Original Excellent German WWII Early SA Dagger by J.P. Sauer & Sohn of Suhl with Scabbard Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a lovely condition early pattern SA Dienstdolch (Service Dagger) with a beautiful blade, made by the legendary firm J.P. Sauer & Sohn of Suhl. Known much more for their firearms and machinery, this company also did produce or assemble early pattern SA daggers, which are quite rare. It comes comes compete with an original early production anodized scabbard, which is in very nice condition.

The dagger has solid nickel silver fittings throughout, and is a great example with a lovely look. The crossguards and tang nut are in very good condition throughout with all fittings having a nice lightly aged patina. There is just a bit of 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, and do not look to have been cleaned much. The lower reverse guard is Gruppe/Gau marked BO, for Bayerische Ostmark (Bavarian Eastern March). This was an administrative division of NSDAP Germany in Lower Bavaria, Upper Palatinate and Upper Franconia, Bavaria, which had previously been an NSDAP Party region. This feature was only seen on daggers produced 1935 and prior.

The grip is a fine product having a lovely brown color, with medium center ridge construction, showing only light wear with a few small dents and no cracks we can see. We have checked other examples of Sauer daggers, and they all have the same color and grain on the wood of their grips, which looks to be a different species than usually used. The SA symbol button is nicely set, with the enamel is almost fully intact, though there definitely is some patination on the metal of the insignia. 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 pommel nut does show some turning on the outside, and the grip is still tightly secured, with no wiggle.

The blade is in excellent condition and bright, still showing almost all of the original factory final grind cross grain on both sides! This texture is iconic, and is the definitive identifying characteristic for a real WWII German Blade. It shows some signs of light cleaning, but the grain is still present in most areas, except where the runners have worn it smooth. There is just a tiny bit of scuffing on one of the edges, with no signs of sharpening, and we cannot really see any oxidation of any kind. The acid-etched Alles für Deutschland (Everything for Germany) SA motto is crisp, and the factory darkening is just a bit worn. Definitely a great condition blade!

The reverse ricasso of the dagger is marked with the “losenge” style double oval trademark “wild man holding a club” logo of a company that needs no introduction: J.P. Sauer & Sohn, Waffenfabrik (Weapons factory):

J.P. SAUER & SOHN
(Logo)
SUHL
GEGR. 1751

The last line is short for Gegründet 1751 (Founded 1751), for the year that the company was first founded by Lorenz Sauer in Suhl, in what was then the the duchy of Saxe-Hildburghausen. This area was well known for its weapons manufacturing, and many companies operated there. Several partnerships were formed, but the company stayed in the family, and in 1840 Johann Paul Sauer and his son Lorenz create a new name for the company and trademark J. P. Sauer & Sohn. They specialized mostly in firearms, but did make some bayonets for Turkish contract Mauser rifles. It is not clear whether they made them themselves, or purchased blade blanks elsewhere. Per J. Anthony Carter’s fine work GERMAN SWORD AND KNIFE MAKERS, many early SA and NSKK daggers were made or assembled with the oval trademark above the foundation date, so this dagger is totally correct.

The scabbard shell is mostly straight throughout, though it does have some significant dents on the lower front, which do not interfere with sheathing the blade. It is the correct early-war style, produced with a brown “anodized” finish on the steel, which was then lacquered. Unlike most that we see, this scabbard still has almost all of the original lacquer coating still intact! It is very rare to see a scabbard in this condition, still showing the original color, though the lacquer may have yellowed a bit. The anodized coating is almost completely retained, with just speckled areas overall where the lacquer checked or cracked, allowing oxidation to occur. We see no evidence that the scabbard was ever “touched up”.

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 just a bit at the end, as the nickel alloy is somewhat soft, making this a common thing to see. The throat nicely matches the cross guards, and all fittings have their original dome headed screws. scabbard.

A lovely early pattern SA dagger with a great blade, made by a legendary and rare maker, complete with the 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.