Please help me with this Luftwaffe knife.

[JohnEx]

Hello team,

I recently acquired from a local flea market in Greece a Luftwaffe fighting knife.

The strange thing, according to my eye, is that this knife has composite material handle scales that are put in place with screws and not rivets !! I have seen this material on old tools with electrostatic properties of the same era.

Both the handle material and the fact that they are screwed on and not riveted with pins is a first timer for me !!

I got the knife for a ridiculously low price from a guy that obviously did not have a clue of what this might be!

The Luftwaffe inspection mark on the ricasso is with the number "6"

[MilitariaOne]

Greetings John,

I have a rehandled knife with what appears to be the same/similar material as your posted knife; as viewed on post #22 here WWII German Combination Tool Trench Knife variants My supposition (& it is only that), is this type of handle is a postwar (possibly an arsenal's) rework of either captured wartime stocks or simply damaged stock being made serviceable.

Unfortunately, I've no idea when these modifications were made, or where, but I assume they are reworks and did not leave their original manufacturers with these red grips. That assumption, is based on the overall lack of quality (fit/finish) of either of these examples' handles, they are good yes, just not at the level of fit and finish I would expect from a primary manufacturer.

Additionally, it may be the angle of your picture, but the blade on your example appears to have been retipped, as the knife seems a tad short. Like my referenced example, this too, may be an indicator that the knife was "rescued" in order to place it back into service, the question is by whom and when?

Thank you, for sharing your knife.

V/r Lance

[JohnEx]

Lance,

Thank you for your kind reply.

Yes the material of the handle is very similar to the one you referred me to but it seems to have a different grain pattern. It is not your impression nor the angle of the picture that the blade is indeed shorter that the scabbard length. However it seems so well done that I can not distinguish if it was retiped or it was originally that short since there are no evidence for the retiping. The screws and bolts are very well done for me to decide if it is a re-salvaged item. I am triggered to take it apart carefully and search for more.
However in Greece there never was use of these knives by the Greek army and this makes it more difficult to be an arsenal modification. Most of these were captured items from German Paras in Crete and other German units in mainland Greece during resistance warfare.

I was wondering if there was any versions that used this type of handle materials near the end of the war

[MilitariaOne]

I was wondering if there was any versions that used this type of handle materials near the end of the war

Greetings John,

If there are late-war examples with similar handle's materials, I've never viewed any in thirty-years of collecting military blades. That of course, doesn't mean it is an impossible/improbable proposition, but I would assume there would be an example or two in various collectors' books, militaria forums' threads, and visited museums' collections. In any case, it is a nice knife and I do hope someone else with knowledge of its background comments in your thread (Fingers crossed).

Best,

V/r Lance

[rbminis]

An original scabbard and re-tipped blade with a later, linen Micarta, (which is a newer material), handle.
Ralph.