SS M33 Dienstdolch by Robert Klass for review

[Larry C]

Other than the grip being a little beat up,, IMO........it looks good,, and Hammesfahr daggers are widely faked!!. This one looks good. Cool double "D" ring hanger.. rare to see. I am only going to guess that the dagger and scabbard ,......although they are early period,, do not belong to each other because of the condition that is opposite of each other. ...ie: If a dagger blade and grip are bad looking,, so would the overall condition of the scabbard....in this case it is the opposite,, but yet still period. No big deal,, no worry! With all daggers ..early to late,,much has happened during the period,, and with liberating forces,, and post war put togethers.. we will not actually know,, but yet it is still early period. Quite a few of daggers in collections today are just that and mine included,, some are put togethers and some are not. some are hard to prove,, especially when it goes through so many hands. Vet and attic finds are the best teacher in discerning the difference.
The price of this dagger in its present condition is decent,, with the hanger alone being $450 US. Best regards Larry

[Eddie]

Thanks again Larry! I wouldn't have thought that about the scabbard and the dagger, I'm sure I'll start noticing that from now on though, thank you! Do the two cross guards look ok? The bottom one, with the III designation is appropriate for this maker, as far as I've seen online, but the top crossguard looks like it wasn't polished? Thoughts?
Best,
Eddie

[Wagriff]

Actually, if one Wants to do it and wants to invest the extra money into it, a damaged grip Can be restored...

[Eddie]

What's your take on this piece William, grip damage notwithstanding?

[Eddie]

I've seen a few SS daggers with grip damage, but not as many SA daggers with grip damage, is there a reason for this? Overly rough GI's? Different woods used?

[Wagriff]

It wouldn't take anything drastic to clean up this piece abit without hurting it-just a good wipe down with an oily cloth or so. The only drawback would be the unsightly grip damage,but the piece on a whole is pretty good. You might want to ask around to someone like Whittman and see what it would cost to do a grip repair. As it sits, I think it's pretty much at the top end of what it's worth. If the seller is open to offers, you might want to toss one at him and see how he reacts. If he wont deal-you can find better elsewhere.

[Adrian Stevenson]

I've seen a few SS daggers with grip damage, but not as many SA daggers with grip damage, is there a reason for this? Overly rough GI's? Different woods used?

Much it this is down to the wood used: the Ebony ones do chip badly.

Cheers, Ade.

[Larry C]

Thanks again Larry! I wouldn't have thought that about the scabbard and the dagger, I'm sure I'll start noticing that from now on though, thank you! Do the two cross guards look ok? The bottom one, with the III designation is appropriate for this maker, as far as I've seen online, but the top crossguard looks like it wasn't polished? Thoughts?
Best,
Eddie

Hi Eddie,, none to worry,, as far as the Roman numeral III ,,all SS daggers went to 3 distribution centers,, (except IMO Honor daggers that were personally presented by an Officer)...and from the distribution centers they went to the SS men,, that were stationed in the vicinity or region of the center. Roman numeral III IMO is the second rarest to be found ( Berlin) but most of the Russian forces grabbed these up. Roman II is a harder one to find which is Dresden. and of course the Most common Munich Roman num. I. The distribution of SA daggers were alittle different depending upon the size of the maker, to which Eickhorn and Pack shipped theirs all over Germany,, whereas the smaller makers did not,, but occasionally one might see a Southern maker in a Northern province and vice versa.
The crossguards are fine and they are correct being nickel silver. It would be nice to see evenly patined guards,, but not a problem... like you said someone polished one,, but still period and in time the patina will return.
Spend time with your collectible,, and just dont gaze at it amazing as it is,, but study it and compare it to other SS maker examples and you will see subtle differences,, some noticeable and some minute`and also take notice to other Hammesfahr examples also. Regards Larry

[Eddie]

It wouldn't take anything drastic to clean up this piece abit without hurting it-just a good wipe down with an oily cloth or so. The only drawback would be the unsightly grip damage,but the piece on a whole is pretty good. You might want to ask around to someone like Whittman and see what it would cost to do a grip repair. As it sits, I think it's pretty much at the top end of what it's worth. If the seller is open to offers, you might want to toss one at him and see how he reacts. If he wont deal-you can find better elsewhere.

What do you think would be a fair reduction? It's at $1850 with the hanger. He seems like a pretty open dealer.

[Eddie]

Hi Eddie,, none to worry,, as far as the Roman numeral III ,,all SS daggers went to 3 distribution centers,, (except IMO Honor daggers that were personally presented by an Officer)...and from the distribution centers they went to the SS men,, that were stationed in the vicinity or region of the center. Roman numeral III IMO is the second rarest to be found ( Berlin) but most of the Russian forces grabbed these up. Roman II is a harder one to find which is Dresden. and of course the Most common Munich Roman num. I. The distribution of SA daggers were alittle different depending upon the size of the maker, to which Eickhorn and Pack shipped theirs all over Germany,, whereas the smaller makers did not,, but occasionally one might see a Southern maker in a Northern province and vice versa.
The crossguards are fine and they are correct being nickel silver. It would be nice to see evenly patined guards,, but not a problem... like you said someone polished one,, but still period and in time the patina will return.
Spend time with your collectible,, and just dont gaze at it amazing as it is,, but study it and compare it to other SS maker examples and you will see subtle differences,, some noticeable and some minute`and also take notice to other Hammesfahr examples also. Regards Larry

Thanks Larry, I just went back and looked at the product description and it answered a lot of the questions that I had, I just got excited and was used to sellers not giving much info in the descriptions: "Knowing that not everyone can afford a minty and perfect SS dagger I am offering one that has some condition issues but is real nonetheless and priced very fairly. The blade must have had some rust on it as it as been cleaned very aggressively. While it is now clean the cleaning abrasions are quite visible as well as evidence of where the rust likely was. It is now sort of shiny and "out of focus". The lower crossguard has been heavily polished. The district designation III is visible on the lower crossguard and it is internally marked OV. The handle has two large chips out of the bottom, one heavy gouge under eagle's left wing and other signs of light wear throughout. Upper crossguard has nice and traditional uncleaned nickel finish and top button is nice as well. Blade fits very nicely to the bottom crossguard. The scabbard is a definite repaint and has one small impression that falls short of being called a dent as it is very shallow. Scabbard ball is undented. To make up for the dodgy condition of the unit as a whole I am leaving on the vertical hanger that it came with. This gives the whole rig a fuller and much more attractive look. Yes it haves problems but I think that for SS daggers there should be a home for everything."