Thank you gentlmen. A collector had posted a gau marked M36 on another forum, and my first thought was parts piece. Though after some research, what i've found suggests that these infact were period...though as mentioned it seems there is some debate on the matter.
Why though? Could it be attributed to large stocks of SA/NSKK crossguards left over since SA production was slowing down by 1936?? Would quality control for SS pieces even allow this to happen?
As i'm not an SS collector, this was the first time i've ever encountered one.
Anyway, thank you all for getting back on the subject.
Tom
