Third Party Press

Not a German Bayonet But...!

Definitely intriguing, and I love the screw-in scabbard. It's a different topic in itself, but did the KM ever really have much of a NSW capability?
 
Strange, some exist with KM proofs but with messing design and inoxydable blade, this looks like made from S84/98 blade? b.r.Andy
 
Definitely intriguing, and I love the screw-in scabbard. It's a different topic in itself, but did the KM ever really have much of a NSW capability?

Well, they certainly had hard hat divers, and this looks a lot like a USN Divers knife...except the USN version was all brass except the stainless steel blade...

The USN Divers used it for a cutting tool, especially if they got entangled in some lines for example. This one looks a little more fighting knife, which wouldn't make much sense, don't think a lot of undersea combat took place between warring hard hat divers...

The Germans also had their combat swimmers, so it could be something they used...

Interesting, but I would think caution is in order unless you can find some photographic evidence (and more than on blurry shot of a hard hat diver...)

If real, its damned cool!
 
Combat swimmers are what I had in mind. I’m also kind of surprised they didn’t have a lanyard.


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Combat swimmers are what I had in mind. I’m also kind of surprised they didn’t have a lanyard.


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Yeah, it would seem proper for them...but it has a scabbard just like the USN diving knife...If you were a combat swimmer, and needed your knife in a hurry, it would be cumbersome to have to unscrew it from the cylindrical sheath...but maybe I am just overthinking things...
 
The training camp for German combat divers/swimmers was in Valdagno (Italy). IIRR their entire equipment was of Italian origin.
Attached photo is from a late war newspaper. You can see the Italian divers knife on the far right.
 

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After thinking about the German diver knife and that used during the same time by the United States Navy (which in some respects shares a few features...notably a "beehive" pattern wooden grip), my thoughts are:

1. The US diver's knife is far more robust, double edged and acted as much a knife as a tool...to pry, chop or cut (with "stab" perhaps the least effective use).
2. The German knife seems more of a defensive weapon, with stab it's primary function and cutting a secondary one. As a "tool" it would have very limited use.
3. Since hard-hat divers were tied to an umbilical (for retrieval, air supply and communication), and sallied forth on their mission from either a dock/wharf, surface ship, or submarine, the last thing they would ever deal with was an enemy combatant. Dangerous marine life might be an issue, but a exceedingly rare encounter. The diver's real concern was moving around in conditions with poor visibility among sharp wreckage, tangled metal, wood, nets, ropes and steel cables. In this environment the USN pattern knife could prove to be a life-saver. The German...not so much.
 
This knife is much more like the USN Divers knife, and much different than the knife in the first post...

What are the thoughts of you hard core knife guys on the original knife?

Agreed on the first comment. The original German knives are very much like the US versions. Virtually identical in appearance but for the brass handle instead of wood. There were a handful of makers. Henckels as another example. All of the original knives that I have seen and handled were of that ilk. There is a decent period photograph of one of these knives in-wear that appears in one of Johnson's reference books (not sure which volume). The knife in the original post is a fantasy piece in my opinion. I like nothing about it .....
 

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