Original Item: Only One Available. This very good condition mid war period produced SA Dagger is made with nickel-plated fittings throughout. The cross guards and tang nut are made from alloy, most likely zinc-based, and still have a good amount of the plating intact, though there is definitely some weathering. The pommel guard has lost a lot of the plating on one side, while the cross guard retains a bit more. It looks like oxidation may have been cleaned away in the past, giving the guards a bit of a matte finish. The steel end nut shows marring from being tightened, and the handle is tight on the tang.

The grip is a fine product having a fine brown colored mahogany tone in the surfaces and having medium center ridge construction. This grip is in very good condition with great grain, and fits the cross guards well. There are some small dents from service, but no chunks or cracks, making this a really great example. The SA symbol button is nicely set, with intact enamel, and the plating intact with overall light oxidation. 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 plated alloy eagle, with the plating well retained and mostly bright.

The blade of this example is in very good condition, with the factory final polish cross grain still visible throughout the blade. This texture is iconic, and is the definitive identifying characteristic for a real WWII German Blade. We can see the usual runner wear on the blade, and there has been some past staining on the blade, now cleaned away, which has made the cross grain faint in areas. The edge is still correctly unsharpened. The acid-etched Alles für Deutschland (Everything for Germany) SA motto is still quite crisp, though the factory darkening is mostly worn away.

The rear is etched with the RZM contract information:

((RZM))
M7 / 12

This marking indicates the dagger was made 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 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, however it looks like the paint flaked off over the years, allowing it to oxidize slightly. Sometime relatively recently the body had the fittings removed, and was polished to bright steel, giving it a very unique look. The scabbard shell is equipped with fine matching plated steel mounts, which show only light wear and oxidation. They nicely match the cross guards and are complete with all four dome head screws.

A very good example of a mid to late war pattern SA dagger from a rare maker, complete with a polished 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.