Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice early pattern SA Dagger, made by the very rare maker Neidhardt & Schmidt, Messerfabrik (Knife factory) in Brotterode, Thuringia. It comes complete with the original scabbard, as well as a complete three piece leather belt hanger, which are quite rare to find. These have both the belt loop and a securing loop for the handle, which allows the dagger to hang vertically. We have only had one of these previously.

The dagger has solid nickel silver fittings throughout, and is a really nice example. The cross guards and tang nut are in very good condition throughout with all fittings having a nice aged patina. The lower reverse guard is Gruppe/Gau marked He, for Hessen, a district in the west of Germany, with the principal city being Frankfurt.

The grip is a fine product having a nice red brown color, with a medium center ridge construction. This grip is in good condition and fits the crossguards nicely, with no wobble we can feel. It has a lovely grain pattern, and looks to originally have been coated with a thin layer of lacquer, which is now partly worn away. The symbol button is nicely set, and still has almost all of the enamel intact, though a bit of the plating has worn down to the brass. The grip eagle is a fine example being the style with beak that points straight. The details are still there to the eagle to include the beak, breast feathering, wing feathering, talons, wreath and mobile swas. There is a bit of wear, showing that is the correct solid nickel silver for an early pattern eagle.

The blade of this example is marked very faintly with the oval trademark logo of Neidhardt & Schmidt, Messerfabrik (Knife Factory):

NEIDHARDT & SCHMIDT
NCo
BROTTERODE

Located in Brotterode Kreis Schmalkalden / Thüringen, this company was the successor to Neidhardt & Co. GmbH, formed around 1933 after Schmidt became a partner. Only a few early SA daggers assembled and finished in the Brotterode workshop bear the oval trademark, per J. Anthony Carter's work GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS. The marking looks almost as if it was finished directly to the back of the knife, before etching. We have never had a knife from this maker before, and it is not likely that we will again.

The blade is in very good condition, with runner marks as well as some light staining and oxidation speckling in places. The original factory final grind cross grain can still be seen throughout the blade, going right to the edge. The edge has correctly not been sharpened. There is the usual runner wear, present on just about every German dagger out there, and there is a tiny ship on the very tip. The acid-etched Alles für Deutschland SA motto is crisp, and still retains most of the factory darkening.

The scabbard shell is straight throughout and is the early-war style, with a brown "anodized" finish on the steel, which was then lacquered. The lacquer has flaked off over almost the entire shell, but the brown color is still strong, with light wear and oxidation. The upper and lower fittings are solid nickel silver, and have a nice patina, with some dents and scratches showing typical wear. The bottom fitting is dented a little, typical of the softer alloy. The throat nicely matches the cross guards and the screws for the top and bottom mounts are still present. The attached three piece belt hanger is in good condition, though the leather is somewhat shrunken at worn.

A very nice early war SA dagger by a very rare maker, complete with the original scabbard and belt 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.