UBB.threads Forums Edged Weapons SA & NSKK Dagger Forum My sexy tiger striped SA

Was thinking about selling this, but can't quite bring myself to do it.
If I did, I'd just want another one.
Don't think I've ever posted pics of this, so here, for your drooling pleasure, is the crown jewel of my SA dagger collection [which only consists of 5 daggers anyhow].
C.Gustav Spitzer, BTW.
So purty it hurts the eyes, I bet the former owner will recognize it in a heartbeat if he sees it.

Obviously, this could be the centerpiece of most any SA dagger collection.
The scabbard is a bit beat up, but the blade is near mint, and the grip oh so sweet.
[And yes, that is a pair of blacks Speedo's the dagger is on. I like a black background for SA pics, and is all I had handy].

What a tease!! Beauty for sure! BTW what is the SA group mark?/ I have not opened my eyes enough from my coffee. Best Larry

Wf

[Doubt if you would have seen it no matter how far the eyes were opened .. I needed a magnifier to make it out in hand]

WOW! "Sexy" is a right word for this killer grip.

Pics actually don't do it much justice.
It is simply stunning in hand, and I don't use sensationalist terms very often.

Sexy beast alright.

A few more shots

Absolute cracker

Great photos Skynrd,,

Very nice pics,and a dagger that speaks of history.Usually I have to be quiet to listen.Thanks for sharing!

Your not lying thats nice, thanks for letting us have a look. What makes those dark rings, I wonder?

Dark rings, must just be the luck of the draw from an unusual hunk of wood.
It doesn't appear that any of the makers were specifically on the lookout for grain such as this ,,, Seems like once in a while one would come down the pike, and not very often.
There are quite a few with semi stripes, and if you look closely, you can see grain patterns in just about every grip.
But ones this prominent are, I would think, pretty rare ,, And obviously very visually striking.
Its easy to believe that they were coveted by SA men lucky enough to get them, just as collectors drool over them.

Thanks for the comments guys, after owning it 2 years or so, I figured its time to share ... And thanks everyone for not making fun on my Speedo's !
I'm gonna take some more natural daylight shots, this time with black velvet as the background, Speedo's I think I'll retire from my retinue.

I believe it has been mentioned in Ralfs SA book that the dark rings are caused by, the daggers owner holding the Grip over an open flame at a certain height, to give it that stripped appearance. I dont have Ralfs book in front of me, because of my present location,,but I know there was more of a process to achieve this look.
"777" would answer this best!! Larry

nice!

I'd be very surprised to learn for a fact that grip rings came about from roasting the daggers, and not simply from natural grain.
Doesn't make sense, these rings are obviously ingrained into the wood, don't see how the application of heat would do anything but superficial surface damage, depending on how close to the fire it was, and for how long.

Too, I would think that such heat, able to permanently affect the appearance of the grip, would not be too good for the SA button.

I tend to agree with Doug, I have a tiger strip as well which appears to follow the contour of the grain. Is the candle thing a given fact?

Red

[/quote]Occasionally, “tiger grip“ daggers
appear on the market. “Tiger stripes”
most often present on gift daggers,
were made with the help of a flame
along or across the wooden grip. At
the very end the grip was lacquered
with a transparent varnish or with
transparent wood wax. Thanks to this
process the dagger gained particularly
noble appearance. To this day, it
has not been explained whether the
dagger was equipped with the pattern
by a particular manufacturer or
whether grip “scorching” was an initiative
started by SA men.[quote]

This as it appears in Ralfs book,,but there are some instances after a closer inspection of the grip that there is spiral graining present,, but possibly those SA men who wanted to copy such graining chose the open flame method. Best Larry

Thank you Siegfried, I always wondered how it was done.

There you go guys, anyone who wants a TS grip, break out a candle and wax !

I'm skeptical, and am inclined to think it a TR wives tale ,,, But can't completely discount the possibility of a process used vs natural grain.

The stripes are present all around the SA emblem and eagle, on mine.
Neither shows any signs at all of having been removed,,, And with the rune especially, you can easily tell if it has ever been removed.
Hard to imagine a flame being applied to this runic button without any ill affects on it.

Quote
"I'm skeptical, and am inclined to think it a TR wives tale ,,, But can't completely discount the possibility of a process used vs natural grain."


The "story" regarding striping when I was a kid and related to Kentuckey type rifles with curly maple stocks was similiar. We were told that the stockmaker would wrap the raw stock in a cord soaked in tar pitch and then set it afire. Being a kid I naturally had to try this so I got a chunk of maple,a cord and whatever I could find that most closely resembled tar pitch. I proceeded to light this mess on fire in my parents basement. I created a cloud of smoke and a stench you wouldn't believe. Fortunately I was able to get the mess outside before I caught the house on fire. The end result was a charred piece of maple and a fairly severe punishment for yours truly. It's an old wives tale and was debunked long ago.
Jim

Hmm interesting, it never occurred to me of the possibility of this being anything but a natural affect.
I wonder what kind of wood the grips are made of ?
In Birch and certain Maples, grain striping is not that uncommon. Walnut even, I have seen some wild patterns.
I'm a carpenter, and into scroll sawing, so wood is never far off my mind or hands.

Take a look at some of the wild natural patterns available here

http://tinyurl.com/29vtypo

It is a beautiful Spitzer SA, congratulations!

Herman

hard to find, a real beauty. bought a lot of sa daggers, never one with a handle as nice as yours. thanks for showing it.