Original German WWII Atwood Production SA Presentation Dagger by Clemen & Jung with Damascus Blade Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. Major Jim Atwood was one of the pioneers of Third Reich dagger collecting. During the 1950’s while stationed in Germany he would travel to the blade making region of Solingen buying up daggers and surplus unused stocks of dagger parts. From these parts he constructed many daggers. Some were conventional “parts daggers” but others were made up with the addition of newly made parts. Jim Atwood was a true pioneer in the hobby of Third Reich Dagger collecting. No true reference book was available when he wrote his in 1962. It was the only reference where information concerning the origin of the daggers and the companies that manufactured them which also identified some of the many daggers types for the first time.

This particular example of a wonderful SA Presentation dagger appears to be mostly original. In fact all parts appear to be German WWII produced except for the Damascus blade. The blade, simply stated, is a fake that was made to deceive. It is exceptional looking and therefore will be a very interesting addition to any collection. The blade is marked by Clemen & Jung of Solingen with Z logo in gold. On front side is a gold “Alles fur Deutschland” and on the other side it reads; “Treue um Treue SA Oberfuhrer“. Oh, if only it were real!!!

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.