Original Item: Only One Available: The SS (Schutzstaffel) was originally formed in 1925, ostensibly to act as a small, loyal bodyguard unit to protect the Führer, Adolf AH. Under the direction of the Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, the SS grew to be the most ruthless and feared organization of the 20th century. They were the vanguard of Germany eventually controlled nearly every function of German life and much of Occupied Europe. The SS Dienstdolch (service dagger) was introduced in 1933. Early on, members of the SS were awarded their daggers during a ceremony at the Feldherrnhalle Memorial in Munich. The annual ritual, charged with mysticism and meant to evoke the traditions of medieval Teutonic knights, was held on 9 November, the date of the unsuccessful Munich Putsch of 1923. Both officers and enlisted men wore the identical dagger until 1936. After this time, only enlisted men wore the M1933 dagger.

The SS Dagger was originally equipped with nickel crossguards with an ebony wood grip. The black grip contained a National eagle with swas insignia recessed in the center area and an SS sigrunne button inset at the top. On early examples the scabbard shell surface was factory blackened using a metal bluing process. The scabbard had nickel mounts. The SS blade was a polished type containing the SS motto, Meine Ehre Heisst Treue (My Honor is Loyalty). Early examples were mostly hand-fit. Production of later examples was more standardized, using cheaper, nickel-plated fittings with black painted scabbard shells. They could be held with a standard belt hanger, or a much rarer vertical hanger.

This fine early example was produced by a very rare maker: P.D. Lüneschloss, Fabrik Blanker Waffen (Factory of Bare Weapons) of Solingen, the legendary "City of Blades" in Western Germany. This well-known company was founded in 1810 by Peter Daniel Lüneschloss, and produced numerous edged weapons, both for domestic and foreign contracts. They manufactured many private purchase officer's swords and blades for the U.S. Civil war. During the Third Reich period, they mainly were known for producing SA, SS, and NSKK Daggers, as well as private purchase officers daggers and swords, per J. Anthony Carter's work GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS. 

 Lüneschloss was known producer of SS daggers during the Pre-WWII period and after. The rear of the dagger is marked:

(RZM LOGO)
M7/14
1936

This indicates the maker & date of production, 1936. The Reichszeugmeisterei, or RZM, 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 knives/daggers, with P.D. Lüneschloss of Solingen being contractor number 14. Later examples moved to the SS-exclusive RZM codes, are unfortunately not identifiable, except for a few companies who have been identified during the transitional period.

The blade on this nice pre-war production dagger shows significant use from service, with wear and past oxidation that has been cleaned away. Unfortunately this has removed most the original factory final grind crossgrain on the blade, but there is still a bit visible. This texture is iconic, and is the definitive identifying characteristic for a real WWII German Blade. There is still some visible, mostly around the etched motto.

It now shows a mostly bright finish, with some areas of staining an oxidation. The SS motto, Meine Ehre heißt Treue (Loyalty is my Honor) is crisp with little wear. It has however lost most of the original factory darkening. The edge also definitely was sharpened at some point. The blade shoulders perfectly meet the lower crossguard contour, and is solid in the grip.

The crossguards of this dagger and tang nut are in good condition throughout, and actually of the early war solid nickel silver construction. There is no evidence that they are plated, and the accent grooves are hand executed. The pommel nut is magnetic, and shows some wear and deformation from tightening and oxidation. As these are early pre-war production, there is no district numeral stamped into the cross guard. The solid nickel fittings have a nice bright patina, brightest only where the scabbard covers the cross-guard. 

The ebony grip is a very nice example, with no cracking that we can see, just scuffs and scratches, though there are no chunks missing, minus one little chunk to the side of the eagle. The wood does look to have been finished. The black dyeing process for the grips unfortunately causes the wood to become brittle, so damage is common. The silvered ᛋᛋ doppelte Siegrune (Double Sig/Victory Rune) symbol and double circles are in great shape, with intact plating and enamel, although there is a small dent and wear. The grip eagle is the "high-necked" type with the beak pointing slightly up. It remains in good condition, showing very little wear, just a bit of light scratching.

The scabbard shell is a solid example, completely straight and undented, with very little damage of any kind minus to the paint. It is the correct black enamel paint finish, with the expected light crazing and checking from age, as well as some oxidation spotting. There are quite a few small scrapes and spots of oxidation, but the paint is original and the scabbard has not been repainted. The matching nickel-plated steel scabbard mounts are in very nice condition. The lower ball is dented in quite a bit, which is common even with the steel examples. The two dome head screws on the end are missing, with the two on the throat still intact. There is definitely some light wear and staining on the fittings as well as some light oxidation greening, but nothing major.

This is a great chance to own a very good condition SS dagger from the pre-war period made by a rare and desirable maker! Complete with a lovely scabbard, this dagger is ready to display!

Specifications:
Blade Length: 8 3/4"
Overall length: 13 3/4”
Crossguard: 3”
Scabbard Length: 10”