Original German Early WWII SA Dagger by Very Rare Maker Eduard Vitting of Solingen with Scabbard – McSARR Rarity Rated 10 of 10 Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a lovely honest service used condition early pattern SA Dagger, made by the exceedingly rare firm of Eduard Vitting, Stahlwarenfabrik, located in Solingen, Germany. This company is known for making early pattern SA daggers, but only made them in very limited numbers. It is rated 10 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 exceedingly desirable and sought after by collectors, and it it is assumed makers of this rarity made well under 1000 daggers during the WWII period. It comes comes complete with an original scabbard, which is the correct early type and shows no signs of being messed with, though it is worn.

The dagger has solid nickel silver fittings throughout, and is a very nice service used 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 as well as verdigris, 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 Wf, for Westfalen (Westphalia), which encompassed the area near Cologne, very close to Solingen. This feature was only seen on daggers produced 1935 and prior.

The grip is a fine product having a lovely deep mahogany red color, with medium center ridge construction. The grain is lovely, and it even has a good amount of figuring visible, however it also is missing a large chunk by the pommel guard next to the symbol button. The dyeing process used often make the wood quite brittle, so chips and chunks are very common, and there are a few small chips by the cross guard as well. The nickel alloy pommel nut does no show any turning, and the grip has just a tiny bit of wiggle. The SA symbol button is still nicely set, and still has all of the brown enamel intact, with the nickel showing some oxidation and verdigris. 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, and still shows the original factory final grind cross grain in many areas on both sides. This texture is iconic, and is the definitive identifying characteristic for a real WWII German Blade. The blade surface has however been cleaned multiple times, probably to remove oxidation, and it also does feel like an edge may have been added to the end, though it is possible that this maker simply made them that way. This has made the cross grain faint, and we can also see areas of past oxidation that were removed. The acid-etched Alles für Deutschland (Everything for Germany) SA motto is still present, however the factory darkening is completely missing, as it is on the maker marking.

This fine example was produced by very rare maker Eduard Vitting, Stahlwarenfabrik (Steel ware factory), of Solingen, the legendary “City of Blades” in Western Germany. The rear of the dagger is marked with the company’s trademark “two men duelling with scimitars” double oval logo, with the maker name and address surrounding it:

EDUARD VITTING
★ (Logo) ★
SOLINGEN

Per J. Anthony Carter’s fine work GERMAN SWORD AND KNIFE MAKERS, this company was first founded in 1890, and then registered with Solingen authorities 28 August 1898. The company originally specialized in edged weapons, though during the Weimar and Pre-WWII period focused much more on cutlery and razors than anything else. They are recorded as making just a few early-period SA daggers with their double oval trademark, and no other edged weapons during the Third Reich period. The company would eventually be liquidated after the war in 1957. This is the first item of any kind that we have had by this maker, and we do not expect to have another any time in the near future.

The scabbard shell is the early-war style, which were produced with a brown “anodized” finish on the steel, which was then lacquered. This example saw long service, and has a large dent on one side, which has also slightly bent the body, and also makes the dagger a bit difficult to sheathe fully. The original lacquer and anodized finish are almost completely gone, with just a bit near the upper fitting. The upper and lower fittings are solid nickel silver, with a great aged look and some dents and scratches showing typical wear. The chape is dented in a bit at the end and shows splitting, 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.

A very nice service used early war SA dagger from an exceedingly rare maker, complete with a worn 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.