UBB.threads Forums Edged Weapons SA & NSKK Dagger Forum Gau mark question

Hi, Im new to the forum and coufused about gau marks. I was told the gau mark was the area the dagger was made and then told that it was the district the SA dagger was orderd from and shipped to. I have a Curt Hoppe SA dagger that according to the cousin of the deceased Vet that was brought home from the war and untouched until I just bought it.It seems to be an early example with nickel cross gaurds and scabbard fittings.When I took it apart it was like it had never been apart before.The gau mark is He and the fit of blade to gaurd is perfect as well as the handle etc. According to the gau mark list Ha was the only Curt Hoppe gau mark. Help!!!!!

Hi, Ha is Hansa gau and He is Hessen. And I don't think so, all Curt Hoppe's daggers must have only one gau (He or Ha?).

Best, Lukas.

Hi Lukas,mine is He and like I said mine is supposed to be an original brought back from the war. The fit of the guards and handle etc is perfect. If I knew how to downsize my jpegs I would post pictures. Thanks

Can someone tell me why a Curt Hoppe SA dagger can only have a Ha gau mark and not a He? Thanks

My thought is that any maker can have any Gau mark or none at all.

We have a thread on this where we have a few hundred reports which is very few considering the millions of early dagger that were distributed. Yes, some makers are more likely to be found with a specific mark, like "B" for Haco, but that is not proof that all were sent to that area.

Dave

Thanks Dave,I thought the same. Just because Curt Hoppe SA daggers are Ha I would think why not He. Maybe a few were ordered by that SA district.

I think that there is definitely a co-relation between maker and gau stamps but I do not think that it's an exact science. I always like seeing the "textbook" gau stamp and if everything else on the dagger is fine the nontextbook gau stamp would not put me off.

Geeez, it's the same story as "anodized scabbard" (http://daggers.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/131092573/m/698109192?r=698109192#698109192), wrong term existing so strong in the hobby circles. As I wrote in other post just yesterday:
the stampings on the SA crossguards are NOT, I repeat NOT Gau markings. They are SA group markings. GAU is for NSDAP, SA GRUPPE is for SA and they are not the same thing. In the 3rd Reich there was many more "GAUs" than SA groups. For example: territory of Gau "Schleswig-Holstein" was more or less matching the SA Gruppe HANSA (Ha). What stamp do we have on daggers "Gau" or SA Gruppe ???
Some SA groups had the same names as Gaus, but many had different.
Another example: There was ONE SA Gruppe Schlesien, but there was TWO NSDAP Gaus: Niederschlesien and Oberschlesien. Has anyone observed any special Gau markings for the latter two?
Anyone heard about "Gau markings" for Schwaben, Ost-Hannover, Hallemberg, Hessen- Nassau, Mecklemburg, Moselland? Sound exotic, don't they? These are GAU names, that often have nothing common with those little letters on the crossguards. I understand it is sometimes hard to change if one has been using some name for many years, but after all in this hobby we learn new things constantly and some changes in a correct direction will not make any harm.
Greetings from "S"

If I ever figure out how to size my jpegs I'll post pictures of the Curt Hoope SA dagger with the SA Gruppe stamp He.

Posting pics of SA Gruppe He Curt Hoppe Sa dagger

pic 2

pic 3

pic3

pic 4

pic 5

pic 6

pic 7

I don't see any problems with the dagger itself. The fact that "He" is not mentioned in Fisher doesn't mean automaticaly that something's wrong. Contrary to some popular makers and SA Group markings typical for them, like mentioned before HACO appearing ALWAYS with "B" on the crossguard, there is much less "evidence" (i.e Curt Hoppe daggers) to determine for 100% that Curt Hoppe + Ha(Hansa) is the only correct configuration. If crossguards fit well with the grip and the blade, it's no problem for me, I like your dagger.
The scabbard looks to be of later model. From what I can see here the shell is painted and the fittings are nickel plated steel (correct me if I'm wrong), so it must have been switched at some point.

Your right it is a painted scabbard and nickel plated steel fittings.. I overlooked that. It looks to to be origanal paint so someone must have changed it. As to the fit of the guards,handle and guard to scabbard its perfect.Thanks allot for your responce and knowledge on this.