Chip was not ready for his second post on telephones, so today on Gus’ Gear I present a few knives used by soldiers of the Great war. There are fighting, utility and personal knives.
The top two are examples of the standard German Nahkampfmesser and the bottom knife is an example of the crank handle knife/bayonet with two scabbard examples. The knife at the top with its scabbard has a blade that is 14cm long and a two piece wood handle that is attached with two rivets, it has no markings. The knife in the middle also has a 14cm blade with a 12cm two piece wood handle that is attached with two rivets. It is marked Gottlieb Hammesfahr Solingen.Foche on one side of the ricasso and has a crown C on the other. The crank handled knife is constructed entirely of steel with a 14cm blade and a 11cm handle. It also can serve as a bayonet on the Gew98 or the Kar98 rifles.
When I was in Austria in 1972, I visited a family north of Salzburg. While helping set the table for a meal, I noticed a large number of unique looking steak knives in the drawer. I was not familiar with the Nahkamfmesser at the time and only later realized that this family had re-purposed fighting knives to be dinner knives, and they worked well in domestic duty
These two knives are Austro-Hungarian. The knife on the top is a 1917 trench knife with its scabbard. It has a 20cm blade and a 12cm wood handle that is held in place with three simple rivets. The knife was manufactured by Stocz and the hand guard is marked with the Hungarian double shield acceptance proof. The lower example is a K.u.K. Kriegsmarine Bordmesser, the Austrian Navy utility knife, this was used by Alfons Bartsch. It has a 14cm blade with a 12cm two piece wood handle that is attached to the blade with three screws and nuts, it has no markings.
This example of the French M1916 fighting knife was manufactured by Gonon, it has a 17cm double edged blade and 11cm one piece wood handle that is attached by a tang through the center of the handle and secured with a nut. The scabbard is steel with a 7.5cm wire belt loop.
The bayonets shown are a full length M70 bayonet with a 52cm blade and, below and on the left, a shortened M70/16 with a 23cm blade. The hooked quillion was removed when the bayonet was shortened as the hooks could become tangled in barbwire barricades. The shortened length made the modified bayonet more useful in trench warfare and the removed end was easy to convert to a close combat knife. The knife at the lower right is the standard issue Italian fighting knife, favored by the Arditi, the special forces of the Italian Army. It has a 17.5cm double edged blade and a 11cm two piece wood handle attached with three rivets. The excess of the leather scabbard was used to make a sheath for the knife
This is a nice example of a Canadian rigger’s knife (clasp knife) dated 1915 and named to Alex M. Hope, who served with the Canadian Army Medical Corps. It is marked M&D Canada 1916 and has a 9cm folding blade for cutting, a 4cm double edge point for piercing and a 10cm spike for working with rope and knots as well and many other tasks. This is a utility knife not a fighting knife.
from the M1912 only in the lack of a spring latch to lock it into the scabbard. This tool was issued to 14 members of each company. This tool was favored by members of the Harlem Hell Fighters as a weapon in the trenches and would be a formidable weapon in the hands of a determined soldier. This example is marked A.C.CO Chicago 1918. The scabbard is rawhide, canvas and leather manufactured by Brauer Bros. and dated 1917. It is an M1912 scabbard as it has the latch at the throat for the earlier bolo to lock in place, the M1917 bolo has a small hole drilled in the hand guard to allow it to fit over the catch hook.
The trench knife is a late production L. F. & C. M1917 fighting knife with a 23cm triangular spike and an 11cm one piece wood handle that is attached with a tang through the center of the handle and riveted to the stamped steel knuckle duster hand guard. The steel and leather scabbard is marked JEWELL 1918 on the leather below the throat. One Veteran told me these knives were only good for one thing, and that was to open a can of beer. The knife does not have a blade and is of no value as an actual knife, it is only a pointed spike.
This is a personal pocket knife that was carried by Will Adams, who served with the Engineers in the 29th Division. He was my great uncle and some of his story can be read in this previous post. https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=3312829348727350&set=pcb.723022435209469
This knife is a stink common mess knife that was issued to every U.S. Soldier, what makes it interesting here is I bought it from an advertizement in the Shot Gun News in the 1960s. It was advertized as an L.F.&C. 1917 trench knife for $1.95 plus shipping. I was very excited to get a trench knife for such a cheap price and you can imagine my disappointment when I unwrapped it and realized it was as advertised, just not what I expected.
This photo shows the some of different knives together to get an idea of the size differences.