History

Dagger and sword accoutrements were used to hang and suspend the edged weapons from, or in some cases to decorate them.
Just like the weapons themselves, the designs and quality of the accoutrements was eventually controlled by the RZM (Reichszeugmeisterei = national quartermaster’s office).
Leather parts of accoutrements used by the SS were generally black.

The M33 Short Hanger proved impractical, since it didn’t restrict the movement of the dagger during activities such as marching. Therefore, some companies experimented with ways of fastening the dagger in a more secure way, resulting in several rare and sometimes unique transitional designs until standardisation was achieved.

By late 1934, a standardised vertical hanger design had been implemented. As with the Short Hanger, there were only small variations in the design of the Vertical Hanger, which were due to companies’ minor differences in production.
With the introduction of the Vertical Hanger, the Short Hanger was only used with the walking-out dress afterwards.

The vertical hanger has what has been described as a “coffin” shape. At the bottom and in the middle of the leather “coffin” are two horizontal leather loops, the upper one with a square metal buckle. Attached to the top of the “coffin” is a metal snap clip. The metal parts were made from nickel and later from nickel-plated steel. If there is a maker mark or RZM stamp, it can be found on the reverse of the snap clip.