SA Dagger types & dates questions...

[Seigfried]

Hi,
I am contemplating buying my 1st SA dagger and have a few questions that I have not been able to find the answers to! I have a vague idea but nothing definite.

1. When did SA scabbards cease to be anodised?

2. When did the order come out to have the Rohm inscription ground out? Found it - according to http://www.lakesidetrader.com/SA_NSKK.html it was 040734.

3. When did the move from independent blade makers move to the RZM type take place?

Thanks for any assistance - I am thinking of looking for a ground Rohm with anodised scabbard non-RZM marked.

John

[Wizard]

Why ground Rohm?

[sdp]

Scabbards ceased to be anodized completely by 1938. The was a mixture of anodized and painted between 1936 and 1937.

Maker marks are apparent between 1933 and 1935. Between 1936 and 1937, the either had both the makers mark and an RZM mark or just the RZM. It was all RZM marked by 1938.

Off the top of my head, I'm not exactly sure of the date that the Rohm inscription was ordered to be removed.

[sdp]

The Rohm purge was on the 30/06/34, so the order to remove the inscription was probably straight after that.

[Seigfried]

Why ground Rohm?

Because I cannot afford one with a full inscription but can probably stretch to a bit more than a plain non-inscribed blade! Thanks for the input sdp

[Wizard]

Because I cannot afford one with a full inscription but can probably stretch to a bit more than a plain non-inscribed blade!

Fair enough, but in my opinion, I don't think a fully ground Rohm should be worth more than a regular maker marked blade. When you think about it, what is the difference? If your response is that, 'it used to be a Rohm,' well,... I read somewhere that people remove the fake Rohm inscriptions and sell them as genuine ground Rohms.

[Seigfried]

Fair enough, but in my opinion, I don't think a fully ground Rohm should be worth more than a regular maker marked blade. When you think about it, what is the difference? If your response is that, 'it used to be a Rohm,' well,... I read somewhere that people remove the fake Rohm inscriptions and sell them as genuine ground Rohms.

hmmm...food for thought - this is why I'm asking for opinions. When I last looked at these daggers, I seem to remember that the ground rohms were slightly more expensive than plain blades, so I thought that they must be more desirable/rarer - or it could just be that they were overall nicer examples. However, I'm here to learn!

John

[Colorado]

To me a ground Rohm has no special appeal over a non-Rohm by the same maker.

[Ron Weinand]

Eickhorn Ground Rohms can almost always be identified by the assembler number on the bottom of the crossguard that is not present on regular issue SAs. The unground Rohm's with the small double oval TM that appears on Eickhorn Rohms are usually the dead give away. And yes, Ground Rohm's, when in better than average condition, will bring slightly more than regular issue SAs.
Ron Weinand
Weinand Militaria

[Colorado]

Not all Eickhorn Rohm's have an assembler number. Vet acquired ones are found without them.

[Larry Lipps]

I have to admit that I would pay more for a correct Rohm with only the name removed. To me it adds a lot more history, but like Ron said, it has to have all the right marks or in my opinion it's just another SA.

[Skyline Drive]

Many Eickhorn Rohms were not benchmarked. I have two. It is misleading to suggest that is the primary way to identify them.

[Wizard]

I don't think Mr. Weinand meant to suggest the benchmarks as a definitive sign of a Eickhorn Rohm. It's a good sign if it does (assuming it has not been tampered or the parts switched), but nothing wrong otherwise.