Original German WWII Chained NSKK Officer’s Dagger with Scabbard by WKC Waffenfabrik GmbH – RZM M7/42 Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is an extremely rare mid-war period produced NSKK Officer’s Dagger in great condition, with the correct “Chained” scabbard. It was produced by the legendary Solingen-based firm of Weyersberg Kirschbaum & Cie (WKC), Waffenfabrik GmbH. The knife itself has nickel-plated fittings throughout. The crossguards and tang nut are nickel plated zinc alloy, and have about 80% of the plating intact. There is some oxidation and flaking 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 grip is a fine product having a nice 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 are just a few small dents, and no cracks or chips, making this a great example. The symbol button is nicely set having partly intact translucent enameling, which shows some lifting inside the symbol. The plating is almost fully intact, showing just a bit of oxidation around the edges. The details are still there to the aluminum eagle, including the beak, breast feathering, wing feathering, talons, wreath and mobile swas.

The scabbard shell is straight throughout and has good original black enamel paint, which is well retained on the front, however has flaked off on about 75% of the rear, showing a lightly oxidized steel body. There are no dents we can see, and the remaining paint shows the correct crazing and checking from age, which takes decades to develope. The scabbard shell is equipped with fine matching plated steel mounts, including the center ramp for attachment of the chain. These mounts are in very good condition overall, with slight denting to the lower ball. They nicely match the crossguards, and all 5 of the matching dome headed screws are present.

The scabbard is equipped with a lovely and totally correct nickel plated steel NSKK chain assembly, with four upper and five lower links. The decoration on the links alternates between NSSK eagles and raised sun wheel symbols. The center link on the lower length is marked with the special triangle symbol used exclusively by the NSKK. The plating on this chain is still in very good condition, with some areas of flaking and oxidation. The first link of the upper chain length is marked MUSTERSCHUTZ / NSKK / KORPSFÜHRUNG, indicating it is made per the NSKK leadership specifications. The lower chain is marked with the “Barred A” trademark and RZM M5/8, for F. W. Assmann & Söhne of Lüdenscheid. These chain lengths are connected to a good nickel plated steel snap clip marked with an acorn between a pair of oak leaves, which is attached to a nice belt loop. This shows a bit more oxidation and plating wear, particularly on the clip portion.

The blade of this example is in excellent condition and has virtually all of its factory final polish grind crossgrain. This texture is iconic, and is the definitive identifying characteristic for a real WWII German Blade. There do not appear to be any rust issues aside from some specks of very light staining near the edge and ricasso, and the original factory edge is intact. There is also the usual runner wear from the scabbard. The acid-etched Alles für Deutschland (Everything for Germany) SA motto is deep and crisp, with a fine frosted background typical of WKC that is retained at nearly 100%. This is really a fantastic blade that would be very hard to improve upon!

The reverse ricasso is etched with a double circle with RZM logo in the middle over M7 / 42. This indicates Post-1941 manufacture by maker Weyersberg Kirschbaum & Cie (WKC), Waffenfabrik GmbH (Weapons Factory). This company is a famous manufacturer of military swords and cutlery in Solingen, Germany – a city famous since the middle ages for its metal-working and craftsmanship in sword making, often called the “City of Blades”.

Per J. Anthony Carter’s fine work GERMAN SWORD AND KNIFE MAKERS, the traditional manufacturing of swords at WKC dates back to the year 1774 when the Weyersberg first registered the ”Kings head” as their trademark. Later in 1883 the company merged with the Kirschbaums, and the company Weyersberg Kirschbaum & Cie was formed, which continued into the Weimar Period. It then rebranded as W.K.C. Waffenfabrik GmbH, and produced many edged weapons during the NSDAP Period. The company is still in operation today.

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 42 stands for firm WKC Waffenfabrik GmbH.

An excellent mid-war example of a Chained NSKK Officer’s dagger from a top maker. 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.

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.