Original Item: Only One Available. This is an original German WWII SA dagger by the rare Solingen maker Artur Schüttelhöfer & Co., complete with its original brown enamel scabbard and later pattern leather hanger. It is an excellent condition RZM production example with well preserved nickel plated fittings, an unusually attractive flame figured mahogany toned grip, a crisp Alles für Deutschland motto, strong factory crossgrain on both sides of the blade, and clear RZM M7/13 maker identification.

The hilt fittings are nickel plated throughout. The crossguards and tang nut appear to be alloy, most likely zinc based, and retain nearly all of their original plating. There is only light overall wear and some minor chipping where the guards contact the wooden grip, with localized oxidation in those areas. The steel pommel nut also retains most of its plating and shows only slight age related darkening.

The grip is particularly attractive and remains in excellent condition. It has a rich mahogany tone with medium center ridge construction and visible natural grain. Most notably, the wood displays pronounced flame figuring across the surfaces, an unusual and visually appealing feature on an SA dagger grip. Only a few small pressure dents and scratches are present, with no cracks or chips.

The SA grip button remains properly seated with its enamel fully intact. The surrounding plating is well retained, with a small amount of verdigris around the edge. The inlaid aluminum eagle also remains sharply detailed through the beak, breast and wing feathering, talons, wreath, and mobile swas.

The blade is in excellent condition and retains strong factory final polish grind crossgrain on both sides, a finish known in German as Pliesten. It is created by polishing the blades with large leather covered wheels using a slurry of extremely fine grit, and is nearly impossible to replicate using modern means. For advanced edged weapon collectors, the survival of this original crossgrain is an especially important feature because it indicates that the blade has not been aggressively polished or resurfaced after manufacture.

We can see some very minor oxidation staining, as well as the usual runner wear and light scuffing from cleaning, but no major condition issues. The edge is correctly unsharpened and free of dents or dings, and the tip of the blade intact and unbent. 

The obverse carries the acid etched SA motto:

Alles für Deutschland

The etching remains crisp and well defined, with the original factory darkening still strongly retained.

The reverse is etched with the RZM contract marking:

RZM
M7/13

This marking indicates the dagger was made by RZM Dagger contractor "13", which records show is the rare maker Artur Schüttelhöfer & Co. Stahlwarenfabrik (Steelware factory) in the Wald neighborhood of Solingen, the legendary "City of Blades" in Western Germany. This company was founded in 1920, and assembled and finished daggers for political organizations and officers during the Third Reich period, per J. Anthony Carter's excellent book GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD 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 NSDAP related 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 Arthur Schüttelhöfer & Co. being contractor number 13.

The original steel scabbard remains straight and dent free. Its brown enamel finish is exceptionally well preserved, showing only light scuffing together with the expected age related checking and crazing. There are small areas of surface wear but no significant chips or large areas of paint loss.

The scabbard is fitted with matching plated steel mounts. These show only light wear and oxidation and visually correspond well with the dagger fittings. The lower ball has several small dents, while all four dome head mounting screws remain present.

The attached later pattern brown leather belt hanger is also in very good condition and shows only light wear. The leather is marked:

RZM
L2/338/41

indicating 1941 production. The specific leather supplier represented by code L2/338 has not been identified here.

The spring clip remains fully functional and is marked:

RZM
M5/71

together with the OLC in a diamond trademark. This identifies Overhoff & Cie. of Lüdenscheid. The buckle remains functional, and the original leather keeper loop is still present.

With its rare Artur Schüttelhöfer & Co. RZM M7/13 marking, excellent blade with strong surviving factory crossgrain, crisp motto, unusually attractive flame figured grip, well preserved nickel plated fittings, excellent brown enamel scabbard, and complete 1941 dated RZM hanger with Overhoff hardware, this is a particularly strong example of a later production SA dagger. The minor guard edge oxidation, light grip marks, small amount of verdigris, slight blade staining and scuffing, lower scabbard ball dents, and light hanger wear are all fully disclosed. It would display especially well in an SA edged weapon, Artur Schüttelhöfer maker, RZM coded dagger, Solingen maker, or advanced German WWII political edged weapon collection.

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.