Original German Early WWII SA Dagger by Rare Maker Gust. Häker of Solingen with Scabbard & 3-Piece Hanger – McSARR Rarity Rated 8 of 10 Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is an very good condition early pattern SA Dagger, made by the exceedingly rare firm of Gust. Häker, Stahlwarenfabrik, located in Solingen, Germany. This company is known for making early pattern SA daggers, but only made them in limited numbers. It is rated 8 out of 10 for rarity on the McSARR (McAlvanah SA Rarity Rating) scale, assembled based on 18,000 daggers as seen by Mike McAlvanah. Makers of this rarity are extremely desirable and sought after by collectors, and it it is assumed makers of this rarity only made about 1000 daggers during the WWII period. It comes comes complete with an original scabbard, which is in very good shape, and is the correct early type. This is in turn fitted with a very rare 3 piece hanger, which is in great shape. This is the full setup!

The dagger has solid nickel silver fittings throughout, and is a very nice example. The crossguards and tang nut are in very good condition throughout with all fittings having a nice lightly 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 only light wear with just a bit of light denting and scratching. The lower reverse guard is double Gruppe/Gau stamped Ha, for Hansa, a district in the north of Germany, along the Sea Coast, with Hamburg as the principal city. This feature was only seen on daggers produced 1935 and prior.

The grip is a fine product having a lovely deep 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 nickel alloy pommel nut does show some light turning, and the grip is still tightly secured, with no wiggle. The SA symbol button is still nicely set, and still has all of the translucent enamel intact, with the nickel showing some oxidation and verdigris. 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 is in excellent condition, still showing full original factory final grind cross grain on both sides, something we almost never see! This texture is iconic, and is the definitive identifying characteristic for a real WWII German Blade. There is just a bit of runner wear and oxidation specking keeping it from being MINT. The blade actually has an edge, and we have checked, finding that Häker is one of the few makers that did put an actual beveled edge on their SA daggers. It shows no sign of post factory sharpening. The acid-etched Alles für Deutschland (Everything for Germany) SA motto is crisp, with the factory darkening still well retained. Really a fantastic blade here!

This fine example was produced by very rare maker Gust. Häker, Stahlwarenfabrik (Steel ware factory) of Solingen, the legendary “City of Blades” in Western Germany. The rear of the dagger is marked with the company’s trademark “bowler-hatted man carrying and adze” logo, with the maker name and address:

(Logo)
GUST. HÄKER
SOLINGEN

Per J. Anthony Carter’s fine work GERMAN SWORD AND KNIFE MAKERS, this company was first founded in 1918 and registered on April 21, 1920, this company manufactured all manner of edged implements and cutlery, including quite a variety of very fine folding pocket knives. During the Third Reich era they made a very few early period SA and NSKK daggers with their “man-and-adze” trademark. They also made a small number of HJ knives. This is the first item of any kind that we have had by this maker.

The scabbard shell is straight throughout and is the early-war style, which were produced with a brown “anodized” finish on the steel, which was then lacquered. This example still has a good amount of the original lacquer present, more on the reverse than on the front. It still also has most of the original anodized finish, though there are some areas of surface rusting as well. We can see ‘tracks’ under the lacquer in places, which take decades to form. Really a lovely scabbard body that is free of dents. The upper and lower fittings are solid nickel silver, with a great look and some dents and scratches showing typical wear. The chape is dented in a bit at the end, though not split, as the nickel alloy is somewhat soft, making this a common thing to see. The throat nicely matches the crossguards, and all fittings have their original dome headed screws.

The attached three piece belt hanger is in good condition, with light wear to the leather and hardware. The nickel spring clip itself is marked with a “barred A” followed by D.R.G.M. (Deutsches Reiches Gebrauchs Musterschutz) – meaning it is a protected patented design under the Reich Government. This design was registered to the owner of the “Barred A” trademark, F. W. Assmann & Söhne of Lüdenscheid, a large maker of belts, buttons, and other accoutrements. The belt loop and securing strap are a bit later design, and feature plated steel hardware.

A great early war SA dagger from an exceedingly rare maker, complete with a lovely original scabbard and rare 3 piece hanger! 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.