Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very interesting early pattern SA Dienstdolch (Service Dagger), which looks to have had both sides of the blade resurfaced, which unfortunately has removed any maker information that was present. It looks to have seen long use during the WWII period, and was personalized by having the name and membership number of the owner engraved on the guards:-

109 452

Sturmführer Arnold

It comes comes compete with a correct early pattern scabbard and leather belt hanger with clip, which also look to have seen a good amount of use.

The dagger has solid nickel silver fittings throughout, correct for an early pattern dagger. The crossguards and tang nut are in very good condition throughout with all fittings having a nice lightly worn patina. There is just a bit of age to these mounts but there is no lifting anywhere, showing that they are solid and not plated. The lower reverse guard is Gruppe/Gau marked Fr, for Franken, a district in west central Germany, with the principal cities being Nürnberg (Nuremberg) and Suhl. This feature was only seen on daggers produced 1935 and prior.

The grip on this example is a nice light brown color, and does look to have been cleaned and possibly reshaped a bit over the years, which removed the mahogany red finish from the surface. The center ridge is now a bit off center, and we can see scratches and past dents on both sides. There is also a scratch on one of the edges, and the rear shows an open crack near the pommel guard. The pommel nut shows some turning, and the hilt is still solid on the blade. The SA symbol button is still nicely set, and still has the translucent brown enamel fully intact, with the nickel emblem showing wear and oxidation to the plating. The grip eagle is a fine patinated example being the style with beak that points straight, with some verdigris in the recessed areas, showing that it is solid nickel alloy. The details are still there to the eagle to include the beak, breast feathering, wing feathering, talons, wreath and mobile swas (hook cross).

The blade is in good condition, showing just a bit of edge and tip damage, however as mentioned before both sides were completely resurfaced at some point. The maker marking on the back is completely gone, while the acid-etched Alles für Deutschland (Everything for Germany) SA motto is present, but the edges are worn, and the original factory darkening is completely gone. We assume that the blade had suffered oxidation on both sides to receive this type of treatment.

The scabbard shell is straight throughout and is the early-war style, which were produced with a brown "anodized" finish on the steel, which was then lacquered. This example has lost all of the original lacquer, and also has had most of the anodization wear away, though we can still tell that it was definitely originally brown. There are some spots of oxidation and staining, but we do not see any dents in the shell. The upper and lower fittings are solid nickel silver, with a great look and show some dents, scratches, and other typical wear. The chape is dented at the end, as the nickel alloy is somewhat soft, making this a common thing to see. The throat nicely matches the crossguards, though the hanger loop fitting broke off long ago, and was re-soldered, though not exactly neatly. All four "dome head" screws are still present.

Attached to the hanger ring on the scabbard is a very nice early pattern belt hanger, with solid nickel alloy hardware and brown finished leather. The leather is in very good condition, showing a wear and wrinkling to the finish, though we do not see any cracking or tears. The end clip is fully functional, however the keeper loop is missing. We did not see any markings on the hanger.

A very nice early war SA dagger with some great research potential. Ready to display!

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

History of the SA-

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.