That WWI German & occasional Austrian Trench Knife Thread

[MilitariaOne]

Yeah, I saw your Cow Bell bit and thought I'd incorporate it in my reply... you can never have (wait for it...) too much COW BELL!!!

Regards,

Lance

[Scout]

Thats for sure!

[MilitariaOne]

Greetings all,

This week, we have the trench knife with the “off center” blade (143mm). They come in two types, the most common is unmarked (as this example is) except for an Imperial fraktur mark and the other type is manufacturer marked “Ernst Busch.” It looks slightly awkward with the blade off the center line of the handle, but it is quite well balanced.

Regards,

Lance

Double click to enlarge the pictures.

[MilitariaOne]

Greetings all,

Here we have a really high quality private purchase, but completely unmarked trench knife. It has a non-functional mounting button and no mortised slot in the pommel. The blade is 173mm in length. I am very surprised to see something with this level of quality workmanship without any maker’s mark. This is another heavy duty knife and not the normal flimsy affairs one gets when you normally use the words “private purchase.” The period photo image comes from Méry, Christian. German combat knives: 1914-1945. Paris: Histoire & Collections, 2011.
Regards,

Lance

Double click to enlarge the pictures.

[AZPhil]

I am REALLY REALLY glad this thread came back to the top.
Thank you militariaone for the research and the pic's you have posted on this subject.
I want to get into this field of collecting and you have presented great pic's of proof marks and period photo's.
Thank you Sir!!!!!!!
This thread has been added to my favorite section

Semper Fi
Phil

[MilitariaOne]

Greetings all,

Here’s one of the more iconic knife’s design motifs as seen produced early in the war and manufactured through the mid-1980s. Big Bertha (German: Dicke Bertha) literal translation "fat or heavy Bertha" is the nickname of a type of super-heavy howitzer developed by the armaments manufacturer Krupp in Germany on the eve of WWI. Its official designation was the L/12 (42cm). These cannons were use successfully in the war’s early battles against Belgian forts. Here’s a neat little webpage about them 42cm M-Gert L/12 Dicke Bertha (Big Bertha) Cartridge Casing

The Germans were rightfully proud of this weapon’s capabilities and commemorated it by putting its likeness or references to it on all sorts of “patriotic” kitsch. In this case, it is on a private purchase trench knife with a blade’s length of 119mm. This example does not have a manufacture’s mark. They are assumed to be made by Anton Wingen or J. H. Becker. This particular model is probably one of several runs of commemorative knives offered for sale in the 1930’s recalling German pride/prestige in possessing technology advanced for its time. The other knife pictured is an Anton Wingen JR marked version for comparison. And the black and white print is from an interwar (1930s) knife catalogue.

Regards,

Lance

Double click on pictures to enlarge.

[MilitariaOne]

Greetings all,

Here’s another example of an unmarked private purchase knife variant. It is a slightly more refined version of the pre-war hunting knife with a 156mm long blade. This is a flimsy weapon fine for light work, but if you did jam it into someone’s side… I would not be too surprised if the handle did not crack off in your hand leaving the blade itself stuck fast in your target. This knife is not like the more ruggedized trench knives in vogue after 1915.

Note: The trench art ashtray is a made from a German 1915 dated 10CM shell.

Regards,

Lance

Double click picture to enlarge.

[Scout]

Definitely a bit on the skinny side, but just look at the FS - very flimsy but certainly adequate for its intended purpose.

[MilitariaOne]

Greetings all,

Here’s something slightly different along the lines of the Turkish Engineer’s knife I posted earlier. The Kingdom of Bulgaria participated in World War I on the side of the Central Powers. As such, I feel this knife is worthy of showing in this thread too. This is a Bulgarian “Dagger Assault Model 1916.” There are no (known) contemporary photos that show this knife being carried/worn. You can see on the knife’s ricasso (in the corner's enlargement) the Sofia Arsenal’s stamp AC which stands for Арсенал София “Arsenal Sofia.” The blade’s length is 212mm.

Attached are two group shots of Bulgarian Storm Troops “Shturmovatsi,” and the cover from the, “Official Manual for Training and Preparing the Sturm-Troops in Bulgarian Army-1917.” Unfortunately, no examples of this knife can be seen in the photos. The photos came from here WWI Bulgarian Infantry Display.....THANK YOU Nick! and here Axis History Forum • WWI Pictures of Bulgarian soldiers with all period photos’ credits due to the original posters. If you possess a contemporary picture that clearly shows this knife... feel free to share it on this thread. Yes, I still need to obtain an original scabbard for this example.

Regards,

Lance

Double click on pictures to enlarge.

[Scout]

Beautiful and business-like dager. Looks like it'll get the job done....and then some.
The Bulgarians made some very nice cold steel.
When in Sofia years ago, I noticed some Bulgarian WWII officers ceremonial daggers of fine design and what looked to be high quality. If memory serves me correctly, some or all were made in Germany for the Bulgarians.
They had German influence for sure with a very nice and distinctive 'Bulgarian' look. Beautiful daggers.