Original German Early WWII SA Dagger by Rare Maker C.G. Haenel of Suhl with Scabbard Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is an very good condition early pattern SA Dagger, made by the very rare firm of C.G. Haenel, located in the city of Suhl, Germany. This company was one of the original contractors for SA daggers in the Röhm era, and only made them 1934-1935, making them very rare. It comes comes compete with an original scabbard, though it is a later war replacement with an enamel finish.

The dagger has solid nickel silver fittings throughout, and is a nice example. The crossguards and tang nut are in very good condition throughout with all fittings having a nice aged patina. There is some age to these mounts but there is no lifting anywhere, showing that they are solid and not plated. They show light wear with some light denting in areas. The lower reverse guard is Gruppe/Gau marked Mi, for Mitte (Center), an SA Administrative region to the West of Berlin, with Magdeburg as the main city.

The grip is a fine product having a lovely brown color, with medium center ridge construction, with just a bit of wear and a few small dents. This grip is in good condition and fits the crossguards nicely, though there is a hairline between the pommel and the inlaid emblem, and another on the opposite side. The pommel nut shows no turning, and there is a bit of wiggle in the grip fittings.

The SA symbol button is still nicely set, and still has much of the translucent enamel intact, though there is a chip, and the nickel plating is intact. 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 solid nickel alloy, 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 on this example is quite nice, though it does show signs of having been re-polished, either at the factory or post war. The original factory crossgrain is removed, with the new polishing marks being more prominent. We do not see any evidence that this is a “Ground Röhm” dagger, though the possibility is always there. The blade still has the correct factory blunt edges, with no signs of sharpening. The acid-etched Alles für Deutschland (Everything for Germany) SA motto is present, but the polishing has made the edges a bit rounded, and the factory darkening is mostly worn away.

Towards the ricasso there is the maker name and logo of C.G. Haenel, Waffen- und Fahrradfabrik AG (Weapons and Bicycle Factory), located in Suhl, Thuringia, which is clear:

(HAENEL ARROW)
C.G. HAENEL
SUHL
WAFFEN-u. FAHRRAD-
FABRIK

Per J. Anthony Carter’s book GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS, this firm produced SA / NSKK daggers during the 1934-1935 period ONLY, and the company is much more known for small arms production during WWII. Haenel manufactured MP38, MP40, M41, StG44/MP44 machine guns during the war, as well as components and other weapons.

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 in the finish, with only small areas of finish loss. The scabbard shell is equipped with fine matching nickel-plated steel mounts. These mounts are in very good condition overall, with only light plating wear. There is some very light denting of the ball on the chape, which is typical, even with the harder steel alloy. They nicely match the crossguards and are complete with all four dome head screws.

A very nice early war SA dagger from a very rare maker, complete with an original 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.