E-433b Early SA Dagger by Rich Balke & Sohne
(RARE Maker)
This example was recently purchased from an advanced collector!
The fittings throughout are solid nickel having a nice age toning. The
crossguards have smooth surfaces, very precise accent grooves and crisp edges
showing very mild wear, especially for an early SA. The guards are
internally marked “W” on one side of the tang clearance hole and “E” on
the other. The lower crossguard is Gau stamped “Nrh”. The grip
has a high contour ridge with a deep mahogany color. It exhibits mild
carrying marks to both sides, in addition to a few storage scratches to the
upper left obverse side. The grip-to-guard fit is very nice! The SA
runes button rides a little high on the grip thereby resulting in a few surface
scratches. The early nickel eagle, like the button, rides high on the
grip, being the point behind the head variety. As a result of the
positioning, it displays much highlight wear to the chest, head and feathering.
The blade is a thing of beauty! It is mirror bright with100% crossgraining.
The SA motto “Alles fur Deutschland” is crisp with 95% backgrounding.
The in and out marks are nothing out of the ordinary! The edges and tip is
factory crisp. There are a few minor smudges to the reverse side in and
around the logo. NOT bad, but there! The blade grades near mint!
The reverse side is matching etched. It consists of a single circle having
the firm’s name and location positioned around the outside perimeter Rich.
Balke & Sohne Solingen. Inside the circle, the horizontal letters R.
& S. are flanked by the letters B. & S. The scabbard has that
right out of the woodwork look having extensive pimpling throughout. The
shell appears straight to both sides. The fittings have a darker hue than
the hilt and are perfectly matched to each other. The upper fitting shows
many surface scratches to both sides. The lower fitting is slightly loose
and can’t be tightened due to the screws being almost totally flat. In
addition, it exhibits surface scratches and light taps to all sides to include
the ball. They are retained by four domehead side screws with all four
showing extensive turning signs. A MUST for the serious SA type collector!
Excellent.
$895.00
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Item E-433b
