Original German Early WWII NSKK Dagger by Rare Maker Hammesfahr & Cie. with Scabbard Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very good condition early pattern NSKK Dagger, made by the very seldom seen firm of Hammesfahr & Cie., based in Solingen, Germany. This maker is EXTREMELY rare to find, and this is the only edged weapon of any type we have had by this firm. It comes comes compete with an original scabbard, which is in very good shape.

The dagger has solid nickel silver fittings throughout, and is a nice example. The crossguards and tang nut are in very good condition throughout, and look to have been cleaned recently. There is no lifting of any plating, showing that they are indeed solid nickel alloy. They show very little wear or denting, if any, though the tang nut does look to have been tightened a bit without the proper tool. The lower reverse guard is Gruppe/Gau marked P, for Pommern (Pomeranian Region), which was an area along the Baltic Sea, most of which is today part of Poland. The main city of the area was Stettin, today the Polish city of Szczecin.

The grip is a fine product having a nice deep brownish red color, with medium center ridge construction, and just a bit of wear and a few small dents. This grip is in good condition and fits the crossguards nicely, with no cracking that we can see. The symbol button is still nicely set, and still has most of the translucent enamel intact. The nickel alloy grip eagle is a fine example being the style with beak that points straight. The details are still there to the eagle to include the beak, breast feathering, wing feathering, talons, wreath and mobile swas (hook cross). The nickel finish on both insignia is fully intact, with just a bit of oxidation.

This fine example was produced by Hammesfahr & Cie., a known Solingen-based producer of this knife during the pre-WWII period. The rear of the dagger is marked with the trademark Schwimmer (Swimmer) logo, surrounded banners on the top and bottom as part of a “truncated oval”:

HAMMESFAHR CIE.
(Swimmer Trademark)
* SOLINGEN *

Per J. Anthony Carter’s GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS, this company was formed in 1919 from Gustav Hammesfahr, when additional owners and staff were added. The company manufactured an entire range of scissors, knives, and other cutlery during the interwar period. They are specifically noted for making SA and NSKK daggers with the “truncated oval” swimmer trademark. Knives by this maker are extremely rare.

The blade is very good condition, with lots of the original factory cross grain still visible. It still looks to have the factory edge, which is somewhat sharp, with no signs of post manufacturer sharpening. Many makers left these dull but that was up to the maker. The blade does have some areas of polished out staining and light pitting, which are still apparent on the surface of the blade. Due to this, the acid-etched Alles für Deutschland (Everything for Germany) SA motto is slightly worn, and the original factory darkening is mostly worn away.

The scabbard shell is straight throughout and is the transitional production style, with a black enameled body and solid nickel fittings. It is possible that the owner was part of the NSKK before the split, and got a new scabbard rather than painting the original one. It is in very good condition, with just a few dents, and the plating and enamel retained very well. The fittings still have their original screws intact, and the hanger ring is in great shape. The ball on the bottom of the chape is dented in, very common due to the softer nickel alloy.

An very nice early war NSKK dagger from a very rare maker, complete with an 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.

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. Many already had SA daggers, so these had the scabbards painted black over the original brown anodized finish.