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 is a very nice service used example of an M33 EM/NCO service dagger, with a fantastic patina of age. The blade was sharpened for use during the war, and was cleaned many times, which unfortunately completely removed the maker or RZM markings from the reverse of the blade. We can see evidence of past oxidation, now cleaned away, and the original factory final polish grind cross grain has completely been removed.

It now shows a mostly bright finish, with areas of past staining an oxidation. The SS motto, Meine Ehre heißt Treue (Loyalty is my Honor) is still fully visible in the light, though it definitely is not quite as crisp as when made. It also has completely lost the original factory darkening. The cross guard looks to have become misshapen over the years, becoming more curved, so the blade does not match it well at all anymore.

The crossguards of this dagger and tang nut are in good condition throughout, and are of the correct nickel-plated alloy for a wartime produced dagger. They still retain the plating well, with light speckled oxidation overall. There are some areas of more advanced corrosion next to the grip wood, common due to the chemicals used to dye the grip wood. Also as mentioned previously the cross guard has become quite curved, probably due to the alloy slowly changing over time. We checked the inside of both guards due to customer requests, and both are marked St. St. on the interior, so they are matching. The pommel nut is plated still and is still in very good condition.

The ebony grip is a very nice example, though as most we see there is some cracking next to the guards, common due to how brittle the ebony wood is, which is also exacerbated by the dying process. There also looks to have been some glue repairs to chips on the reverse in the past. Still, the grip is in better shape than a lot we see, which are often missing large areas of wood having chipped off. The silvered ((ᛋᛋ)) doppelte Siegrune (Double Sig/Victory Rune) symbol and double circles are in good shape, still in the correct orientation, showing some loss of the plating but no major damage. The grip eagle is the "high-necked" type with the beak pointing slightly up, and looks to be either nickel plated or solid nickel.. 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, and looks to be a transitional pattern scabbard with solid nickel fittings and a painted steel body. The throat however is definitely plated steel. The scabbard body does look to have been repainted during the war, and the paint now has a lovely aged look. The fittings are actually in really good shape, with a lovely lightly oxidized look, and the bottom ball is not really dented in at all, really a rarity. All four dome headed screws are present and in very good shape.

This is a great chance to own a very nice service used SS dagger from the early period, complete with a lovely scabbard.

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