Original Item: Only One Available. This is an very good condition early pattern SA Dienstdolch (Service Dagger), made by the very rare firm of Kuno Ritter, Stahlwarenfabrik, located in Solingen, the legendary "City of Blades" in Western Germany. This company is known for making early and later pattern SA daggers in somewhat limited numbers, and this is only the second item we have ever had from the firm. It comes comes compete with an original scabbard, which is in very good shape, and has an attached leather belt hanger.

The dagger has solid nickel silver fittings throughout, and is a very good example with a lovely look. The crossguards and tang nut are in very good condition throughout with all fittings having a nice lightly oxidized 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 just a bit of light denting and scratching. The lower reverse guard is Gruppe/Gau marked S, for Schlesien (Silesia), a district in eastern Germany, with the principal city being Breslau, today Wrocław in Poland. This feature was only seen on daggers produced 1935 and prior.

The grip is a fine product having a lovely mahogany red color, with medium center ridge construction, showing some light wear and a few small dents. The grain is lovely on this example, with some great color variation. It fits the crossguards nicely, and there are no chips visible, just a small crack between the symbol button and the pommel guard. The pommel nut does show some light turning on the outside, and the grip is still tightly secured, with no wiggle. The SA symbol button is still nicely set, and still has most of the translucent enamel intact, with the nickel plating showing minor oxidation. 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 it has patinated nicely. 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 very good condition, bright and shiny, with little to no oxidation or other issues that we can see. It does look to have been cleaned multiple times, which has unfortunately removed much of the original factory final grind cross grain on both sides, now visible only in the areas near the cross guard. This texture is iconic, and is the definitive identifying characteristic for a real WWII German Blade. The edge is still correctly unsharpened, and there is just a bit of rounding to the tip. The acid-etched Alles für Deutschland (Everything for Germany) SA motto is crisp, though the factory darkening is worn from cleaning and polishing.

This fine example was produced by very rare maker Kuno Ritter, Stahlwarenfabrik (Steelware factory), a maker from the Gräfrath district of Solingen, the famous "City of Blades" in Western Germany. The rear of the dagger is marked with the company's trademark highly stylized "K R" monogram inside an oval "losenge" with the maker name and address:

This company was founded in 1932 and officially registered a year later, just as the NSDAP took power. The company was noted mostly for making hunting knives as well as SA daggers during the third reich period, first with their "KR" trademark logo, and later with their RZM marking. The company also did make a small number HJ knives. The company still exists today, making knives under its HUBERTUS brand name. For more information please see GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS by J. Anthony Carter.

The scabbard shell is straight throughout and free of dents, being produced in the early-war style, with a brown "anodized" finish on the steel, which was then lacquered. This example has lost virtually all of the lacquer finish, which has allowed the anodized finish to degrade somewhat, and there is oxidation peppering on both sides. The brown color is however still clearly evident. The upper and lower fittings are solid nickel silver, with a great look and some dents and scratches showing typical wear. The chape shows only light denting, definitely a rarity, as the nickel alloy is somewhat soft. The throat nicely matches the crossguards, however all four dome-headed screws are missing.

The attached belt hanger is in good condition, and is the correct early pattern with solid nickel hardware. The brown leather is in good shape, still soft and pliable, however the finish is more than 50% gone, showing a bit of dry rot on the exterior surfaces. The keeper loop is also completely missing. The nickel hardware is in very good shape, and is completely unmarked.

A very nice early war SA dagger from a rare maker, complete with a lovely original scabbard and hanger. 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.