Original Item: Only One Available: The SS (Schutzstaffel - 'Protection Squadron') 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 infamous Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, the SS grew to be the most ruthless and feared organization of the 20th century. They were the vanguard of NSDAP and eventually controlled nearly every function of German life and much of Occupied Europe. The SS-Ehrendolch (SS honor 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 cross guards with an ebony wood grip. The black grip contained a National eagle with swas insignia recessed in the center area and an ᛋᛋ doppelte Siegrune (Double Sig/Victory Rune) 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 bore one of three district stampings on the lower reverse crossguard of I, II, or III. 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.

The blade on this nice early war production dagger is in excellent condition, still showing the original factory final grind cross grain throughout both sides, something we almost never see! This texture is iconic, and is the definitive identifying characteristic for a real WWII German Blade. There is a bit of runner wear, as we often see, as well as some scratches from cleaning, but nothing major. There is some speckled oxidation staining and "tracking" on the surface, which we have left alone to avoid damaging the blade. The blade has not been sharpened like some were by USGI's, and still has the original factory edge and intact tip. The etched SS motto, Meine Ehre heißt Treue (My honor is loyalty) is crisp with almost all of the factory darkening present in the black letter fonts in the backgrounds. The blade shoulders perfectly meet the lower crossguard contour. Really a great blade, as many we see are quite heavily used.

The rear is marked with the RZM and SS contract information:

This marking indicates 1940 manufacture by rare maker Artur Schüttelhöfer & Co. Stahlwarenfabrik (Steelware factory) in the Wald neighborhood of Solingen, the legendary "City of Blades" in Western Germany. This company was founded in 1920, and assembled and finished daggers for political organizations and officers during the Third Reich period, per J. Anthony Carter's excellent book GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS. They manufactured SA, NSKK, and SS daggers, among other items. We have had one SS dagger by this company before, but it did not have the middle line giving the non-SS RZM designation for the company. It is daggers such as this that allowed the SS contract number for Schüttelhöfer to become known!

The fittings of this dagger are the later plated alloy type, and both the cross guard and pommel show some damage to the plating, which results from contact with the wooden grip. This has allowed the zinc alloy base material to oxidize a bit. Still, both show over 75% of the original plating, with no major oxidation once away from the areas that are next to the handle. The pommel nut is magnetic steel, and does show some turning. As these are mid-war, there is no district numeral stamped into the cross guard. The hilt fittings are still mostly tight on the tang, with just a bit of wobble in the pommel.

The ebony grip on this dagger is still in very good condition, with medium center ridge construction. It does however have chipping near the cross guard on both sides, with relatively large piece missing, and some that have yet to fall off. There is also what looks to have been a chip near the pommel, which was then filled with some type of wood putty. The black dyeing process for the grips unfortunately causes the wood to become brittle, so damage is common, even if carefully stored. The symbol button is positioned at about 7:00 o'clock, as it should be, and is still tightly attached. The nickel plated ((ᛋᛋ)) doppelte Siegrune symbol and double circles are still clear, with just a bit of oxidation around the edge and fully intact black enamel. The aluminum grip eagle is the "high-necked" type with the beak pointing slightly up, and is in very good condition, showing very little wear, just a bit of light scratching.

The scabbard shell is a solid example, completely straight and showing just a tiny dent on the back. The original black enamel finish is very well retained at over 90%, showing some crazing and checking from age, which confirms that it has not been repainted. There is an area missing and some flaking on the front, which shows the original bluish color of the rolled steel, surrounded by some oxidation. The matching nickel plated steel scabbard mounts are in very nice condition, showing just a bit of marring to the plating and oxidation. The lower ball shows just tiny bit of denting and scratches, definitely a rarity, as even the steel examples usually are bashed in. All four dome head screws are intact, and do not look to have been messed with.

Attached to the hanger ring on the scabbard is a nice later pattern belt hanger, with nickel plated steel hardware and black finished leather. The leather is in good condition, showing just a bit of wear to the finish, with a bit of flaking. We did note that the keeper ring is no longer present. The fully functional spring clip on the end is in great shape, and marked with (RZM) code M5 / 71 for Overhoff & Cie. of Lüdenscheid, whose OLC in a diamond trademark is also present. This is clipped around a very nice leather belt hanger loop with an aluminum D-ring.

This is a great chance to own a very good condition SS dagger from the early wartime period with a great blade made by a rare Solingen maker, complete with scabbard, hanger, and belt loop! Ready to display!

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

The RZM, Reichzeugmeisterei, (National Equipment Quartermaster), was officially founded in June 1934 in Munich by the NSDAP, Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, (National Socialist German Worker's Party), as a Reich Hauptamt, (State Central Office), and was based on the earlier SA Quartermaster's Department. The registry was was based at the Brown house in Munich and NSDAP party headquarters in Berlin.

The functions of the RZM were not only to procure and distribute items to Party formations, but also to approve chosen designs and to act as a quality control supervisor to ensure items manufactured for the Party met required specification and were standardized. Starting in late 1934 items manufactured for the SS came under the quality control of the RZM and as a result were to be marked with the RZM/SS approval/acceptance mark. The M7 in the code stands for knives/daggers, with Artur Schüttelhöfer of Solingen being contractor number 13.

Shortly after this, the SS started using a separate listing of contractors, and in 1943 the Waffen-SS assumed full control over their uniform item production and no longer fell under the authority of the RZM.