Original German Early WWII SA Dagger by Friedrich Herder Abr. Sohn with Scabbard, Hanger & Belt Loop Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is an very good condition early pattern SA Dagger, made by the well known firm of Friedrich Herder Abr. Sohn. GmbH, based in Solingen, Germany. This company was one of the many branches of the storied Herder family of Solingen. It comes comes compete with an original scabbard, which has a very nice belt hanger attached to it, complete with the loop that goes around the belt.

The dagger has solid nickel silver fittings throughout, and is a nice example. The crossguards and tang nut are in very good condition throughout with all fittings having a nice lightly aged patina. There is a little age to these mounts but there is no lifting anywhere, showing that they are solid and not plated. They show a bit of light wear with some denting and scratches. The lower reverse guard is Gruppe/Gau marked Wf, for Westfalen (Westphalia), which encompassed the area near Cologne, very close to Solingen. This feature was only seen on daggers produced 1935 and prior.

The grip is a fine product having a lovely dark reddish brown color, with medium center ridge construction, with just a bit of wear and a few small dents. This grip is in good condition and fits the crossguards nicely, with no cracks we can see, with no movement. The symbol button is still nicely set, and still has most of the translucent enamel intact, with the nickel plating intact. 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, though it is still quite shiny with little oxidation. The details are still there to the eagle to include the beak, breast feathering, wing feathering, talons, wreath and mobile swas (hook cross).

The blade is in very good condition, showing much of the original factory cross grain clearly visible throughout the blade. This texture is iconic, and is the definitive identifying characteristic for a real WWII German Blade. There is just a bit of light staining, as well as the usual wear from the scabbard runners, making this really a great example. The acid-etched Alles für Deutschland (Everything for Germany) SA motto is crisp, with a good amount of the factory darkening retained. The edge has not been sharpened, as is correct.

This fine example was produced by well-known maker Friedrich Herder Abr. Sohn, and rear of the dagger is marked with the company’s trademark “Crossed Keys” logo and address:

(Crossed Keys)
F. HERDER A. S.
S O L I N G E N

Friedr. Herder Abr. Sohn. GmbH, Constant-Werk, Stahlwrarenfabik was a well known edged weapon producer from Solingen, the “City of Blades” in the mountains of Western Germany. According to J. Anthony Carter’s book, GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS, the Herder family can be traced back to 1623, when Arndt, Jürgen and Wilhelm Herder were making knives in Geylenbergh. In the 19th Century, Friedrich Herder formed his own company, Friedrich Herder Abraham Sohn (Abraham’s Son). The “crossed keys trademark was first trademarked in 1848, and renewed in 1895. This is definitely a company with a long history, part of a long established Solingen family.

The scabbard shell is straight throughout, not showing any denting, and is the early-war style, produced with a brown “anodized” finish on the steel, which was then lacquered. As is often the case, almost all of the lacquer has worn / flaked off the scabbard, with just a few areas retained near the fittings. The anodization on the scabbard body is still relatively well retained, with spots of oxidation overall. 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 at the end, as the nickel alloy is somewhat soft, a common thing to see. The throat nicely matches the crossguards, and all fittings have their original dome headed screws, which do not show any signs of turning.

There is a leather hanger loop with a spring clip attached to the scabbard. The leather is somewhat dry and cracked, but still solid, and is attached using a nickel plated steel buckle. The spring clip is also plated steel, and is (RZM) marked M5/71 over olc in a diamond, for Overhoff & Cie. of Lüdenscheid, who produced numerous clothing accessories. There is a very nice belt loop with an aluminum D-ring attached to the hanger.

A very nice early war SA dagger from a well-known Solingen maker, with an original scabbard and hanger with belt loop. 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.