Wardaggers.com- Prior to 1936 and
during the early years of the SA ( Sturmabteilung )
all German SA and NSKK dagger manufacturers stamped
or etched their own firms trademark onto the blade.
This procedure changed in 1936 with the introduction
of Reichszeugmeisterei der NSDAP or RZM codes
designated for each German Political dagger
manufacturer and was a form of licensing controlled
by the NSDAP.
The German Army and the German Luftwaffe were both
non-political organizations and as such did not
adopt this new RZM system.
These later German RZM marked SA and NSKK daggers
will normally be fitted with silver plated hilted
fittings, aluminium grip eagles and will not bear
the single or double letter Gruppe stamp to the
lower crossguard observed on the earlier maker
marked German daggers.
The page below is
split into two parts, the upper transitional section
shows SA or NSKK dagger markings found on German
daggers produced after 1936 that bear a makers mark
and the new RZM code ( transitional ).
The lower section shows examples of RZM codes only,
and from every known maker to date. Please note that
variations not shown on this page will exist and
indeed the marks do vary from year to year, so
although these examples can be used as a guide, they
cannot be relied upon to determine German dagger
authenticity.
The transitional maker marks shown above are
those found on period German daggers for the SA
( Sturmabteilung ) or NSKK ( Nationalsozialistisches
Kraftfahrkorps ). Several makers chose to
continue to add their earlier manufacturer mark
as well as the RZM identification number to the
blade and although these are known as
transitional marks, they where in fact produced
alongside the more widely recognised RZM codes
only ( shown below ). Most SA or NSKK German
daggers marked with a RZM number will feature
cheaper standardised hilt fittings, with nickel
plated or aluminium parts in place of the
earlier solid nickel fittings. It is possible
however to find the later RZM type SA / NSKK
German dagger with solid nickel parts,
especially on 1937/38 marked examples. The
transitional maker mark for Jacobs & Co ( M7/118
) is not shown above but is a legitimate maker.
21 in total.
RZM Daggers - 1938-1942
RZM M7/18
RZM M7/55
RZM M7/71
RZM M7/79
RZM M7/107
RZM M7/117
There are a total of 62 known makers of German
SA and NSKK daggers who adopted the RZM code and
or the transitional marking on their blades from
1937/38. This is compared to the 220 known firms
producing the early maker SA and NSKK dagger,
pre-NSDAP in 1936. A huge reduction and many of
the larger companies also appear to have lost
out on important manufacturing contracts for
Political German daggers as well as numerous
smaller firms. Any help in adding the missing
RZM marks from the above gallery would be
greatly appreciated.
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