Original German WWII 1938 dated SA Dagger by Edward Wüsthof with Scabbard – RZM M.7/19 Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This very good condition early war period produced SA Dagger has nickel-plated fittings throughout. The crossguards and tang nut are nickel plated zinc alloy, and have most of the plating intact, with some lifting and flaking on the pommel. There is some oxidation where the grip wood meets the guards, which is typical, but both still have most of the plating, with light wear. There is not any major chipping or dents in the fittings, just the usual effects of age.

The grip is a fine product having a fine reddish 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 crossguards well. There is almost no chipping or cracking, just some pressure scratches and dents, and a crack at the edge of the eagle’s wing. The SA symbol button is nicely set having fully intact enameling, and the plating intact with just a bit of verdigris and oxidation as shown. The details are still there to the inlaid nickel plated eagle, including the beak, breast feathering, wing feathering, talons, wreath and mobile swas (hook cross).

The blade of this example is in excellent condition, with almost 100% of the factory cross grain still visible. There are just a few areas of light staining and speckling on the back that keep it from being complete. The acid-etched Alles für Deutschland (Everything for Germany) SA motto is still quite crisp, with the factory darkening still intact.

The rear is marked with the RZM contract information:

((RZM)) M.7/19
1938

This marking indicates the dagger was made by RZM Dagger contractor “19” in 1938, which records show is Edward Wüsthof, Dreizackwerk (Trident Works), located in Solingen, the legendary “City of Blades” in western Germany. During the WWII Period they manufactured many SA and NSKK daggers, both with their trademark and later with the RZM code M7/19. The firm was founded in 1814 by Johan Wilhelm Wüsthof, and recently celebrated its 200th anniversary. It is one of the premier mid-sized cutlery companies in Germany today. For more information please see J. Anthony Carter’s fine work GERMAN SWORD AND KNIFE MAKERS.

The scabbard shell is straight throughout and has very good original brown enamel paint. It has a bit of scuffing, as well as a lot of fine checking and crazing overall, but does not show any signs of alteration. It does however look to originally have been a scabbard for an NSKK or SS dagger, as there is a black enamel layer under the brown. However we know from the crazing in the paint that the brown enamel is very old, so most likely it was a manufacturer repaint.

The scabbard shell is equipped with fine matching nickel-plated steel mounts. These mounts are in very good condition overall, with only a little denting to the lower ball. They nicely match the crossguards and are complete with all four dome head screws. This really is a nice solid scabbard.

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 19 stands for firm Edward Wüsthof.

A very nice example of an SA dagger from a desirable maker, complete with 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.