History

Between 1933 and 1935, no official SS swords were available. SS Officers and NCOs (Non-Commissioned Officers) were allowed to wear privately purchased swords during parades and other military events. Since these swords were unofficial and no standardisation had been achieved yet, sword manufacturers offered a multitude of different designs which, additionally, could be personalised upon request.
The swords’ length will vary, as it depended on the owner’s height.

To achieve standardisation, an official SS Officer sword was introduced. The earliest swords were awarded at the Reichsparteitag on September 15, 1935. These swords were designed by artist and SS member Karl Diebitsch.

The Officer’s sword was classified as an Ehrendegen (honour sword). It is unknown what the requirements were to be awarded one, and it may have been simply up to the discretion of SS leader Heinrich Himmler to decide. Certainly only Officers would wear the sword, but many of these would never receive one. Recipients were given a certificate with the sword which was used as the formal authorisation to wear it.

The hilt was cast in solid nickel, and in some cases featured silver plating. Later models had certain parts made from nickel-plated steel instead.

The grip was made from turned wood with 13 ribbed sections. The silver wire in between the sections is made of nickel. In early examples, the SS runes button is positioned below the fifth section, while in later examples it can often be found positioned below the fourth section.

The steel blade is straight and single-edged. It is normally unplated and therefore matte.
The scabbard was made from steel painted black. At the top, there is a silver metal weave pattern portion.

There is a semi-official Officer Candidate sword which looks very similar to the Officer sword, except that it doesn’t feature the SS runes button on the hilt. It is also often personalised, for example with an inscription etched into the blade.