Item:
ONSV24MDS060

Original German WWII NSKK Dagger by Rare Maker Arthur Evertz with Scabbard and Belt Hanger - RZM M7/85

Item Description

Original Item: Only One Available. This very good condition mid-late war period produced NSKK Dagger has nickel-plated fittings throughout, and is fitted with an exceptionally good blade. This example was made by the the rare Solingen-based firm of Arthur Evertz, Herstellung blanker Waffen.

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 have almost all of the plating intact, with just a bit of oxidation near the grips. The guards do not show any major chipping or dents, just the usual effects of age. The steel pommel nut has had a good amount of the plating flake off, allowing the base metal to oxidize a bit. The grip overall is still mostly tight on the blade.

The grip is a fine product having a fine reddish colored mahogany tone in the surfaces and having medium center ridge construction. This grip is in very good condition with great grain, and fits the crossguards well. There is no cracking in the wood that we can see, just some pressure denting and a few small stains, however there is some chipping near the pommel guard on the obverse. The SA / NSKK button itself is nicely set having fully intact translucent enameling, and the plating intact with some 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.

The blade of this example is in excellent condition and has virtually all of its factory final polish grind crossgrain. This texture is iconic, and is the definitive identifying characteristic for a real WWII German Blade. There do not appear to be any major rust issues aside from some small areas of past light staining, now cleaned away. There is also the usual runner wear and swirl marks from cleaning. 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 at about 75%. This is really a lovely blade that would be very hard to improve upon!

The reverse ricasso is etched with a double circle with RZM logo in the middle over M7 / 85. This indicates Post-1941 manufacture by rare maker Arthur Evertz, Herstellung blanker Waffen (Manufacturer of Edged Weapons), of Solingen, Germany - a city famous since the middle ages for its metal-working and craftsmanship in sword making, often called the "City of Blades". Per J. Anthony Carter's fine work GERMAN SWORD AND KNIFE MAKERS, this company was founded in 1925 by Arthur Evertz, brother-in-law of Paul Seilheimer, and was registered in August 1938 with commercial authorities. They made a variety of edged weapons during the third reich period. including SA and NSKK daggers, both with their trademark and later RZM number. We have only ever had a few items by Evertz before, and they are definitely one of the rarer makers on the market.

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, contractor 85 stands for Athur Evertz of Solingen.

The scabbard shell is straight throughout and is the mid-war style, which has a black enamel lacquered steel body. This is still in very good shape, with the finish very well retained, and just a few small dents. There is a bit of chipping on the narrow sides, which now shows a bit of oxidation, however overall we rarely see them this good. There is also a bit of crazing and checking in the finish, only achieved after decades, so this is definitely not a refinished example. The upper and lower fittings are nickel-plated steel, with a great look and just some very light wear, with no denting to the lower ball. The throat nicely matches the crossguards, and all fittings have their original dome headed screws.

Attached to the scabbard is a very nice leather belt hanger clip, which is the early style with solid nickel alloy fittings. The leather shows a lovely dark brown color, with some light cracking to the finish, and the leather looks to be a bit dry rotted. The fittings are in great shape, with just a bit of verdigris around the buckle. Really a nice honest used hanger.

A lovely NSKK dagger from a very rare maker with a fantastic blade and original 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.

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