Original German Early WWII SA Dagger by Rare Maker Hugo Berns of Solingen with Scabbard Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a& very nice early pattern SA Dagger, made by rare maker& Hugo Berns Werkzeugbestecke in Solingen, Germany. This is the first item of any type that we have had from this maker, who was more known for its tool kits than its edged weapons. It comes complete with the original scabbard, which looks to have had a wartime repaint.

The dagger has solid nickel silver fittings throughout, and is a really nice example. The cross guards and tang nut are in very good condition throughout, with all fittings having a nice aged patina. The lower reverse guard is Gruppe/Gau marked Wf, for Westfalen (Westphalia), which encompassed the area near Cologne, very close to Solingen.

The grip is a fine product having a nice brown color, with a medium center ridge construction. Most of the grip shows only light wear with a bit of pressure denting, however there is a chunk missing near the rear pommel guard. There is also some cracking near the fittings on all sides. The staining treatment used for the grips makes the wood somewhat brittle, and prone to cracking. The symbol button is nicely set, and still has almost all of the translucent enamel intact, though the plating has worn down to the brass and has oxidized. The grip eagle is a fine example being the style with beak that points straight. Most of the details are still there to the eagle to include the beak, breast feathering, wing feathering, talons, wreath and mobile swas. There is a bit of verdigris, showing that is the correct solid nickel silver for an early pattern eagle.

The blade of this example is in very good condition, with the factory final grind cross grain retained on almost all of the blade! This texture is iconic, and is the definitive identifying characteristic for a real WWII German Blade. We do not see any evidence of post factory sharpening. There are however a few nicks and dents in the edge, and overall the blade shows light oxidation, which we have left in place to preserve the patina and history of the blade. The acid-etched Alles für Deutschland (Everything for Germany) SA motto is crisp, however almost all of the original factory darkening has been removed by cleaning.

The reverse ricasso is marked with the trademark “HUBEO” logo of Hugo Berns inside an oval with the firms name and address surrounding it:

HUGO BERNS
HUBEO
SOLINGEN-OHLIGS

Hugo Berns Werkzeugbestecke (tool sets) is a rarely seen maker from the Ohligs borough of Solingen, the legendary “City of Blades” in Western Germany. Mainly known as a maker of tools, knives, and other metalware, they did manufacture a few early SA and NSKK daggers with the oval trademark seen on this dagger. Their advertisements were mostly about “sets of tools in leather cases”, and they were still trading in 2002, per ;GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS by J. Anthony Carter.

The scabbard shell is straight throughout, though there are some dents on the outward side about an inch above the bottom fitting. It is the early-war style, with a brown enamel paint on the steel. It looks like it may have originally been “anodized”, but then was refinished at the factory, as we can see the brown base metal where the enamel has flaked. The upper and lower fittings are solid nickel silver, and have a nice patina, with some dents and scratches showing typical wear. The bottom fitting is dented a little, typical of the softer alloy. The throat nicely matches the cross guards and the screws for the top and bottom mounts are still present.

A very nice war SA dagger by a very rare maker, complete with the 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.