Original German Early WWII NSKK Dagger by Eduard Wüsthof of Solingen with Scabbard and Rare Vertical Hanger

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice early pattern NSKK Dagger, made by the well-known firm of Eduard Wüsthof, Dreizackwerk (Trident Works) of Solingen, the legendary "City of Blades" in Western Germany. This company had made NSKK and SA daggers since the Röhm era, and continued to produce early pattern knives after that period. It comes comes compete the correct early type black anodized scabbard, which is in very good shape, as well as a rare vertical hanger, which is missing the securing strap. NSKK daggers are identical to SA daggers except for the finish color on the scabbard.

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 lightly aged patina. There is some verdigris and age to these mounts but there is no lifting anywhere, showing that they are solid and not plated. The lower reverse guard is Gruppe/Gau marked He, for Hessen, a district in the west of Germany, with the principal city being Frankfurt. This feature was only seen on daggers produced 1935 and prior. The nickel alloy pommel nut is in good shape, showing signs of turning, and the handle is still tight on the tang.

The grip is a fine product having a lovely light brown color, with medium center ridge construction, looking to have been lacquered in the past, possibly after having been cleaned. We can see some surface striations, either from cleaning or the finish, and the grain is very nice, but we can see that the finish has eroded in places. There is a hairline crack on the reverse by the pommel, while there is a small crack between the symbol and the pommel. The symbol button is nicely set, and still has almost all of the translucent enamel intact, showing light wear to the surface, and some oxidation to the nickel. 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 wear and oxidation, showing that is the correct solid nickel silver for an early pattern eagle.

The blade of this example is in good condition, still showing the factory final polish grind crossgrain throughout the blade in the light, though it is a bit faint in some areas. This texture is iconic, and is the definitive identifying characteristic for a real WWII German Blade. The blade looks to have seen light use during the war, however it looks like it may have had an attempt at sharpening at some point, and there are also scuff marks on a good portion, either from this sharpening or attempts to clean oxidation of the blade. The tip is however still intact, and the acid-etched Alles für Deutschland (Everything for Germany) SA motto is crisp, and the factory darkening retained at about 75%.

The reverse ricasso is maker marked with the double oval "losenge" style logo of Eduard Wüsthof, Dreizackwerk (Trident Works), located in Solingen, the legendary "City of Blades" in western Germany:

ED. WÜSTHOF
(TRIDENT LOGO)
SOLINGEN

During the WWII Period they manufactured many SA and NSKK daggers, both with their trademark and later with the RZM code M7/19. The firm was founded in 1814 by Johan Wilhelm Wüsthof, and recently celebrated its 200th anniversary. It is one of the premier mid-sized cutlery companies in Germany today. For more information please see J. Anthony Carter's fine work GERMAN SWORD AND KNIFE MAKERS.

The scabbard shell is straight and is the early-war style, which was produced with a black "anodized" finish on the steel, which was then lacquered to protect it. This example shows overall wear to the lacquer, but still retains it at close to 40% with much on the reverse, and it still retains most of the original anodized finish. There is definitely a bit of wear in areas, but there are no dents or other damage to the steel body. The upper and lower fittings are solid nickel silver, with a great worn look and a bit of oxidation. The chape has had the end ball dented in, which is common to see, as the nickel alloy is somewhat soft. The throat nicely matches the crossguards, and all four of the original dome-headed securing screws are still present.

The scabbard is held securely in the extremely rare leather vertical hanger, topped with a nickel plated steel hanger clip. The leather is in very good condition, still supple without any tears or or major issues, however it only has the bottom loop that goes around the scabbard, not the securing strap that goes around the top of the scabbard and through the hanger ring. We can see that the hanger has been around the scabbard for quite some time, as there is oxidation and verdigris on the throat fitting from contact with the leather.

A very nice early wartime NSKK dagger by a desirable Solingen maker, complete scabbard and a rare vertical hanger, this dagger is ready to display!

Specifications:
Blade Length: 8 3/4"
Overall length: 13 3/4”
Crossguard: 3”
Scabbard Length: 10”

History of the SA & NSKK-

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.

After the purge, the NSKK, which had been a part of the SA, was split off into a separate organization. They retained the same daggers as the SA, however now used a black painted scabbard, and their officer's daggers had a few differences as well. Many already had SA daggers, so these had the scabbards painted black over the original brown anodized finish.