Original German Early WWII SA Dagger by Rare Maker Carl Grah of Solingen-Ohligs with Later Scabbard – McSARR Rarity Rated 10 of 10

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice condition early pattern SA Dagger, made by the very seldom seen firm of Carl Grah, who operated out of the Ohligs district of Solingen, Germany. This maker is EXTREMELY rare to find, and this is the only edged weapon of any type we have had by this firm. This company is known for making early pattern SA daggers, but only made them in limited numbers. It is rated 10 out of 10 for rarity on the McSARR (McAlvanah SA Rarity Rating) scale, assembled based on 18,000 daggers as seen by Mike McAlvanah. Makers of this rarity are exceedingly desirable and sought after by collectors, and it it is assumed makers of this rarity made well under 1000 daggers during the WWII period. It comes comes compete with an original scabbard, which looks to be a replacement mid war pattern scabbard.

The dagger has solid nickel silver fittings throughout, and is a very nice service used example. The crossguards and tang nut are in very good condition throughout, though the reverse of the dagger does show some dark oxidation on the fittings, which we also see on the crossguard around where the scabbard used to be. It looks almost like it was in a candle-lit room for decades, which allowed dark deposits to built up. These were only partly cleaned away, and really give the fittings an interesting look. There is no lifting on the fittings, showing that they are solid and not plated. There is some verdigris buildup near the fittings, caused by the metal reacting with the wood. The lower reverse guard is Gruppe/Gau marked Wf, for Westfalen (Westphalia), which encompassed the area near Cologne, very close to Solingen. This feature was only seen on daggers produced 1935 and prior.

The grip is a fine product having a lovely dark reddish brown color, with medium center ridge construction, showing moderate wear. There are small scratches and dents, as well as some scrapes and other light damage. There is also some chipping near both guards, as well as a crack through the inlet for the symbol. The pommel nut does show a bit of turning, and the hilt fittings do show a bit of movement. The SA symbol button is still nicely set, however it is missing a some of the translucent enamel due to wear. 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), though it is raised out of the grip, probably from the wood shrinking.

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 oxidation staining with a bit of peppering on both sides, which has obscured the grain, and there is also some runner wear. We do not see any signs of major cleaning, except maybe near the cross guard. The tip of the blade also was broken off at some point, and then the end re-profiled, resulting in a loss of about 1/4″ of length. The rest of the edge is correctly unsharpened, showing a few dents. The acid-etched Alles für Deutschland (Everything for Germany) SA motto is crisp, however the factory darkening mostly worn away.

This fine example was produced by Carl Grah, Fabrik feiner Bestecke (Factory of fine Cutlery) of the Ohligs district of Solingen, the legendary “City of Blades” in Western Germany. The rear of the dagger is marked with the company’s trademark “Aeroplane” double oval logo, with the maker name and address surrounding it:

This company looks to have originally been founded circa 1920 during the immediate post war period. Per J. Anthony Carter’s GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS. ,”SA daggers, NSKK daggers, and ‘walking-out’ bayonets were made in small quantities during the Third Reich”, making any knife by Carl Grah rare. These were all marked with the “double oval” aeroplane trademark.

The scabbard on this example has been replaced with a mid-late war pattern example, probably when the original was lost or damaged. The steel shell is straight throughout, showing a few small dents. The paint is retained at about 80%, showing wear and scratching, and there is oxidation where the paint has been removed. The scabbard shell is fitted with fine nickel-plated steel mounts, with the throat fitting in fine condition, while the end fitting has had the ball crushed flat, as damage is common on these even with the harder steel alloy. The fittings nicely match the crossguards and are complete with all four dome head screws, which show some oxidation.

A very nice early war SA dagger from a very rare maker, complete with an original later war scabbard & belt hanger. Ready to research and display!

Specifications:
Blade Length: 8 1/2″
Overall length: 13 3/8”
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.