Original Item: Only One Available. This very good condition mid war period produced SA Dagger is made with nickel-plated fittings throughout. The crossguards and tang nut are made from alloy, most likely zinc-based, and still have most of the original plating intact. There is not much oxidation, but there is definitely wear from service and/or cleaning, especially on the cross guard. The pommel nut is steel, and is in excellent condition, with little sign of turning and fully intact plating.

The grip is in excellent condition, having a fine brown colored mahogany tone in the surfaces and having medium center ridge construction. This grip is in very good condition with nice grain, and fits the crossguards well. Aside from some small pressure dents, the grip is close to unissued, with no cracking or chips. The SA symbol button is nicely, with intact translucent enamel, and the plating intact with a bit of oxidation at the bottom. The details are still there to the inlaid eagle, including the beak, breast feathering, wing feathering, talons, wreath and mobile swas (hook cross). It looks to be the later war style aluminum eagle.

The blade of this example is in very good condition, with most of the factory final polish cross grain still visible. This texture is iconic, and is the definitive identifying characteristic for a real WWII German Blade. The blade has the usual runner wear, and does show signs of cleaning off oxidation towards the edge. The edge is still correctly unsharpened. The acid-etched Alles für Deutschland (Everything for Germany) SA motto is still quite crisp, however the factory darkening is mostly worn away.

The rear is etched with the RZM contract information:

((RZM))
M7 / 49

Friedr. 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 shell is straight throughout and has very good original brown enamel paint. It has just a bit of scuffing and the usual crazing and checking in the finish, with only small areas of finish damage. The scabbard shell is equipped with fine matching plated steel mounts, which show only light wear and oxidation, though the bottom "ball" has a few small dents They nicely match the crossguards and are complete with all four dome head screws.

An great example of a mid to late war pattern SA 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-

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.