Bundeswehr gravity knife 1963 pattern

[Reibert]

This thread is now very old and the prices for these M1963 have changed a lot in the meantime.
Due to the legal regulations in Germany, the knives have to be auctioned separately (handle and blade each offered separately), and individual handles as well as individual blades achieve top prices!

Of course, the person who bought the handle also wants the right blade, and anyone who is only looking for a blade also bids a lot and a knife like this now costs a lot! ...

A collector friend recently bought a dismantled M1963 in mint condition (handle and blade separately) for EUR 300!

In Austria, the laws on such knives are still relatively moderate, so I bid EUR 130 for the knife I am showing today, including shipping, and was actually able to buy it for my bid.
The knife seems to be unused and shows only traces of long, improper storage, which I was able to eliminate.

The "Kappmesser Luftlandetruppe" is not a weapon in the true sense, but a tool and therefore the weapons laws in some countries for this tool knife / rescue knife are not comprehensible for many collectors ...

My knife was made in 1972 at Württembergische Metallwarenfabrik.

With the various manufacturers, one can observe that sometimes only the manufacturer's logo is marked on the blade alone, but sometimes also the year of production.
But I can't verify which the "early" pieces are.

In any case, this knife for the airborne troops is a piece of equipment worth collecting, which was not only used by the paratroopers of the Bundeswehr, but also by the armored troops and the armored infantrymen.

Cheers,
R.

[Reibert]

Some more images of the Kappmesser

[PembrokeYeo]

A well designed quality piece. It’s nice to know that common-sense has prevailed in Austria regarding ownership.

[Anderson]

Interesting how they stuck with the original design, with an upgrade using modern materials.

[MAP]

A very minty example.

I have a civilian version that I have used for years as a "tool". Nice one handed ease of use

[Reibert]

Further information and questions can be found in this thread:
German Gravity Knife, OFW

[Reibert]

Hello Reibert!

Le me show you mine, it has a different form/strucutre than yours, can you tell me anything about it?

In this video,
History of the Luftwaffe Gravity Knife - Geschichte des Kappmessers (1936-TODAY), WW2 footage - YouTube
(from about 4:52), it is said:
"The Swiss Airforce equipped their Mirage pilots with this model in 1983"

But I can't verify that...

[Reibert]

Congrats to your son Reibert!!! This must make you a very proud father

Semper Fi
Phil

My son was very lucky right from the first jump!
The lines of his chute became twisted and tangled, and by regulation he should have deployed the emergency parachute.
But my son "turned out" and the main parachute opened properly in time.
He got a reprimand and a commendation after the successful landing at the same time!

For myself (I'm afraid of heights) it would have been absolutely impossible for me to climb onto the landing gear of a fairly small, single-engine, turboprop machine for the first jump and then slide off it into the bottomless pit.

I tried twice to overcome my fear with a bungy jump, but I would never have become a paratrooper myself ...

My son told me that jumping out of the turboprop was "more adventurous" than jumping out of the Hercules.
However, the participants in the basic course had a lot of fun jumping off the tailgate of the "Hercules", better than jumping out of the side door of the fuselage of the "C 130".

Here are pictures of the certificates after completing the basic course, (zum "Militärfallschirmabzeichen in Bronze" / "Rundkappenkurs")
Unfortunately, I cannot / am not allowed to show the certificate with details of a signature of an officer of the Jagdkommando.

[Reibert]

Nuce. Did not know that Armored troops got them. My 4 have a different lanyard. My lanyard is a flat shoelace type. Rich A. in Pa.

Hi Rich,

would you please show us pictures of your Kappmesser M1963?
I am particularly interested in pictures of the manufacturers on the blades.

Thanks in advance,
R

[Reibert]

Further information and questions can be found in this thread:
German Gravity Knife, OFW

Updated this thread today.
German Gravity Knife, OFW