Original Item: Only One Available. This very nice condition early war period produced SA Dagger is made with nickel-plated fittings throughout. The dagger shows only minor signs of use, with most of the condition issues coming from age and oxidation. The cross guard and tang nut are made from non-magnetic alloy, most likely zinc-based, and still have most of the plating intact, with some flaking and oxidation near the wooden grip. The steel tang nut shows no signs of having been messed with, and the hilt is still tight to 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 excellent condition with great grain, and fits the crossguards well. There are some small dents from service, but no chips, cracks, or other damage. The SA symbol button is nicely set with intact plating, though the translucent enamel is partially missing. The inlaid aluminum eagle is in great shape, showing minimal wear.

The blade of this example is in good condition, showing much of the original factory final grind crossgrain. This texture is iconic, and is the definitive identifying characteristic for a real WWII German Blade. Unfortunately, the blade was exposed to water at some point, which left oxidation and staining on both sides, with much more on the reverse. This was then polished away, leaving stain marks in areas, and making the factory crossgrain faint. There is also the usual runner wear on both sides.

The edge is still correctly unsharpened, and remarkably the acid-etched Alles für Deutschland (Everything for Germany) SA motto is still very crisp with almost all of the factory darkening. That area of the blade was not affected by the water related oxidation at all.

The rear is etched with the RZM contract information, which is fully visible.

This marking indicates the dagger was made by RZM Dagger contractor "66", which records show is the legendary maker Carl Eickhorn, located in Solingen, the "City of Blades" in western Germany.

According to J. Anthony Carter's book, GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS, this company was founded in 1865 by Carl Eickhorn, and is arguably the most famous of all Solingen makers. Not only could the family trace their history back 500 years, but they could also demonstrate involvement in the hardening and grinding industries for the same period. Truly the nobility of Solingen Edged weapon dynasties. Eickhorn edged weapons are the most desirable of all makers.

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 66 stands for Carl Eickhorn of Solingen.

The scabbard shell is straight throughout and has very good original brown enamel paint. There are some areas where the paint has chipped / flaked away, showing the steel body of the scabbard, which has just a bit of oxidation. The scabbard shell is fitted with fine nickel-plated steel mounts, which show only minor oxidation and wear. They nicely match the crossguards and are complete with all four dome head screws. There is a leather hanger attached to the loop, however the end clip is missing.

A very nice example of an early war pattern SA dagger from a legendary 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-

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.