SA Dagger by SMF Solingen

This is one of the first SMF made SA Daggers I’ve come across. They seem to be very hard to find despite only rating a 5 out of 10 on the McSARR scale.

The grip is a very attractive light brown tone, almost having a slight orange hue. The eagle has a nice age patina that matches the nickel guards and scabbard fittings, and has miraculously retained an honest 98% of its factory detail – barely worn at all. The SA roundel has lost about 30% of its brown background enamel to wear, and shows some age discoloration along the bottom rim. The two nickel guards show a very nice age patina with the lower guard marked with the Gruppe stamp, “Ns”. The pommel nut shows no gnarling or other signs of having been removed (no swirl marks). The only real flaw to the grip as a whole that we feel noteworthy is the small chip at the base where the wood meets the lower guard (on the front). Otherwise the grip on this example is perfect!

The blade shows some signs of having been sharpened along the edges, although we had to use magnification to tell for sure. It certainly does not compromise the dagger’s appearance in any way. There are also a decent amount of scratches on both sides, from the scabbard as well as other unknown sources. some of the scratches are across the blade diagonally. Aside from some modestly distracting scratches, a few normal cloudy spots, and scabbard rash, the only other notable flaw is the very slight bend at the tip (approximately 1/4 inch). It is so slight that unless you were looking for it you’d likely miss it altogether, but we like to disclose everything we discover, no matter how minor. On the reverse, just shy of the lower crossguard is the SMF logo of the seated king holding his sword.

The scabbard on these SMF SA Daggers are unique in their own right. The ones that we’ve seen all appear to have aged in the same manner with an even and very smooth dark chocolate tone to the surface. Typically with these anodized scabbards the darkening from age is spotty, with hints of the original lighter brown tone peeking through almost like freckles. With these SMF dagger scabbards that doesn’t seem to be the case. This is in no way a negative, but in fact just the opposite. The nickel fittings both share the same age patina tone as the dagger guards and eagle, making the set a dead-on match! Aside from normal use wear, and a ding to the tip fitting (fairly normal), the scabbard as a whole is a real beauty!

This SMF SA dagger is priced right considering the rarity and desirability that SA daggers from this maker command. Don’t think about it, click the but button before someone else snatches it up. At this price it won’t last long.