WW1 Imperial German Army Trench Knife

[bobskie]

Hi everyone, last Sunday I was clearing out my grandfather's stuff and came across this knife in a barrel of rusty tools. It was covered in rust and the sheath had paint spilled on it. Unfortunately the leather broke upon attempting to open it due to age. Having done some research it would appear this is a German WW1 trench knife, it has very similar characteristics however doesn't have any makers mark. What are your opinions in this? My dad remembers playing with it when he was a boy(he says it made a good throwing knife!) and that it came from his grandmother's garage. I'm in the UK so don't know how it ended up over here but I know her father possibly fought in WW1 though it is unconfirmed. I cleaned it up with a bit of wire wool and oiled it, probably not the best thing to do but the rust was very bad. It has a sort of logo on the button as can be seen in the photo. So could anyone tell me anything more about this knife? Thanks,

Cameron

[Anderson]

Yes it's a real German trench/fighting knife. This type does date from the First World War but was still being made in the 1920's and possibly the 1930's. The clip button with the flower motive is often seen on these knife hangers. I wouldn't do any more to it, or attempt to "restore" it. They are highly collectable even in it's present state. It's quite possible it was a veteran souvenir from either WW1 or WW2.

[MAP]

Nothing more to add, except keep it dry and it will outlast you!

[bobskie]

Thanks for the confirmation, very interesting. I wouldn't restore it any more I did the bare minimum to preserve it as best as I could, the grey patination is very nice. I'll be keeping this as it was most likely my great great grandfathers, I found a service record for him but nobody recalls him talking about the war, I suppose this pretty much confirms it. Just out of interest how much are they worth in this condition? Like I said I'm not going to sell but just curious.

Thanks for your help,

Cameron

[Anderson]

Value? you will have more fun discovering that for yourself. Search out a few militaria dealer websites.

[Reibert]

Nice German, WWI, Armeedolch, possibly manufatured by Ernst Busch, Solingen.