French model 1916

J

JPUtah

Joined
Sep 11, 2012
Messages
9
So, I've had this old, foreign, military knife for years and never knew what it was. Thanks to you fine folks here at Blade Forums, I now know a little more about this knife. Turns out it is a French model 1916 with the Bourgade maker's mark, and with the metal sheath. It's been stored for more than 40 years and the metal has a well worn look; the wood looks great. I'm now debating whether I should display it or keep it packed away for another few years. What would you do?
 
If I had one of those I'd probably show it off. That's a very cool piece of history right there. :thumbup:

Speaking of which, do you have any pictures of it? I'd love to see it.
 
Whats the point of hiding it away? I have a few older military knives and people can't get out of my door till I have shown them off.
 
If you like the way it looks...put some oil on it and display it. :thumbup:

Why wouldn't you? :confused:
 
I'll get some pics posted. Sorry I don't have any pics already. There's a knife store near my home; I'll see what they have for displaying a single knife. Pics soon!
 
Here, just to whet our appetites a bit....

bourgade-1.JPG
 
If you think that you might ever sell it, whatever you do, DON'T try to clean or "restore" it in any way. Most people who buy antique weapons (especially those who pay top dollar) want the weapons to have their normal age and patina. What we may call grime and corrosion, they are willing to pay big money for. Cleaning and "restoring" antique weapons is a great way to ruin their dollar value. Many collectors won't even consider buying a cleaned or "restored" weapon, no matter how old it is or how good the average person thinks it looks.

Don't try to sharpen it either for the very same reason.

Steel wool, sand paper, polishing wheels, and cleaning solvents have destroyed the sale value of many otherwisw valuable antiques.

My advice if you think that you will ever want to sell it is to store it in an air-tight container with some moisture absorbant dessicant.
 
Nice pic, akc. Killgar, agreed. Mine has all the age markings intact. The wood is in better shape than the one pictured above (do I see a chip off the handle end?), but the steel retains the age and patina. The edges are sharp yet rough in some spots. I wouldn't dare mess with it. I actually am considering selling it but I know the forum rules here.
 
Okay, just read the faq and learned that pics are for paying members only. I guess it's permissible,then, to ask you to contact me privately if you want a pic?
 
Naw, man, just get an account with an image uploading website (like Photobucket) and upload your photo to that. Then you can post your pics using the [ IMG] [ /IMG] tags.

Like this:

kitties-in-teamugs.jpg


See, I don't have a paying membership, but I can still post pictures. :thumbup:
 
So, I've read that the Bourgade maker's mark is more coveted than others. Does anyone here know why? Can't really find much info on this knife. How available or scarce are they?
IMG_00000114.jpg
 
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