Original Item: Only One Available. This is an original German WWII SA Dienstdolch Service Dagger by the rare Solingen maker Emil Voos Waffenfabrik, complete with a later pattern brown enamel scabbard and leather belt hanger. The blade is RZM marked M7/2, while the reverse lower crossguard retains a faint Wm group mark for Westmark, giving the dagger an interesting transitional character. It also retains strong factory crossgrain on both sides of the blade, a crisp Alles für Deutschland motto with much of its darkening intact, solid nickel fittings, and a complete hanger with RZM marked steel clip.

The dagger itself appears to use solid nickel fittings rather than plated alloy. The guards show some denting but no peeling or flaking of finish of the type normally seen on plated zinc or aluminum fittings. The pommel nut is steel and has lost much of its plating, leaving visible oxidation and dark age toning.

The reverse of the lower crossguard is faintly group marked:

Wm

This identifies the Westmark group, associated with the Saarbrücken region of western Germany. Group markings of this type are generally associated with earlier SA and NSKK dagger production. Its presence together with the later RZM marked blade and later pattern scabbard most likely indicates that it was made in 1936, when the changeover to strict RZM controls was taking place, and old stock needed to be used up.

The grip has an attractive brown chestnut tone with visible grain and a medium center ridge. It fits the guards well and remains in very good condition overall. There are scattered pressure dents and scratches from use, but no major cracking. Two small chips are missing from the edge near the pommel guard.

The SA grip button remains properly set with its translucent enamel intact. The surrounding plating is well retained, with some verdigris visible around the edge. The inlaid nickel eagle also remains well defined, retaining detail to the beak, breast and wing feathering, talons, wreath, and mobile swas. Some verdigris is present around the edges of the eagle.

The blade is in excellent condition and retains strong factory final polish crossgrain on both sides, a finish known in German as Pliesten. 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. There is only scattered oxidation staining, which has intentionally been left untouched to avoid disturbing the surviving factory finish. Normal runner wear and light scratches from insertion, removal, and past cleaning are also present.

The edge remains factory blunt and shows no evidence of sharpening. The tip is intact, although there are several small dents along one edge. The acid etched SA motto remains crisp:

Alles für Deutschland

Much of the original darkening within the etching is still present, giving the motto strong definition.

The reverse of the blade is etched:

RZM
M7/2

This marking indicates the dagger was made by RZM Dagger contractor "2", which records show is the rare maker Emil Voos, Waffenfabrik, also known as a Spezialfabrik für Jagd- und Sportmesser (Special Factory for Hunting and Sporting Knives), a Solingen-based knife maker founded in 1925. They produced a variety of different daggers and knives for the NSDAP during the third reich period, including SA, NSKK, and SS daggers. Early examples featured a "losenge" style address logo around their trademark "Serpent Around a Stump" logo and later examples bore their RZM code M7/2, per J. Anthony Carter's work 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 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 Emil Voos, Waffenfabrik being contractor number 2.

The later pattern steel scabbard remains straight throughout without dents. It retains excellent original brown enamel with age related checking and crazing across both sides, but little major paint loss or oxidation. The finish has a very attractive matured appearance and does not show obvious signs of refinishing.

The plated steel upper and lower scabbard mounts are also in excellent condition, with only minor plating loss and oxidation. The lower ball remains undented. All four dome head mounting screws are still present, and the scabbard fittings visually match the dagger’s crossguards well.

The attached later style leather belt hanger remains in very good condition with light to moderate wear to the brown leather finish. Faint stamped markings are present in the leather but are too weak to read confidently. The plated steel spring clip is marked:

M5/25
RZM

This code identifies Christian Theodor Dicke of Lüdenscheid. The spring clip remains functional, the buckle operates correctly, and the leather keeper loop is still present.

With its rare Emil Voos RZM M7/2 blade, strong surviving factory crossgrain, crisp SA motto, faint Westmark Wm group mark, solid nickel fittings, later brown enamel scabbard, and complete RZM marked hanger, this is a particularly interesting transitional SA dagger. The mixed early and later production features, dented guards, oxidized pommel nut, small grip chips, scattered blade staining, edge dents, minor scabbard mount wear, and unreadable leather markings are all fully disclosed. It would display especially well in an SA edged weapon, Emil Voos maker, RZM coded dagger, transitional SA dagger, or advanced German WWII 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.