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 nice 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 looks to have had some parts replaced during WWII service.

The dagger has solid nickel silver fittings throughout, and is a very nice example. The crossguards 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 Sw, for Sudwest (South West) a district in far South West Germany, with the principal city being Stuttgart. This feature was only seen on daggers produced 1935 and prior. The handle is a bit loose, and the tang nut has been replaced with a plated brass nut that is smaller than standard.

The grip is a fine product having a lovely golden honey 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. It does look to have had a finish applied at some point, which is now almost completely worn away. The SA symbol button is still nicely set, with most of the translucent enamel intact, and the plating showing only light wear. 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 much all of the original factory final grind cross grain near the spine on both sides. This texture is iconic, and is the definitive identifying characteristic for a real WWII German Blade. The blade does show signs of cleaning, and it also looks like the edges were sharpened, leaving scattered scuffing as well as removal of the cross grain near the edges. 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 probably about 40% of the original lacquer, which has worn away due to age and use. The anodized finish on the steel is still very well retained, 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 still in very good condition, though the upper fitting is plated steel, while the bottom is the correct solid nickel alloy. It looks like this scabbard may have had some period repairs, replacing the throat. The bottom fitting is also dented in a bit, and is missing both of the retaining screws, while the throat still has both.

A very nice early war SA dagger from a rare maker, complete with an original reworked 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.