Original Item: Only One Available. This is a great example of a rare early war transitional pattern NSKK Dagger, with nickel plated fittings throughout. These daggers are identical to the SA dagger, except they have a black finished scabbard. This example was made by the by the legendary firm Tigerwerk Lauterjung & Co. of Solingen, the "City of Blades" in western Germany. This company had made NSKK and SA daggers since the early 1933-1936 era, and continued to produce them throughout the war. It comes comes compete with an original scabbard, which is the correct wartime pattern, and is fitted with a leather belt hanger. This dagger has a combination of early and middle production features, making it a very interesting piece!

This transitional NSKK Dagger has nickel-plated fittings throughout. The cross and pommel guards are nickel plated zinc alloy, and have almost all of the plating intact, with just a bit of lifting on the rear of the pommel guard. There is also some very minor oxidation where the grip wood meets the guards, which is typical. There is not any major chipping or dents in the fittings, just the usual effects of age. The pommel nut is nickel plated steel, and does not show any turning. The hilt is still tight on the blade on this fine Tigerwerk example.

The grip is a fine product having a lovely mahogany red color, with medium center ridge construction, with some light wear and a few small dents. The grain is lovely on this example, with some great color variation. This grip is in excellent condition and fits the crossguards nicely, with no cracks or chunks missing, and a lovely polished glow. The SA / NSKK symbol button is still nicely set, and still has all of the translucent enamel intact, with the nickel plating showing some oxidation. The grip eagle is a fine example being the style with beak that points straight. It has just a bit of verdigris on it, showing that it is either nickel alloy or plated, and it has patinated nicely. The details are still there to the eagle to include the beak, breast feathering, wing feathering, talons, wreath and mobile swas (hook cross).

The blade is in very good condition, showing almost all of the original factory final grind cross grain on both sides. This texture is iconic, and is the definitive identifying characteristic for a real WWII German Blade. There are a few areas of light staining on both sides, and there is also light runner wear, as with virtually all original German daggers. The acid-etched Alles für Deutschland (Everything for Germany) SA motto is crisp, with the factory darkening retained almost completely.

The rear of this transitional dagger is marked with both the "Left Facing Tiger" trademark logo of Lauterjung & Co., as well as their RZM contract information:

(Trademark Logo)
TIGER
SOLINGEN

(RZM) M7/68

Later examples would only have the RZM information, and usually were dated. Lauterjung & Co., Tiger Stahlwaren- und Waffenfabrik is a famous manufacturer in Solingen, the legendary "City of Blades" in Western Germany. Their trademark was a Tiger, and their factory was thus often referred to as Tigerwerk (Tiger Works). The firm was founded in 1873 to make knives, scissors, and other steel ware, and survived until after the war. There were several different branches of the Lauterjung family involved in edged weapons, operating under different trade names to avoid confusion. Later in the war, this company would use the RZM code M7 / 68. For more information please see the definitive reference work GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS by J. Anthony Carter.

The scabbard shell is straight throughout and is the mid-war style, which has a black enameled steel body. This is still in very good shape, with no dents we can see, and just a few small finish chips. There is also some scuffing as well as crazing in the finish. The upper and lower fittings are nickel-plated steel, with a great look and just some light wear. The bottom ball of the drag is also slightly dented in, which is common even with the stronger steel alloy. The throat nicely matches the crossguards, and all fittings have their original dome headed screws.

Attached to the hanger ring on the scabbard is a very nice early pattern leather belt hanger, with solid nickel hardware. The leather definitely shows wear to the finish, with a bit of dry rot to the surface. The spring clip is still fully functional, and has a lovely oxidized patina.

The Reichszeugmeisterei, 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 68 stands for firm Tigerwerk Lauterjung & Co. of Solingen.

A great transitional period NSKK dagger from a famous Solingen Maker, complete with a very good original scabbard and hanger. Ready to display!

Specifications:
Blade Length: 8 3/4"
Overall length: 13 3/4”
Crossguard: 3”
Scabbard Length: 10”

History of the SA and NSKK-

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.

After the purge, the NSKK, which had been a part of the SA, was split off into a separate organization. They retained the same daggers as the SA, however now used a black painted scabbard, and their officer's daggers had a few differences as well. Many already had SA daggers, so these had the scabbards painted black over the original brown anodized finish.