Original German WWII Luftwaffe Gravity Knife by Rare Maker F.&A. Helbig Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This example was produced by Helbig, who very rarely made this type of knife; this fact alone makes it very desirable. Prime examples by this maker have gone as high as $1500.

Helbig Gravity Knives have a number of small design differences from those on the more commonly seen Weyersberg and SMF pieces. The throat is a slightly different shape as is the collar beneath it, being slightly more bulbous than typically encountered, and the hinged area of the marlin spike is a bit more rounded.

This example has fine, stainless steel components. There are no numbers stamped on the parts of this knife, also different from a typical example. It has the a stickbird waffenamt marked 5 on the hinged area. The spring on the marlin spike is a bit weak, so it does not stay in place unfortunately. 

The grip plates are of walnut with the standard four retaining rivets. These plates are in very good condition throughout. Overall length is 10 inches, with a 4 inch blade.

The blade of this knife is in good used condition. It has however been sharpened quite a bit, so the shape is somewhat changed. This was definitely used quite a bit during the war. These were not really intended for long term use, but USGIs who captured them often would use them extensively.

The blade is still faintly marked with the rarely seen trademark of the F. & A HELBIG firm; pair of ellipses enclose the firm’s name and location of STEINBACH KR.M.. Inside the ellipses is the Helbig script Gaesler trademark logo, and beneath is ROSTFREI, the German word for stainless steel.

A very nice Gravity Knife here, with a very scare trademark for the type.