german fixed blade entrenching tool

**joachimpeiper** · 01-31-2011, 06:41 PM

I recently purchased this item from a fellow collector friend, this is my first post and first day of joining the site, i am hoping that some of you more experienced collectors could take a look at this item for me and give it a second opinion. i cant find and maker marks at all on the leather cover but on the spade is stamped 'ab&c' inside of what looks like a spade symbol the same as you see on a playing card. directly above appears to be an eagle stamp with some small text below it, this is harder to see as the original paint covers the eagle mark and i dont want to remove it in any way. hopefully you can just make it out in photos provided, if anyone has any info on a date for this item i would be very happy as iv never owned a fixed blade e tool before now although i believe the pattern was the same from 1880's-1940's.

**Espenlaub Militaria** · 01-31-2011 06:41 PM

We also buy and trade your items and full collections!

**davejb** · 01-31-2011, 06:46 PM

To me it looks like a double headed eagle mark, Imperial German/Russian?

**joachimpeiper** · 01-31-2011, 07:12 PM

hi thanks for the reply much appreciated, can you shed any light on the maker mark at all

**davejb** · 01-31-2011, 08:34 PM

No sorry no idea on that one, but there should be more comments soon

**berlin1945** · 05-24-2013, 04:08 AM

It is 100% WW2, I have the same with the year 1944 here is a pic,

**meyle77** · 05-24-2013, 04:11 AM

the carrier looks East German to me - WWII ones didn't have rivets.
the shovel has folded ears so it should be ok.

**zwerge** · 05-24-2013, 05:11 AM

Look here...........https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/field...-stamp-263171/

**JPhilip** · 05-24-2013, 06:12 PM

Hello,
shovel that opened this thread is a good WWII one...carrier is not...you'll never find a german WWII regulation carrier with buckle on the right...it's always on the left. IMO carrier is postwar or from foreign origin
Berlin1945 : your shovel is good also but IMO marking 1944 is bad....
Thanks

**meyle77** · 05-24-2013, 06:23 PM

Interesting info.
Here is another one that looks WWII German - postwar Dutch or Norwegian repaint ?

**37Webbing** · 05-24-2013, 07:21 PM

Carrier is post war East-German. Or so I have been told. I have a carrier similar to the one shown, that came with a post war manufactured e-tool.

And on a side note. I have never heard them mentioned as fixed blade e-tools. Linnemann style e-tools would be more correct in my world