Original Item: Only One Available: The SS (Schutzstaffel) was originally formed in 1925, ostensibly to act as a small, loyal bodyguard unit to protect the Führer, Adolf AH. Under the direction of the Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, the SS grew to be the most ruthless and feared organization of the 20th century. They were the vanguard of Germany eventually controlled nearly every function of German life and much of Occupied Europe. The SS Dienstdolch (service dagger) was introduced in 1933. Early on, members of the SS were awarded their daggers during a ceremony at the Feldherrnhalle Memorial in Munich. The annual ritual, charged with mysticism and meant to evoke the traditions of medieval Teutonic knights, was held on 9 November, the date of the unsuccessful Munich Putsch of 1923. Both officers and enlisted men wore the identical dagger until 1936. After this time, only enlisted men wore the M1933 dagger.

The SS Dagger was originally equipped with nickel crossguards with an ebony wood grip. The black grip contained a National eagle with swas insignia recessed in the center area and an SS sigrunne button inset at the top. On early examples the scabbard shell surface was factory blackened using a metal bluing process. The scabbard had nickel mounts. The SS blade was a polished type containing the SS motto, Meine Ehre Heisst Treue (My Honor is Loyalty). Early examples were mostly hand-fit. Production of later examples was more standardized, using cheaper, nickel-plated fittings with black painted scabbard shells. They could be held with a standard belt hanger, or a much rarer vertical hanger.

The blade on this nice mid-war production dagger remains mostly bright, and is quite attractive. We often see these quite worn and oxidized, but not this example. The rear is marked with the RZM and SS contract information:

This marking is generally regarded as indicating manufacture by Eduard Wüsthof, Dreizackwerk (Trident Works), located in Solingen, the legendary "City of Blades" in western Germany. There are unfortunately no records of the SS RZM listings, which can make identifying the actual manufacturer somewhat difficult. This firm was founded in 1814 by Johan Wilhelm Wüsthof, and during the WWII Period they manufactured many HJ Knives, 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 GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS by J. Anthony Carter.

The blade still shows the original factory final polish crossgrain throughout both sides, being particularly clear near the cross guard. This texture is iconic, and is the definitive identifying characteristic for a real WWII German Blade. It has not been sharpened like some were by USGI's, and still has the original edge. There is some runner wear, as well as light staining on the blade flats, but SS daggers we see are usually in very worn condition. We would consider this blade to be in very good condition. The etched SS motto, Meine Ehre heißt Treue (My honor is loyalty) is crisp, and still retains almost all of the factory darkened finish. The blade shoulders perfectly meet the lower crossguard contour, and there is no wobble in the grip.

The crossguards of this dagger and tang nut are in good condition throughout, and are of the mid war plated construction, with an aluminum base metal. The plating is still in very good shape, with just a bit of erosion next to the cross guard, and some light speckling. The pommel nut is steel, and still has a lot of plating, with a bit of marring from turning on the hexagonal portion. As these are mid-war, there is no district numeral stamped into the cross guard. We did however check the inside of the guards per a customer request, and they are both marked with what looks to be "So" or "Sc" twice on the inside, a marking we have seen before.

The ebony grip is a very nice example, probably one of the best that we have seen! The black dyeing process for the grips unfortunately causes the wood to become brittle, so damage is common. This example however has no major cracks, and is just missing a small chip near the lower guard, which was sanded a bit to make it less apparent. The silvered ᛋᛋ doppelte Siegrune (Double Sig/Victory Rune) symbol and double circles are in great shape, with intact plating and enamel. The aluminum grip eagle is the "high-necked" type with the beak pointing slightly up. It remains in good condition, showing very little wear, just a bit of light scratching and a few dents.

The scabbard shell is a solid example, completely straight and undented, with very little damage of any kind. It is the correct black enamel paint finish, with the expected crazing and checking from age. There are are only a few small scrapes through the finish. The matching nickel plated steel scabbard mounts are in very nice condition. The lower ball has a few small dents, which is common even with the steel examples. All four dome head screws are intact, and do not look to have been messed with. There is a bit of light wear and staining on the fittings, but nothing major.

This is a great chance to own a very good condition SS dagger from the mid-war period made by a rare and desirable maker! Complete with a great scabbard, this dagger is ready to display!

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

The RZM, Reichzeugmeisterei, (National Equipment Quartermaster), was officially founded in June 1934 in Munich by the NSDAP, Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, (National Socialist German Worker's Party), as a Reich Hauptamt, (State Central Office), and was based on the earlier SA Quartermaster's Department. The registry was was based at the Brown house in Munich and NSDAP party headquarters in Berlin.

The functions of the RZM were not only to procure and distribute items to Party formations, but also to approve chosen designs and to act as a quality control supervisor to ensure items manufactured for the Party met required specification and were standardized. Starting in late 1934 items manufactured for the SS came under the quality control of the RZM and as a result were to be marked with the RZM/SS approval/acceptance mark. The M7 in the code stands for daggers, with Robert Klaas being contractor number 37.

Shortly after this, the SS started using a separate listing of contractors, and in 1943 the Waffen-SS assumed full control over their uniform item production and no longer fell under the authority of the RZM.