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 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.
The blade on this nice mid-war production dagger remains mostly bright, and is quite attractive. We often see these quite worn and oxidized, but not this example. The rear is marked with the RZM and SS contract information:
((RZM))
M7 / 37
RZM 1051 / 38 ᛋᛋ
This marking indicates manufacture by Robert Klaas, a well-known maker from Solingen, the famous "City of Blades" in Western Germany, which produced many fine edged weapons. The company was originally founded by Friedrich Robert Klaas, who married the daughter of knife maker Peter Daniel Pauls. After his father-in-law passed away, all was left to Klaas and his wife, so he merged his scissor business with the knife business, and registered with Solingen authorities in 1869. The company passed to his sons, and then his son-in-law. It survived WWI, WWII, and still exists today, per J. Anthony Carter's fine work GERMAN SWORD AND KNIFE MAKERS. Later daggers would only have the SS contract information, of which no records remain, so these examples with both RZM codes are the only way many makers were identified.
The blade still shows quite a bit of the original factory final polish crossgrain on both sides, particularly near the cross guard, but also in patches throughout the blade This texture is iconic, and is the definitive identifying characteristic for a real WWII German Blade. It has not been sharpened like some were by USGI's, and still has the original edge. There is some runner wear, as well as light staining on the blade flats that has been polished out, but SS daggers we see are usually in very worn condition. We would consider this blade to be in very good condition. The etched SS motto, Meine Ehre heißt Treue (My honor is loyalty) is crisp, however cleaning has removed almost all of the factory darkened finish. The blade shoulders perfectly meet the lower crossguard contour, and has just a bit of wobble.
The crossguards of this dagger and tang nut are in good condition throughout, and are of the mid war plated construction, with an aluminum base metal. The plating is worn, but still retained over much of the guards, with a speckled look.The pommel nut is steel, and still has a lot of plating on the bottom. As these are mid-war, there is no district numeral stamped into the cross guard. We did however check the inside of the guards per a customer request, and they are both marked with St. twice on the inside.
The ebony grip is a very nice example, with some cracking by both the pommel and crossguard, though there are no chunks missing. The wood does look to have been finished, and there are hairline cracks that can seen in the light. 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. 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 and a few dents.
The scabbard shell is a solid example, completely straight and undented, with very little damage of any kind. It is the correct black enamel paint finish, with the expected light crazing and checking from age. There are are only a few small scrapes through the finish. 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. All four dome head screws are intact, and do not look to have been messed with. There is definitely some light wear and staining on the fittings, but nothing major.
This is a great chance to own a very good condition SS dagger from the mid-war period made by a rare and desirable maker! Complete with a great scabbard, this dagger is 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 daggers, with Robert Klaas being contractor number 37.
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.
- This product is available for international shipping. Shipping not available to: Australia, France, or Germany
- Due to legal restrictions this item cannot be shipped to Australia, France or Germany. This is not a comprehensive list and other countries may be added in the future.
- Not eligible for payment with Paypal or Amazon