Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very good condition early pattern SA Dagger, made by the rare firm of C. Gustav Spitzer AG, located in Solingen, Germany. It comes comes compete with an original scabbard, and is really a solid example of an early war dagger, showing only light to moderate use.

The dagger has solid nickel silver fittings throughout, and is a nice example. The crossguards and tang nut are in very good condition throughout with all fittings having a nice aged patina. There is some age to these mounts but there is no lifting anywhere, showing that they are solid and not plated. They show only light wear with almost no denting or scratches. The lower reverse guard is Gruppe/Gau marked Ns, for Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony) a district in north central Germany, with the principal city being Hannover.

The grip is a fine product having a lovely dark reddish brown color, with medium center ridge construction, with just a bit of wear and a few small dents. This grip is in very good condition and fits the crossguards nicely, though there are cracks on both sides of the grip near the end fittings. There is no movement in the guards or grips, and the pommel nut shows no signs of tightening.

The SA symbol button is still nicely set, and still has most of the translucent enamel intact, with the nickel plating intact. The grip eagle is a fine example being the style with beak that points straight. It has just a bit of verdigris on it, showing that it is solid nickel alloy, and has a lovely patina. The details are still there to the eagle to include the beak, breast feathering, wing feathering, talons, wreath and mobile swas (hook cross).

This fine example was produced by rare maker C. Gustav Spitzer AG, Stahwaren-Fabrik (Steelware Factory), and rear of the dagger is etched with the company's name and address marking surrounding their "Prancing Lion" trademark:

The lion is very well executed, with his left front paw high in the air, with a wagging tail and a flicking tongue. According to J. Anthony Carter's book, GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS, this company was founded in 1863 by Carl Gustav Spitzer, and later registered in Solingen in 1883. It made pocket, sporting, and hunting knives, and by 1928 was owned by Ernst Spitzer. They manufactured several different types of knives during the war, including specifically early SA daggers bearing their lion trademark. Later they moved to RZM number M7 / 80.

The blade is in very good condition, with lots of the original factory final polish crossgrain visible on both sides. There is a bit of light staining, and some areas of the polish are faint due to cleaning and runner wear from the scabbard. The blade has correctly not been sharpened post manufacture, though it is actually relatively sharp from the factory. The acid-etched Alles für Deutschland (Everything for Germany) SA motto is crisp, with some of the factory darkening remaining.

The scabbard shell is straight throughout and is the early-war style, which has a brown "anodized" finish on the steel, which was then lacquered. It still retains much of the original finish, though the lacquer has flaked off in many places, which has allowed the brown finish to fade. Still, many examples we see are completely missing the lacquer, so this is still a very good example.

The upper and lower fittings are solid nickel silver, with a great look and just some light wear. The chape is lightly dented at the end, though not split, as the nickel alloy is somewhat soft, a common thing to see. The throat nicely matches the crossguards, and all fittings have their original dome headed screws, which do not show any signs of turning.

A very good early war SA dagger from a rare maker, complete with an 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-

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.