Original Item: Only One Available. This very good condition mid-late 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 rare Solingen-based firm of WMW Max Weyersberg, Waffenfabrik.

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 most of the plating intact, showing overall light peppered oxidation. The pommel guard oxidized and lost the plating where it contacts the grip due to reacting with the stain in the wood combined with moisture. 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, however the fittings are somewhat out of alignment.

The grip is a fine product having a fine reddish colored mahogany tone in the surfaces and 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 enamel, 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 light staining, which have been left intact to avoid marring the blade. 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 rear is etched with the RZM contract information:

((RZM))
M7 / 12

This marking indicates the dagger was made post-1941 by RZM Dagger contractor "12", which records show is the rare maker Max Weyersberg, Waffenfabrik (Weapons Factory), a member of the large Weyersberg family of blade makers. The company was located at Katternbergerstrasse 176 in Solingen Germany, the legendary "City of Blades" in Western Germany. Per J. Anthony Carter's fine work GERMAN SWORD AND KNIFE MAKERS, this company was founded in 1920, and registered with authorities in 1933 as a maker of cutlery, hunting/sporting knives, and edged weapons. WMW WAFFEN was their main trade name, and was originally pierced with a sword. However later in the period the WMW / WAFFEN marking with the enlarged "M" was used.

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 12 stands for Max Weyersberg 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, though it does look like it was refinished during the WWII period, as we can see past oxidation under the finish, and also areas next to the fittings where the finish is missing. It does show a bit of crazing, only possible after many years. 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.

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.