WWII German Chained SS Dagger - The Schutzstaffel(Protective Echelon), abbreviated SS- or (Runic) was a major Nazi organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. The SS grew from a small paramilitary unit to a powerful force that served as the Führer's "Praetorian Guard," the Nazi Party's "Shield Squadron" and a force that, fielding almost a million men (both on the front lines and as political police), managed to exert as much political influence in the Third Reich as the Wehrmacht, Germany's regular armed forces.

This is a 1936 SS German dagger. Used before and during WWII by Germany's SS. Authorized for wear by all SS officers that have been officers since November 9th 1935. Or any member who had belonged to the SS for three or more years as of January 30th, 1936.

The SS dagger models included the chained style (featured here), the non-chained and the honor dagger.

The design of the dagger consisted of a black painted wooden handle. Smooth construction. one side has the SS eagle emcrusted near the center. Just above that is a black circle containing the SS runnes. The head of the eagle is facing right, the eagle is clutching a wreath with a swastika in its center. The handle has a handguard and pommel of metal construction.

The scabbard is painted to match the handle. It comes with three metal fittings. One in the throat are, a center piece and one in the tip. The crown and center fittings have brackets designed to hold the chain. The center fitting is unique to the chained dagger. It has a block design with light pebbling as background.

The design of the dagger is very similar to that used by the SA and NSKK.

The blade is of stilleto style. Double edge design with one side bearing the motto "Meine Ehre heist Treue" which translates to "my honour is loyalty".

The chain has two sets of links. The top part has two links. The bottom section has four links. There are two types of designs for the links. One has the shape of a skull while the other displays the SS runnes. They are linked in an alternating fashion. Both chains are connected to a metal celtic pattern bracket which has a spring loaded clip in the opposite end. A square, wire bracket with a leather strap are attached to the clip. The strap is how the dagger is hung to the uniform.

The back of the chain link is stamped with a square shape that has the line version of the SS runes. Each link is attached to each other using a single loop.

Many German edge weapons are currently 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 this item. Attention to the details is critical in order to be able to determine the authenticity of the collectible.