Original German Early WWII SA Dagger by Rare Maker Wagner & Lange of Solingen with Scabbard and Hanger

Original Item: Only One Available. This is an very good condition early pattern SA Dienstdolch (Service Dagger), made by the very rare firm of Wagner & Lange, Stahlwarenfabrik (Steelware Factory), located in Solingen, the legendary "City of Blades" in Western Germany. This company is known for making early pattern SA daggers in somewhat limited numbers. It comes comes compete with an original scabbard, which is in very good shape, and has an attached leather belt hanger.

The dagger has solid nickel silver fittings throughout, and is a great service used example with a lovely look. The crossguards and tang nut are in very good condition throughout with all fittings having a nice lightly oxidized patina. There is some 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. The lower guard is Gruppe/Gau marked No, for Nordsee (North Sea), an SA Administrative region on the North Sea Coast encompassing the area around Oldenberg. This feature was only seen on daggers produced 1935 and prior.

The grip is a fine product having a lovely honey color, with medium center ridge construction, showing some light wear and a few small dents. The grain is lovely on this example, with some great color variation. It fits the crossguards nicely, though pressure from the tang nut has caused a chip on the reverse by the lower guard, which is also showing an area next to it in the process of splitting off. The pommel nut does show some light 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 most of the dark brown enamel intact, with the nickel plating showing minor oxidation. 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 much 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. There is however some light overall oxidation due to age, which has been partly cleaned away, making the cross grain a bit faint. There are also some areas of oxidation staining present, particularly near the cross guard, and runner wear is present as well, though that's true for virtually any edged weapon. The edge is still correctly unsharpened, and the tip is undamaged, though there are some nicks and damage to the edge. The acid-etched Alles für Deutschland (Everything for Germany) SA motto is crisp, though the factory darkening is worn from cleaning and polishing.

This fine example was produced by very rare maker Wagner & Lange, Stahlwarenfabrik (Steelware Factory) of Herges-Vogtei, and the rear of the dagger is marked with the company's trademark highly stylized "W L" monogram, a "hat pierced by an arrow" logo, inside an oval "losenge" with the maker name and address:

WAGNER & LANGE
* (Logo) *
SOLINGEN

According to J. Anthony Carter's book, GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS, this company was founded in 1919 and registered with Solingen authorities in the same year. In 1921 they registered their trademark, and listed their products as mostly home use products, such as manicure articles, scissors, pocket knives, and tweezers. They are known mainly for making early SA daggers with the oval trademark logo, as well as some early HJ Knives.

The scabbard shell is straight throughout and free of dents, being produced in the early-war style, with a brown "anodized" finish on the steel, which was then lacquered. This example has lost virtually all of the lacquer finish, except right next to (and probably under) the scabbard fittings. With this gone, the anodized finish has degraded somewhat, and there is oxidation peppering on both sides. The reverse has definitely suffered more wear to the finish, with the obverse still displaying the original color. The upper and lower fittings are solid nickel silver, with a great look and some dents and scratches showing typical wear. The chape does not show any crush denting on the end ball, definitely a rarity, as the nickel alloy is somewhat soft. The throat nicely matches the crossguards, and all fittings have their original dome headed screws.

The attached belt hanger is in good condition, and is the correct early pattern with solid nickel hardware. The brown leather is in very good shape, still soft with just a bit of dry rot on the edges, and the keeper loop has had the stitching rot out. The finish is cracked and flaking in areas, typical for leather of this age. The nickel hardware is in very good shape, and is completely unmarked.

A very nice early war SA dagger from a rare maker, complete with a lovely original scabbard and hanger. 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.