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Item:
ONSV2034

Original German WWII Model 1933 Early SS Dagger by Rare Maker - Eduard Gembruch of Solingen

Item Description

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 NSDAPsmand eventually controlled nearly every function of German life and much of Occupied Europe. The SS 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 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.

Eduard Gembruch is a very rare maker, founded in 1871 and registered on the 114th of September, 1871 in Solingen, the legendary "City of Blades" in western Germany. Their trademark left facing horizontal fish was registered on Sept 28th 1871, and renewed in 1895. SS and SA daggers made by this metalsmith and cutler are very rare, and highly desirable.

The blade remains bright and still retains a lot of the factory cross grain, which can be seen on most of the blade in the right light. The rear is marked with ED.GEMBRUCH / SOLINGEN next to their trademark fish logo. There are small age spots and traces of past oxidation near the cross guard. The blade also has the usual runner marks. This blade still grades in excellent condition. The etched SS motto, Meine Ehre heißt Treue is crisp with about 70% of the factory blackening is in the letter fonts in the backgrounds. The edge of the blade does not show any sharpening, and is still in excellent condition. 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 are of the earliest solid nickel silver construction. They do show some wear, and the blade side guard has a dent in it next to the grip, which shows that this is definitely solid nickel alloy, as there has been no flaking.

The ebony grip is a nice example, with a small crack on the back near the blade guard, and a chip near the lower guard on the front. The symbol button is positioned well and the enamel surfaces are intact. The silvered SS symbol and double circles around them have a nice matching patina with the nickel still intact. The nickel grip eagle is the "high-necked" type with the beak pointing slightly up. It remains in crisp condition, showing little wear to the bird's head, breast and wing feathering and to the talons, wreath or swas, though it does have some oxidation.

The scabbard shell is a solid example being straight as an arrow with no noticeable dents. It is the correct black "anodized" finish, which is retained very well, with only small spots of wear and oxidation. The matching solid nickel silver scabbard mounts are in very nice condition. The lower ball has unfortunately been dented in, a common occurrence due to the softer nickel alloy used. All four dome head screws are intact, and do not show any damage. The throat itself appears that it may be a plated example, though we were not able to verify with a magnet.

This is an excellent chance to own a wonderful condition SS dagger by a very rarely seen maker!

  • This product is available for international shipping. Shipping not available to: Australia, France, or Germany
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