Original Item: Only One Available. This is an very good condition early pattern SA Dagger, made by the exceedingly rare firm of Cuno Remscheid & Co., Stahlwarenfabrik, located in Solingen-Aufderhöhe, Germany. This is only the second example of any type of edged weapon that we have had from this maker, with the other also being an SA Dagger. This company was known mainly for making HJ knives, though it did make a limited number of early pattern SA daggers. It is rated 7 out of 10 for rarity on the McSARR (McAlvanah SA Rarity Rating) scale, assembled based on 18,000 daggers as seen by Mike McAlvanah. Makers of this rarity are extremely desirable and sought after by collectors. It comes comes complete with an original early pattern scabbard, which is in very good shape, with an attached hanger and belt loop.

The dagger has solid nickel silver fittings throughout, and is a very nice example. The crossguards and tang nut are in very good condition throughout with all fittings having a nice lightly aged patina. There is some age and verdigris 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 hand executed accent grooves are very well done. The lower reverse guard is Gruppe/Gau marked Nrh, for Niederrhein (Lower Rhine Region), which encompassed a relatively small border area north of Cologne along the Rhine. This feature was only seen on daggers produced 1935 and prior. The non-magnetic pommel nut does show some deformation to the hexagonal portion from turning, and the grip is still tightly secured, with no wiggle.

The grip is a fine product having a lovely mahogany color, with medium center ridge construction, with some light wear and some pressure dents / grooves. The grain is lovely on this example, with some great color variation. This grip is in very good condition and fits the crossguards nicely, however there is definitely cracking near both guards, with several hairline cracks near the cross guard, and larger cracks on both sides near the pommel, including one hear the symbol. The SA symbol button is still nicely set, and still has all of the translucent enamel intact, with the nickel plating in great shape. 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, still showing much of the original factory final grind cross grain on both sides. This texture is iconic, and is the definitive identifying characteristic for a real WWII German Blade. The blade surface is a bit worn from cleaning and runner wear, which has made the cross grain faint in some areas, though it can be seen in reflection. There is also some evidence of past staining on the surface, which was cleaned away, and there are also swirl marks and other cleaning artifacts. The acid-etched Alles für Deutschland (Everything for Germany) SA motto is crisp, with the factory darkening partly removed from cleaning. It also looks like the edges may have been sharpened a bit to remove oxidation.

This fine example was produced by very rare maker Cuno Remscheid & Co., Stahlwarenfabrik (steelware factory), located in the Aufderhöhe district of Solingen, the legendary "City of Blades" in Western Germany. The rear of the dagger is marked with the company's trademark "Remeve" brand logo, with the maker name and address:

According to J. Anthony Carter's book, GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS, this metalworking business was founded in1910, and with the assistance of its own drop-forge and grinding works, made a variety of agricultural shears and cutters in the early 1920s. They made only a few SA daggers in the early period, and later made HJ Knives. This is the second edged weapon of any kind that we have had by this maker.

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 almost all of the lacquer finish, with traces left near the fittings, and the anodization is now worn and faint, showing some areas of oxidation and staining. There are a few dents to the steel body, however they do not interfere with sheathing the blade. The upper and lower fittings are solid nickel silver, showing a lightly aged patina and signs of cleaning. The chape is completely dented in at the end, and now bent around the bottom of the steel portion a bit, so it was probably dropped more than once. Dents are common due to the softer alloy, but not usually to this extent. The throat nicely matches the crossguards, and all fittings have their original screws.

Attached to the hanger ring on the scabbard is a very nice later pattern belt hanger, with nickel plated steel hardware and brown finished leather. The leather is in good condition, showing a wear and wrinkling to the finish, and there are several cracks in the finish as well. The fully functional spring clip on the end is marked with (RZM) code M5 / 71 for Overhoff & Cie. of Lüdenscheid, whose OLC in a diamond trademark is also present. There is loss of plating on the end clip, and the leather itself is unmarked.

The Reichszeugmeisterei, 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 "uniform accessories", contractor 71 stands for firm Overhoff & Cie. of Lüdenscheid.

A very nice early war SA dagger from a very rare maker, complete with an 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.