Original German Early WWII SA Dagger by Rare Maker E. Knecht & Co. with Scabbard – McSARR Rarity Rated 6 of 10 Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is an very good condition early pattern SA Dagger, made by the very rare firm of E. Knecht & Co., Stahwarenfabrik, located in Solingen, Germany. This is the first example of any type of edged weapon that we have had from this maker. This company was known mainly for making carving knives, cutlery, and hunting knives, though it did make a limited number of early pattern SA and NSKK daggers. It is rated 6 out of 10 for rarity on the McSARR (McAlvanah SA Rarity Rating) scale, assembled based on 18,000 daggers as seen by Mike McAlvanah. Makers of this rarity are extremely desirable and sought after by collectors. It comes comes complete with an original scabbard, which is in very good shape, though it definitely looks to have been period repainted and reworked.

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 and verdigris 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 hand executed accent grooves are very well done. The lower reverse guard is Gruppe/Gau marked Nrh, for Niederrhein (Lower Rhine Region), which encompassed a relatively small border area north of Cologne along the Rhine. This feature was only seen on daggers produced 1935 and prior.

The grip is a fine product having a lovely mahogany red color, with medium center ridge construction, and just a bit of light wear and some pressure dents / grooves. The grain is lovely on this example, with some great color variation. This grip is in very good condition and fits the crossguards nicely, with no major cracks or chunks missing, and a lovely polished glow, showing just a bit of staining in areas. The non-magnetic pommel nut does show evidence of turning on the outside, and the grip is still tightly secured, with no wiggle.

The SA symbol button is still nicely set, and still has all of the translucent enamel intact, with the nickel plating showing some oxidation around the exterior. 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, and it has patinated nicely. 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, still showing the original factory final grind cross grain throughout the surface on both sides. This texture is iconic, and is the definitive identifying characteristic for a real WWII German Blade. The obverse of the blade shows some past oxidation, mostly around the guard and tip, which has been cleaned away. The reverse shows a bit more advanced corrosion, and has a water stain that was polished out about half way up the blade, which removed the cross grain in that area as well. The acid-etched Alles für Deutschland (Everything for Germany) SA motto is still crisp, however the original factory darkening has been mostly removed by cleaning and polishing. The edge has correctly not has any post-manufacture sharpening, though there are a few tiny dents.

This fine example was produced by very rare maker E. Knecht & Co., Stahlwarenfabrik (Steelware factory), located in Solingen, the legendary “City of Blades” in Western Germany. The rear of the dagger is marked with the company’s trademark “Two Deer’s Heads” logo, with the maker name and address:

(Deer Head Logo)
E. KNECHT & Co
SOLINGEN

According to J. Anthony Carter’s book, GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS, this metalworking business was founded in 1905 and registered with Solingen Authorities on September 26th, 1906. The company started out making carving knives, cutlery, and hunting knives, but by the 1920s were making scissors, shears, and clamps. They are recorded as having made small numbers of SA and NSKK daggers during the third Reich period, with this trademark. This is the first edged weapon of any kind that we have had by this maker.

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, and had solid nickel silver fittings. This example looks to have lost all of the original lacquer and was repainted long ago. It looks like it may have also been painted black at some point, so it may have been an NSKK dagger originally. Definitely some real history to this scabbard. The body is still straight, with no dents or bends in the body that 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 just a bit dented at the end, 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 screws, though they are definitely a bit “boogered” up, and have been removed in the past. The inner zinc guard for the blade tip has broken loose as well, and now moves around a bit inside the scabbard.

A very nice early war SA 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.