"Sturmmesser" Wiener Waffenfabrik

[Reibert]

Hi,
A few days ago I bought this Austro-Hungarian combat knife M1917, aka. "Sturmmesser".

The knife has probably been stored poorly for many decades, but the blade is still in reasonably good condition.
The very detailed close-up photos actually show the overall condition of the knife to be much worse than it actually is.

The reason why I actually bought the knife is the fact that the manufacturer's stamp, here: WWF (Wiener Waffenfabrik), as well as the stamp mark on the opposite side of the blade are very sharp and clearly marked.
I only know the second stamp from Sturmmessern from the manufacturer Wiener Waffenfabrik and this stamp should probably be the company stamp of the blade supplier?
Even on assault knives from the manufacturer WWF, this additional blade stamp is not always visible but only occasionally!

The blade is also still in very good condition, is not sharpened and is still full length.

Unfortunately, with all the pitting, the acceptance stamp (crowned eagle) on the underside of the crossguard can only be guessed at...

The scabbard is also stamped with the manufacturer's abbreviation.
V&N (Vogel & Noot)

The dimensions:
Blade length: 211mm
Handle length: 122mm
Total length: 333mm
Blade thickness: 4mm
Blade width: 27.5mm

[Reibert]

2.):

[Reibert]

Today I picked up another, heavily used, "K.k. Kampfmesser M1917" aka "Sturmmesser" from the post office.
A fellow collector from Tyrol gave me this "Sturmmesser" (Asssault Knife).

The dimensions:
Blade length: 207mm
Handle length: 123mm
Total length: 330mm
Blade thickness: 4mm
Blade width: 28mm

The manufacturer's mark (the capital letter R) stands for the manufacturer Resicka.

Here in Austria you can still find this combat knife model from the monarchy relatively often.

What is noticeable here is that the scabbard has been painted over with black paint.
This is not the original color but I assume the "repaint" is contemporary.

The fact that combat knives from the world wars were also used "civilianly" in times of peace shouldn't be a secret! ...

[Reibert]

It is interesting that there is no acceptance stamp on the underside of the crossguard.

[Reibert]

The K.k. Kampfmesser Modell 1917 (M17) from different manufacturers often differ in the dimensions and design of the sheaths.
Examples made in the Hungarian part of the monarchy were sometimes "heavier" and larger in terms of the length of the blade and the size of the scabbard.

[Reibert]

Sellers images of the M17 manufacturer RESICKA

[Reibert]

The makers mark:

[AndyB]

Looks ok to me , even the original leather hanger is there, question is the R for Resicka as not confirmed to this time in 100% but its more as possible the maker should be it. Maybe in the rust of crossguard is the weak austrian proof? as i dont believe this knives were sold privately.

[nachomenorca]

Nice knives!!! I have a WMF marked one too but can't find the acceptance mark in the crossguard but has two unidentified dots in the upper crossguard

Regards

Nacho

[Reibert]

Looks ok to me , even the original leather hanger is there, question is the R for Resicka as not confirmed to this time in 100% but its more as possible the maker should be it. Maybe in the rust of crossguard is the weak austrian proof? as i dont believe this knives were sold privately.

Hi Andy,
to the manufacturer:
I actually think the "simple" R is the logo of the manufacturer Resicka.
I attribute the somewhat "ornate" R to the manufacturer Simon Redtenbacher, Sensenwerke, Linz.

Experience has shown that the acceptance mark was not always really driven "deep" into the crossguard of this model.
But I won't try to clean the rust away because I don't want to destroy the originality and condition of the knife, which is over 100 years old.

I'm pleased that the leather strap is still preserved.
These carrying loops for looping the knife into the belt were cut relatively thin from the leather and were soon replaced by somewhat more stable textile straps.

Here is an example of an Sturmmesser which, in my opinion, was manufactured by Redtenbacher, Linz.

K.u.k. "Sturmmesser" M 1917