Original German WWII Early SA Dagger by Rare Maker August Bickel of Steinbach-Hallenberg with Scabbard Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is an very good condition early pattern SA Dienstdolch (Service Dagger) with a beautiful blade, made by rare maker August Bickel of Steinbach-Hallenberg, near Suhl, Germany. This is only the fifth item of any type that we have had from this maker, and all edged weapons from them are quite rare. It comes comes compete with an original early production anodized scabbard, which is in very nice condition.

The dagger has solid nickel silver fittings throughout, and is a great example with a lovely look. The crossguards and tang nut are in very good condition throughout with all fittings having a nice lightly worn patina. There is just a bit of 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, and do look to have been cleaned a bit over the years. The lower reverse guard is Gruppe/Gau marked BO, for Bayerische Ostmark (Bavarian Eastern March). This was an administrative division of NSDAP Germany in Lower Bavaria, Upper Palatinate and Upper Franconia, Bavaria, which had previously been an NSDAP Party region. This feature was only seen on daggers produced 1935 and prior.

The grip is a fine product having a lovely dark red brown mahogany color, with medium center ridge construction, showing only light wear and a few small dents. It was finished at some point, with some of the varnish / lacquer getting onto the cross guards. We do not know if this was done WWII period or after, but it was definitely quite some time ago, based on the condition of the finish, which is now relatively worn. The wood is still in very good condition, with some great color variation, and fits the crossguards nicely. There is a crack near the bottom guard running through the symbol, which is quite common. The pommel nut does not show any turning on the outside, and the grip is still tightly secured, with no wiggle.

The SA symbol button is still set in the grip, though it wobbles a bit due to the crack through the wood. The translucent enamel is almost fully intact, though there definitely is wear and oxidation to the metal of the insignia, with some verdigris around the edge. 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). It looks a bit darker than normal due to the finish applied to the grip.

The blade is in very good condition and bright, still showing almost all of the original factory final grind cross grain on both sides! This texture is iconic, and is the definitive identifying characteristic for a real WWII German Blade. It shows some signs of light cleaning, but the grain is still present in most areas, except where the runners have worn it smooth. There are few tiny spots of oxidation and staining, with no major rust issues. The edge is correctly unsharpened, showing just a bit of light oxidation roughness. The acid-etched Alles für Deutschland (Everything for Germany) SA motto is crisp, and the factory darkening is just a bit worn. Definitely a great condition blade!

The reverse ricasso is etched with the diamond-shaped trademark logo of August Bickel, with the ‘Combined AB’ monogram logo at the top over the name and address of the firm:

(AB Logo)
  AUGUST | STEINBACH-
    BICKEL    | HALLENBERG‧

August Bickel, Metallwarenfabrik (Metal Wares Factory) is a seldom seen maker from Steinbach-Hallenberg in Thuringia, near Suhl and Erfurt. This metalsmithing company made many high quality tools for export prior to 1914, and afterwards their trip-hammer forge allowed them to make SA and NSKK daggers during the NSDAP period. They did not have polishing facilities in house, so daggers were shipped to F. & A. Helbig and Jacob Kehr-Ritz for edging and polishing. The machine tools in the factory were captured and moved to Russia after the war ended, per GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS by J. Anthony Carter.

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 lost all of the original lacquer coating during the war, and then looks to have been repainted. It then saw further service, wearing most of the enamel repaint off, which shows the original steel, still bearing some of the original brown anodization. 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 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.

A lovely early wartime SA dagger with a great blade, made by a very rare maker and 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.