Original German Early WWII SA Dagger by Paul F. Dick of Esslingen with Scabbard 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 not been repainted.

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 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 almost no denting or scratches. The lower reverse guard is Gruppe/Gau marked Sw, for Sudwest (South West) a district in far South West Germany, with the principal city being Stuttgart.

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 or chips we can see. The pommel nut shows no turning, and there is no movement in the guards or grips.

The SA symbol button is still nicely set, and still has all of the translucent enamel intact, with the nickel plating a bit worn. 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).

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

(Arrow) F. DICK
ESSLINGEN

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 many SA and NSKK daggers with the 1895 “No. 433” trademark marked vertically on the blade. Only a few were made with the rarer version placed above “ESSLINGEN” that this example has.

The blade is in very good condition, showing much of the original factory cross grain on both sides of the blade, showing that it has not been buffed or polished. There are some areas of staining and overall speckling, particularly near the cross guard, but no major pit rust. It has the usual runner marks from the scabbard, and unfortunately, the blade was sharpened on both edges. Not intended for actual use, these were almost always issued without a real edge. The acid-etched Alles für Deutschland (Everything for Germany) SA motto is crisp, with the factory darkening is almost 100%, showing it has been cleaned very little.

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. Almost all of the lacquer is missing from the scabbard body, though it still does show a good deal of the brown anodized finish, with speckled oxidation throughout.

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, 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.

A very nice early war SA dagger from a 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.