Original German WWI Fighting Trench Knife Nahkampfmesser with Original Rolled Steel Scabbard Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. Fitted with a single edge and a slight Bowie style blade this is an original fighting knife used by the Germans in WW1. Offered in very good condition, this knife has classic Austro-Hungarian wood grip panels secured by three pins. The blade is one sided but has a small return of about two inches at the point. The blade is un-sharpened in bright steel and in excellent condition with minor surface rust.

The knife comes in a genuine rolled steel World War One scabbard with leather belt loop. The black paint on the scabbard is retained at about 50% leaving the uncovered metal sections with a light rusting. The leather for the belt loop is extremely soft and fragile and has completely lost its protective coating.

No visible markings, but 100% original, and very good example for display in any quality German Great War edged weapon collection.

Measurements:
Blade Length: 5 ⅞ inches
Handle Length: 4 ½ inches
Total Length: 10 inches
Scabbard Length: 6 ½ inches

The German Nahkampfmesser (translated: close combat knife) was the standard issue German combat knife during the First World War. It remained in service in modified form through the end of the Second World War. Most of these knives had slab wooden grips and metal sheaths and were sturdily made. According to one authoritative source, German-issued trench knives of World War I were “conventional, general-purpose, cut-and-thrust knives” with blades that were “for the most part approximately six inches in length, single-edged with a top leading false edge … although double-edged blades are occasionally encountered.”

After the French Nail was employed against them, German forces on the Western Front also began to employ converted steel barbed-wire stakes as stabbing weapons for use by their own soldiers.

German trench knives carried during World War II were similar in design and are usually known today as boot knives, although they seldom were carried in boots. Most also had steel sheaths with clips that could be attached to boots, webbing or clothing, and most were made by government contractors and issued as combat gear.