Early SA Dagger by Henckels – D817

Few edged weapon firms survived the fall of the 3rd Reich. Where once the “city of swords” Solingen provided weaponry throughout all of Europe and even going back to the time of the Crusades, WWII took it’s toll on that industry after the collapse of the Nazi regime. But there were a few of those famous forges which kept on going. One of them being the J.A Henckels company. With their original place of business for cutlery still in Germany today, they have also expanded internationally and manufacture some of their product in Japan. Here’s an early nickel SA produced by this firm. I sure if asked today today, they would not avow to the fact it was produced by their company, during the era of infamy.

A good looking grip is displayed on the hilt of this dagger, which is laden with light and dark grain of brown flowing through it. The wood remains in excellent shape, with just the normal very light surface pressure marks present. Perfectly set within the handle are the nickel silver emblems consisting of high neck eagle and above it, the SA runes button. Both emblems are in fine condition, showing little wear what so ever. The solid nickel silver crossguards are fairly smooth, and fit the shoulders of the wood grip with precision. The reverse of the lower crossguard is stamped WF for the SA Gruppe Westfalen. A decent looking grip and hilt to this Henckels SA.

The brown “anodized” coating finish to these early edged weapons always took the brunt of the wear. Especially on these early SA’s which were produced in 1934. These dagger were worn sometimes daily over the many years during the Reich. Consequently collectors often encounter scabbards displaying quite a bit of age, thinning, and wear. It’s always nice to see a decent scabbard with one of these Storm Trooper daggers, and that is exactly what we have here. The shell is nice and straight, being void of any hits, creased, or bends. The anodizing remains very strong at least 95%. There is even 15% of the protective clear lacquer intact on top of it, still present. Both upper and lower nickel fitting remain in decent condition, and held secure to the shell by 4 dome head factory screws. Definitely a nice looking scabbard to complement this collectible dagger.

The blade does show the usual runner marks and some specks of age here and there, but certainly not all that horrible nor detracting. This blade is full length, unsharpened, and void of any tipping, pits, chips or abrasive cleaning. In a light burnished etch the SA slogan “Alles fur Deutschland” shows perfectly executed straight down the middle of the obverse. On the reverse riccasso is the edged weapon firm logo well known to collectors and still being utilized even today. That being the twin stick figures standing shoulder to shoulder.

An excellent early SA dagger for the money. SOLD