Original Item: Only One Available: The SS (Schutzstaffel or 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 Germany eventually controlled nearly every function of German life and much of Occupied Europe.

The SS Dienstdolch (service dagger), also called the SS Ehrendolch (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. After this time, only enlisted men wore the M1933 dagger, while officers and NCOs who had served 1933 and prior would receive the "Chained" version that we have here. These are quite a bit more rare and desirable than the Enlisted version.

It should be noted that as patterned, the M1936 "Chained" SS daggers did not have any maker or RZM markings on the back of the dagger, and were totally unmarked. However officers and senior NCOs who already had M33 daggers often wanted to keep their original daggers, which they often already had owned for years. They were then able to save on the cost by only purchasing the chained scabbards, which were available separately to those qualified for the honor. This is why it is not uncommon at all to see maker marked daggers in Chained scabbards.

Additionally, the chained center "ramp" and top fittings, chains, and "Wotan's knot" end clips all had several different patterns, and could be combined with either "anodized" or enameled steel shells. The bottom fittings could be solid nickel alloy or plated steel. To further complicate things, the various "Types" were produced concurrently. For more information on this please see Exploring The Dress Daggers and Swords of the German ᛋᛋ by Thomas T. Wittmann.

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 doppelte Siegrune (Double Sig/Victory Rune) (ᛋᛋ) roundel 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 very nice early SS M33 Dagger was produced by the rare and desirable firm of Heinrich Böker & Co. of Solingen. This is a known producer of SS daggers during the Pre-WWII period and after. The owner was awarded it during the early NSDAP period, and either was an officer at the start, or later was promoted, when they were able to order a scabbard or just the fittings to equip it with a Type II Chain, which was unfortunately then removed.

The blade on this example is in very good condition, definitely well above average for what we usually see on early SS daggers such as this. It still retains the original factory final grind cross grain throughout the blade, though it is faint in some areas. This texture is iconic, and is the definitive identifying characteristic for a real WWII German Blade. There is some wear from the runners, present on virtually every German dagger blade, as well as some wear from cleaning. We can also see a water stain on the middle rear from the runners, which has been polished out. The edge is correctly unsharpened, with just a bit of roughness in areas. The etched SS motto, Meine Ehre heißt Treue (Loyalty is my Honor) is still fully visible, but cleaning has removed all of the factory darkening. The blade shoulders perfectly meet the lower crossguard contour, and is solid in the grip.

The blade is marked on the reverse with the Heinrich Böker & Co., Baumwerk famous "framed" Baum (Tree) trademark logo, with BÖKER / SOLINGEN at the bottom. The company is a famous and desirable manufacturer, founded in 1869 in Solingen, the legendary "City of Blades" in western Germany. They were a known producer of SS daggers during the Pre-WWII period and after, and we have had several examples from Böker before. The company exists today, and has a long and storied history of top quality blade production. Knives made by this maker are highly desirable, and extremely rare on the market. For more information please see GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS by J. Anthony Carter.

The fittings of this dagger and tang nut are in very good condition throughout, however they do not appear to be of the same material. The crossguard looks to be solid nickel alloy, which has been chrome plated, now partly worn away. Chrome plating has more of a "blue" look to it, and contrasts with the more "warm" looking nickel. The pommel guard is nickel plated alloy, and shows plating loss on the bottom where the attachment nut is. They have smooth surfaces, good crisp edges and precise hand cut accent grooves, showing no major damage or dents The cross guard is marked with district number I on the rear, for the First SS District.

Per customer requests, we always check the inside of the guard on these daggers, and the cross guard is marked with a large letter H and a mold marking on the other side. The pommel guard is marked with F and B on opposite sides of the central hole. We assume that this dagger was made during the transitional period, or had some parts replaced when it was upgraded to an officer dagger. We also noticed that there is a symbol on the "rat tail" tang of the blade, which we do not recognize.

The ebony grip is a good example showing a great color and grain, however like many we see has suffered from chipping and cracking next to the guards. The ebony wood is unfortunately brittle, and the treatment used to give it a uniform look exacerbates this. The front of the grip shows some large chunks missing near the cross guard, and there is some cracking and a small chip underneath the insignia near the pommel guard. The reverse shows cracking near the pommel guard, and more chipping near the cross guard, with an area that looks to have been sanded down. We also noticed what looks to be a runic symbol or initials carved into the back of the grip by the pommel.

The symbol button is positioned at about 7:00 o'clock, as it should be. The nickel plated ᛋᛋ doppelte Siegrune symbol and double circles around them have a nice matching lightly oxidized patina with the plating still intact, with a little verdigris and slightly degraded enamel. 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. There is just a bit of verdigris around it, showing that it definitely is a nickel eagle.

The scabbard the dagger features a black "anodized" steel shell, which is mostly straight, however it has a large sharp dent on the side by the bottom fitting, with a smaller dent right next to the fitting. These almost look to have been made by strikes from an edged weapon. The scabbard bodies on these early pattern shells were originally lacquered to protect the anodization, and this example still retains about 75% of the original finish, much more than we usually see! 

It is fitted with a nickel plated steel center ramp with screws on both sides of the scabbard. This style has the three raised intertwined swas (hook cross) designs on both sides relatively shallow and smoothly executed compared to the single screw type. The chape and locket fittings are both nickel plated steel, and are in good condition, showing wear and plating loss. The chape fitting has some denting on the bottom ball, where the plating has flaked away, allowing the steel to oxidize, but the rest still has the plating present. All six retaining screws are present, and match in design on all three fittings. The fittings for the attachment of a chain are still both present and intact, showing light wear, and the upper fitting still has a single spacer from the chain present. We noticed that scabbard runners are either very worn or were possibly removed at some point, as it does not grip the blade much at all.

This is a very rare chance to own a very nice condition SS Officer's dagger by a desirable Solingen maker, which had the chain removed at some point. Ready to be the centerpiece of any WWII Edged weapon collection!

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