Original Item: Only One Available. This is an very good condition early pattern SA Dagger, made by the very rare firm of Cuno Meissenburg, located in Solingen, Germany. This company is known for making early pattern SA daggers, but only made them in limited numbers. It is rated 8 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, and it it is assumed makers of this rarity only made about 1,500-1,000 daggers during the WWII period. We have had items from this company before, but most were swords or HJ knives. It comes comes complete with an original correct early type scabbard, which is in good service used condition, and has an attached leather 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 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. We checked thoroughly, and there is no gau marking on the cross guard, so it may have missed being marked, or was made after 1935 when the markings stopped being added.

The grip is a fine product having a lovely mahogany red color, with medium center ridge construction. It shows the usual pressure dents from use, but we do not see any major damage such as large chips or cracks. There are some small gouges on the back of the grip, including one that looks like a small chip next to the cross guard. The SA symbol button is still nicely set, and still has all of the translucent enamel intact, with the nickel showing some 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 end nut does not show any turning, and the grip is still tightly attached to the blade.

The blade is in excellent condition, still showing the original factory final grind cross grain on both sides throughout the surface. This texture is iconic, and is the definitive identifying characteristic for a real WWII German Blade. Some of it has been removed by polishing and cleaning, as is typical, and there is also the usual runner wear that we see on these knives. The edge is correctly unsharpened, and the point is still intact, with no dents or chips on the edge. The acid-etched Alles für Deutschland (Everything for Germany) SA motto is crisp, with the factory darkening still partly present. Definitely a great example!

This fine example was produced by very rare maker Cuno Meissenburg of Solingen, the legendary "City of Blades" in Western Germany. The rear of the dagger is marked with the company's "Encircled Undine" trademark logo, which shows a mermaid-like water nymph. Below this is the trade name and address:-

Founded in 1919, Cuno (or Kuno) Meissenburg was not actually registered with Solingen authorities until after the war in August 1954. They were a maker of knives and cutlery, known for assembling or making early SA daggers during the Third Reich period. They survived the war and were last reported as a wholesaler of food and household articles. For more information please see J. Anthony Carter's work GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS, pages 401. This is the first item of any type that we have had from this rare maker.

The scabbard shell 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 original lacquer, and the anodized finish is mostly worn away as well, with a peppery oxidized patina on most of the surface. We can however see enough of the original finish to know that it was originally brown, so definitely for an SA dagger. The shell is mostly straight, with some shallow dents on either side. The upper and lower fittings are solid nickel silver, with a great look and some dents and scratches showing typical wear. The chape end ball is dented in, which is a common thing to see due to the soft nickel alloy, however it is not split like we sometimes see. The throat nicely matches the crossguards, and the fittings are tightly secured, with all four dome-headed screws still present.

Attached to the hanger ring on the scabbard is a nice early pattern belt hanger, with solid nickel alloy hardware and brown finished leather. The leather is in good condition, showing a wear and wrinkling to the finish, and some cracking around the scabbard ring. The keeper loop is no longer present, probably due to the stitching rotting out long ago. The spring clip is fully functional, and we were not able to see any maker markings on the leather or hardware.

A lovely early war SA dagger from an exceedingly rare maker, complete with a lovely original scabbard, hanger, and belt loop. 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.