U.S & German World War I & II Military Knives

[junebug]

VERY NICE GROUP ,D..............

[Miller Bro's]

Thanks Josh!

[1967redrider]

Found an early Christmas present for myself- a 1918 Au Lion French made Mark 1. From what I've read, there's a good likelihood that these French knives were produced during and saw WWI action.

Here's a great reference for Mark 1 information with great pictures and links to more information; http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ ... fe-thread/
Unlike the LF&C knife, these had a bright finish and ricasso stamp. Originally had a metal scabbard but they were often discarded because the belt prongs broke off easily. These are getting harder to find and are becoming counterfeited more and more because of increasing rarity and price.

Before you plop down your hard earned cash make sure you know what you're buying, with knives in general.

[Miller Bro's]

Very nice find!

[RalphAlsip]

This knife was given to me. It was brought home by a soldier who served in WWII.

[1967redrider]

Thanks, Miller, I'm always on the lookout for these trench knives.



Sweet looking dagger, Ralph. I see these at auction going for big bucks. Know anything about yours?

-John

[RalphAlsip]

John, Here is a link to some information that I was able to find on the Internet that describes the dagger:

http://germandressdaggers.com/SA%20standard.htm

The original owners of these daggers don't seem to have a history of doing good deeds. The man who brought this back from the War was part of the D-Day glider infantry. I don't know how or when he came to possess the dagger. I wish I could ask him about it.

Here is some info about the glider infantry:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_a ... n_Normandy

I imagine many of y'all know men who served in WWII. In my experience these gentlemen did not really discuss what they did and what they saw. When I was growing up in my little community during the 60's & 70's I knew several men who had served. I still look at the local newspapers from Southern Illinois. A few years ago I noticed the obituary for Bob Evers, the local propane delivery man. Until I read his obituary, I remembered him as small and unimposing, but wiry and strong - he could easily carry those propane tanks that were as big as he was. He was always laughing and telling a joke. It turns out he was a survivor of the Bataan Death March - I never knew before reading the obituary. My memory of him now also includes tough guy. I was always respectful toward Bob, but certainly not respectful enough.

http://thesouthern.com/news/local/obitu ... 43fa7.html

Well, this reply post turned out to describe a lot more than "what do I know about the dagger".

You can probably guess that I won't be putting the dagger into an auction

[1967redrider]

Great info, Ralph! I particularily like the info on the Inspection Stamp Markings. That's one way to verify originality. Maybe one day I'll find a decent one in my price range. Thanks for posting!

[WelderBob]

Ran across this Western seebee Mark 1, some pitting from bad storage but blade is full and maybe unsharpened. Now to find a sheath.......

[Miller Bro's]

Where have you been Bob?

You have not posted in this thread for 2 years

Welcome back, nice Western

[WelderBob]

Thanks Dimtiri.....your right its been a few years... ...haven't lost interest, just not seeing anything that excite's me. Or at least one I can afford....

[Miller Bro's]

I hear you, pretty much the same here. At one time I would find a lot of military knives and fairly cheap, not anymore

[Keg]

Is this KA-BAR military? It is a very small knife....

[1967redrider]

Sure has a "military" look to it, if only knives could talk . . .

[WelderBob]

I believe that is a USN Mark I utility knife, picture is from a article by Frank Trzaska and the middle knife looks like yours....

Nice find....


Bob

[Keg]

Thanks Bob!

[WelderBob]

A few 6" blades, t-to-b, Kinfolks, Western, KaBar. The Kinfolks and Western are finished nice with blued blades. The KaBar has a nice handle and a heavier blade....would be my pick of the three....

[Miller Bro's]

Three primo knives Bob!

Thanks for showing them, I like the Kinfolks

[1967redrider]

Those are nice!

[Keg]

I would love to have a Western like that....

[coffeecup]

The guys I've talked with who carried the Western G46-8 in WWII/Korea have said the knife was awkward to carry, the blade was too long for anything but stabbing people, and the handle would sometimes break if you slammed the pommel down on someone's head. I suppose that is why we see so many of them in nice condition: they didn't get much use.

The factory would repair these (until sometime in the '70s I think). The factory guys I've talked with have said that there seem to have been a higher percentage of problems with the pommel attachment breaking, and with broken washers, than with the late G46-6 with a similar washer-style pommel.

The post-war design changes seem to have solved everything but the awkwardness of carry, and changes in web gear may have addressed that. I think I've seen more of the later knives with a history of use during the Viet Nam war than WWII knives carried in WWII/Korea.

I've got one of the WWII knives with the typical cracked washers. One of these days I'll probably get around to fixing or replacing the handle.


Jim

[grego]

Looking for info on this knife. "Ulster knife co". Can opener is broke, but I've never seen another with screwdriver on the bail.

[1967redrider]

grego,

The Ulster 5 blade with the Phillips driver on the bail are the primo of these utility pocket knives according to Price & Zalesky's Price Guide to Collector Knives. Accordingly there are 3 variations; "US" on bail or shield with a master clip blade and one variation with "US" on the bail and a master spear blade. Their book is one of my go-to reference books for verifying random patterns from a wide variety of knife makers.

to AAPK!

-John

[WelderBob]

These are some new one's, all are 6" bright finished blades.

Kabar with a commando handle, a nice heavy duty knife.

Williams Cutlery, I would have to call this a very light duty knife.

Western, A nice well balanced knife.

[Mossdancer]

Those are some very nice examples, were you lucky enough to get the original leather with them
moss