Original German Early WWII SA Dagger by Rare Maker Wilhelm Kober of Suhl with Scabbard and Hanger

Original Item: Only One Available. This is an very nice condition early pattern SA Dagger, made by the very seldom seen firm of Wilhelm Kober & Co., based in Suhl, Germany. This maker is EXTREMELY rare to find, and this is only the sixth edged weapon of any type we have had by this firm. This company had made SA daggers since the Röhm era, but only made them in limited numbers throughout the war. It comes comes compete with an original service used scabbard, which is the correct early pattern, and has a very nice early pattern belt hanger installed, though the spring on the clip is broken.

The dagger has solid nickel silver fittings throughout, and is a very nice example. The crossguards and tang nut are in very good condition throughout with all fittings having a nice lightly aged patina. There is some age to these mounts, now polished away, but there is no lifting anywhere, showing that they are solid and not plated. They show light wear with light denting and scratches, but no major damage. There is some verdigris buildup near the fittings, caused by the metal reacting with the wood. The lower reverse guard is Gruppe/Gau marked Th, for Thuringen (Thuringia), a district in central Germany, with the principal cities being Weimar and Erfurt.

The grip is a fine product having a lovely dark reddish brown color, with medium center ridge construction, showing light to moderate wear. It looks to have been finished during the war, and then the finish was touched up post war, with some running onto the fittings. This does make it more difficult to see condition issues, and we can see some cracking near the pommel guard, but no major damage. It shows signs of past scratches and dents, now covered by the finish, and it fits the guards nicely. The pommel nut shows no turning, and there is no movement in the hilt fittings. The SA symbol button is still nicely set, with the translucent enamel well retained, though there is 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).

The blade is in very good condition, still showing the original factory final polish grind cross grain throughout both sides. This texture is iconic, and is the definitive identifying characteristic for a real WWII German Blade. There is however past oxidation staining with a bit of peppering on both sides, which was them removed, causing some wear to the grain, and there is also some runner wear. The edge is still correctly unsharpened and also free from dents and nicks, though the last 1/8" of the blade does show bending to the tip. The acid-etched Alles für Deutschland (Everything for Germany) SA motto is crisp, with the factory darkening mostly worn away.

This fine example was produced by Wilhelm Kober & Co., a known Suhl-based producer of this knife during the pre-WWII period. The rear of the dagger is marked with the trademark "Centaur with a fore-leg raised, brandishing a gun" logo, surrounded with a double oval:

WILH. KOBER & CO.
(Centaur Logo)
GEGR.
1874
SUHL

The "GEGR." is short for Gegründet, or founded, as this company was founded in 1874, and according to the DRABS for 1900-1925 was mainly a maker of mechanical hair clippers. They made some attempts to diversify into small electric motors, and only "a few early type SA and NSKK daggers were made during the Third Reich" per J. Anthony Carter's GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS. All of them were marked with this trademark, which was used specifically on these knives. Knives by this maker are extremely rare.

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 still retains about 75% of the original lacquer, way more than we usually see, and the anodized finish is retained at over 90%. There are just a few areas of oxidation, as well as a small dent on the lower side of the scabbard. The upper and lower fittings are solid nickel silver, with a great look and some tiny dents and scratches showing typical wear. The chape is dented a bit at the end, as the nickel alloy is somewhat soft, making this a common thing to see. The throat nicely matches the cross guards, and all four dome headed screws are present and in good shape.

Attached to the hanger ring on the scabbard is a nice early pattern belt hanger, with solid nickel alloy hardware and brown finished leather. The leather is in good condition, showing a wear and wrinkling to the finish, but no cracks or cuts. The hanger is however missing the keeper loop, which was probably removed long ago, and the spring in the clip has broken off, so it is no longer functional.

A lovely early war SA dagger from a rare and desirable maker, complete with an original scabbard and hanger. Ready to display!

Specifications:
Blade Length: 8 1/2"
Overall length: 13 1/2”
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.