscription on the reverse blade. These daggers were to honor individuals who had served with the SA prior to December, 1931. Other than the inscription, these pieces were identical to the standard M1933 SA dagger. After the Röhm purge, the inscription was ordered to be removed. Many examples were returned to the factory for grinding. Others were simply ground in the field by whatever means were available. Examples will occasionally be encountered with remnants of the original inscription remaining on the blade, but mostly none will remain. Some blades exist with an intact inscription, reflecting only the removal of the Röhm signature. Very very rarely is an example seen with a full, untouched inscription, as the holder would have surely risked a charge of treason.

After the purge, the NSKK, which had been a part of the SA, was split off into a separate organization. They retained the same daggers as the SA, however now used a black painted scabbard, and their officer's daggers had a few differences as well. Many already had SA daggers, so these had the scabbards painted black over the original brown anodized finish.