Original German Early WWII SA Dagger by Paul F. Dick of Esslingen with Scabbard & Hanger Clip Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is an very good condition early pattern SA Dagger, made by the very desirable firm of Paul. F Dick, located in Esslingen, Germany. This company had made SA daggers since the Röhm era, but only made them in limited numbers throughout the war. It comes comes compete with an original scabbard, which has a very nice belt hanger clip attached to it.

The dagger has solid nickel silver fittings throughout, and is a very nice example. The crossguards and tang nut are in very good condition throughout with all fittings having a nice lightly aged patina. There is some 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. The lower reverse guard is Gruppe/Gau marked Wm, for Westmark, which encompassed the area around Saarbrücken, in the extreme West of Germany. 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, though there is a hairline crack between the pommel and the inlaid emblem. The pommel nut shows no turning, and the grip is still tightly secured, with no wiggle. The SA symbol button is still nicely set, with most of the translucent enamel intact, though the plating has worn away, now showing an oxidized brass patina. 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. 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, with a wonderful bright steel finish. It still shows almost all of the original factory final grind cross grain on the front side, with the rear showing some possible repolishing due to light oxidation. This texture is iconic, and is the definitive identifying characteristic for a real WWII German Blade. There is no sign of sharpening on the blade edge, though there definitely is some runner wear, as with most German daggers. The acid-etched Alles für Deutschland (Everything for Germany) SA motto is crisp, with the factory darkening mostly removed by cleaning.

This fine example was produced by desirable maker Paul. F. Dick of Esslingen, and rear of the dagger is marked with the company’s trademark “der Pfeil” (the Arrow) logo inside a cartouche:

(Arrow) F. DICK

Paul Freidrich Dick, Stahlwaren- und Werkzeug-Fabrik (Steelware and Tool Factory) was a storied edged weapon producer located in Esslingen am Neckar, Württemberg. According to J. Anthony Carter’s book, GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS, the company was first founded in 1778, and traded as Freidr. Dick until 1920, when it became Paul. F. Dick. They made most of their SA and NSKK daggers with the 1895 “No. 433” trademark marked vertically on the blade.

The scabbard shell is straight throughout and is the early-war style, which were produced with a brown “anodized” finish on the steel, which was then lacquered. This example still retains almost all of the anodized finish, and this is definitely one of the better examples we have seen, with no dents on the body we can see. The upper and lower fittings are solid nickel silver, with a great look and some dents and scratches showing typical wear. The chape is lightly dented at the end, though not split, as the nickel alloy is somewhat soft, making this a common thing to see. The throat nicely matches the crossguards, and all fittings have their original dome headed screws.

Attached to the hanger ring on the scabbard is a very nice later pattern belt hanger, with plated steel hardware. The leather is in very good condition, showing wear and cracking to the finish. The plated steel clip on the end is marked with (RZM) code M5 / 71 for Overhoff & Cie. of Lüdenscheid, whose OLC in a diamond trademark is also present.

A very nice early war SA dagger from a rare maker, complete with an excellent original scabbard and attached hanger clip. 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.