Early SA Dagger – Gebr. Bell – Rare 7/10

Product Description:  An early M33 Sturmabteilung (SA) Dagger, produced by the Solingen maker Gebr. Bell, Solingen Gr.. This Early SA Dagger – Gebr. Bell – Rare 7/10 reflects the early production quality of the pre-RZM era, featuring solid nickel fittings, a finely contoured hardwood grip, and a period blade.

The blade exhibits a nice bright surface with original cross graining still present.  Blade shows runner marks and extremely minor surface spotting.  Obverse shows solid motto and reverse shows clear maker mark of a rare maker Gebr. Bell. The lower crossguard bears the “BO” Gau district stamp, indicating issue in the Bayerische Ostmark region, an important regional designation sought by many collectors.

The wooden grip is in excellent condition, showing some dings and handling wear, with a tight fit to the guards and undisturbed SA and national insignia. The pommel nut and upper guard display honest wear and light tool marks, indicative of period maintenance.

The original scabbard retains both screws to the upper and lower nickel fittings. The ball tip exhibits minor dings, but not dented in as is typical for examples of this type. The scabbard body shows an even original anodized finish with underlying base metal visible in places.  Other than the dents to the lower tip fitting, this scabbard is nice and straight.

The original leather hanger presents with early roller and rates in excellent condition with minor spidering and wear to the leather.  The original leather belt loop remains in excellent condition with minor color loss to the leather surface.  The fixing loop is post war, but included.

An increasingly difficult-to-find early SA dagger with regional attribution from a maker rating as a 7/10 on the McSARR rarity index, this example from Gebr. Bell offers strong collector appeal and represents a fine addition to any Third Reich edged weapon or political collection.

Historical Description: The “Sturmabteilung” (SA), formed in 1921, was the original paramilitary branch of the Nazi party. With the Nazi rise to power in 1933, a dress dagger was introduced for wear with the iconic “brown shirt” uniform. As the SA was a huge organization, with an eventual strength of close to three million men, there was a huge demand for these daggers, and they were produced by 123 different makers, from larger factories to small, cottage-industry workshops. The daggers featured a wood grip with an inset enameled SA emblem and the German national eagle and swastika emblem. The blade was etched with the motto of the SA, “Alles für Deutschland.” The early daggers were crafted with the utmost quality, in both workmanship and materials. Originally, the name and logo of each manufacturer was etched on the reverse of the blade. These early daggers featured hand-fitted nickel silver fittings, and scabbards that had an anodized coating. Prior to around 1935, the daggers were stamped with an SA group letter on the reverse of the crossguard. In 1936, the Reichszeugmeisterie der NSDAP (RZM) organization began to standardize the manufacture of the SA dagger. Commercial type manufacturer markings were to be eliminated, and replaced with the RZM logo as well as an RZM code to indicate the manufacturer. Late production daggers marked with RZM logos usually are made with plated zinc fittings, and have aluminum grip eagles. Instead of the early anodizing process, later scabbards were simply painted. During the transitional period around 1936, many daggers were manufactured bearing the RZM logo and maker code in combination with the earlier type maker names and logos. These transitional daggers can be found with early or late features, or a mix of both.

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