I was sure I read somewhere that plated blades were produced for SA/SS, so I searched my archives and found Bernie Brule's article on SA/SS/NSKK Daggers which I have always accepted as a given. I hope I can quote extracts from Bernie's essay...

1933 to 1936
"Crossgraining from the polishing process is clearly visible on the blades as is the company logo."

1936 to 1938
"Plated blades also begin to appear. Hand finishing is no longer apparent in all aspects of production."

1939 to 1942
"Blades are plated and those that aren't have a dull satin finish as opposed to a high sheen. Some late production pieces will even have a mixture of plated, aluminium and nickel parts as stores of parts are used up."

Red