Original Item: Only One Available. This lovely condition mid war period produced NSKK Dienstdolch (Service Dagger) has nickel-plated fittings throughout, and is fitted with a great blade. This example was made by the the desirable Solingen-based firm of Friedrich Herder Abr. Sohn. GmbH, Constant-Werk, and comes complete with an original well-fitting scabbard.

These daggers are identical to the SA dagger, except they have a black finished scabbard. The guards and tang nut are nickel plated alloy, probably zinc or some other "pot metal", and both show an oxidized patina to the plating, which has not flaked away, but definitely is degraded, especially near the wooden grip. The steel pommel nut retains most of the plating, now oxidized, and does show some signs of turning. The grip overall is still tight on the blade.

The grip is a fine product having a fine dark reddish colored mahogany tone in the surfaces and medium center ridge construction. This grip is in very condition with great grain, and fits the crossguards well. There is no cracking or chipping in the wood that we can see, and it really has a great look. The SA / NSKK button itself is nicely set having fully intact translucent enamel, and the plating is intact with verdigris and oxidation as shown. The details are still there to the inlaid aluminum eagle, including the beak, breast feathering, wing feathering, talons, wreath and mobile swas, which shows just a bit of wear and oxidation.

The blade of this example is in excellent condition and has the factory final polish grind crossgrain easily visible throughout the blade. This texture is iconic, and is the definitive identifying characteristic for a real WWII German Blade. We almost never see them with nearly full grain as on this example, though there is very light speckled oxidation in many areas from past oxidation, as well as the usual runner wear and swirl marks from cleaning. We have made no attempt to clean off the oxidation, as it really adds to the piece, and removal would mar the cross grain. The original factory edge is intact, with no signs of post-manufacture sharpening, and the blade tip is unbent. The acid-etched Alles für Deutschland (Everything for Germany) SA motto is deep and crisp, with a fine frosted background that is retained almost completely.

The rear is etched with the RZM contract information:

((RZM))
M7 / 49

Friedrich Herder Abr. Sohn. GmbH, Constant-Werk, Stahlwrarenfabik (Steelware Factory) was a well known edged weapon producer from Solingen, the "City of Blades" in the mountains of Western Germany. According to J. Anthony Carter's book, GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS, the Herder family can be traced back to 1623, when Arndt, Jürgen and Wilhelm Herder were making knives in Geylenbergh. In the 19th Century, Friedrich Herder formed his own company, Friedrich Herder Abraham Sohn (Abraham's Son). The "crossed keys trademark was first trademarked in 1848, and renewed in 1895. They continued production through WWI and the Interwar period, and made early pattern SA daggers with their "Keys" trademark, before moving to their RZM code later in the war. This is definitely a company with a long history, part of a long established Solingen family.

The Reichszeugmeisterei (National Quartermaster's Office), or RZM, was was based at the Brown house in Munich and NSDAP party headquarters in Berlin. The RZM ensured that the manufacturers of military items were consistent in design, quality of materials and other characteristics of the items. It also defined standards of design, manufacturing and quality and published an authoritative color chart for textiles. The M7 in the code stands for knives/daggers, with Friedrich Herder Abr. Sohn being contractor number 49.

The scabbard has a black enamel lacquered steel body, which is actually fitted with what looks to be nickel, so it may be an early or transitional period scabbard. The steel shell is straight and dent free, but does look to have suffered wear and oxidation during the period, after which the fittings were removed and it was refinished. Since then it has suffered additional wear and chipping, and we can see some checking and crazing in the refinish, so it was definitely done during the WWII Period. The upper and lower fittings show no flaking of plating, so we are fairly certain they are solid nickel alloy, and they have suffered oxidation on both the front and rear, making them look orange in color. The lower ball is also dented in, as we often see. The throat nicely matches the crossguards, and all fittings have their original dome headed screws, which show some oxidation and deformation from turning.

An very nice example of a mid war pattern NSKK dagger from a very desirable maker, complete with scabbard. Ready to display!

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

History of the SA and NSKK-

The SA or Brown Shirts, were a private political formation which Adolf AH and the NSDAP used to maintain order at organized Party meetings and demonstrations. The group was formed in 1921, and grew to a huge force of nearly 3,000,000 men by the later 1930's. To instill esprit de corps, as well as create employment for the Blade City of Solingen, it was decided each SA man would carry a dagger with his Brown Shirt uniform. Huge quantities needed to be produced to accommodate the demand. The dagger initially was produced of hand-fitted nickel mounts with attractive finished wood grip and brown anodized (a bluing process) finished scabbard.

The blade was etched with the SA motto, Alles für Deutschland. Examples produced prior to 1935 were stamped with the German sector of the SA group on reverse lower crossguard. Later examples underwent standardization through the RZM ministry. These pieces were produced of cheaper plated zinc-base fittings and scabbards were simply painted brown.

Prior to his "unmasking" as a traitor, Ernst Röhm was the leader of the SA. In 1934, he distributed approximately 100,000 SA daggers with his personal inscription on the reverse blade. These daggers were to honor individuals who had served with the SA prior to December, 1931. Other than the inscription, these pieces were identical to the standard M1933 SA dagger. After the Röhm purge, the inscription was ordered to be removed. Many examples were returned to the factory for grinding. Others were simply ground in the field by whatever means were available. Examples will occasionally be encountered with remnants of the original inscription remaining on the blade, but mostly none will remain. Some blades exist with an intact inscription, reflecting only the removal of the Röhm signature. Very very rarely is an example seen with a full, untouched inscription, as the holder would have surely risked a charge of treason.

After the purge, the NSKK, which had been a part of the SA, was split off into a separate organization. They retained the same daggers as the SA, however now used a black painted scabbard, and their officer's daggers had a few differences as well. Many already had SA daggers, so these had the scabbards painted black over the original brown anodized finish.