WWII GERMAN DAGGER - SA - RZM
The SA dagger represents one of the most affordable blades to collect. This is due to the fact that the daggers were produced in the millions since 1933 to the end of the war. During its life span, more than 100 manufacturers were known to produce the dagger. In addition, not all manufacturer's produced the entire dagger, some simply bought parts from other factories and followed through the steps of assembly. The assembling company would obtain plain blades and place their logo on them. All blades are inscribed with the phrase "Alles Fur Deutschland"
In the early days of production there was virtually no quality control except for the standards set by each independent manufacturer. It was not until 1934 when the RZM establishes some means of control. As a result, differences in the sizes of the handles, scabbards and blades can be found in the earlier samples. Making it sometimes impossible to interchange parts between daggers.

The cross guard consists of a single metal casting piece. The upper portion of the cross guard has two grooves. The SA emblem is embedded in the upper section of the handle. This example has a small crack on the handle and the emblem shows a little damage.

The following picture displays the control production control number or RZM. Again, this type of branding was introduced in 1934 as a means to provide a standard to all manufacturer's of daggers.

This particular piece comes with a leather hanger. Notice that the picture on the right illustrates the RZM emblem engraved on the end of the belt loop hanger. The hangers came in black or brown leather.

This edge weapon is currently being reproduced. It is becoming more difficult to be able to tell the fake ones from the real ones because the quality of the reproductions is improving. The collector must become familiarized with the construction style and materials employed in the manufacturing of edge weapons. Attention to the details is critical in order to be able to determine the authenticity of the item.