Identify possible WWII era German pocket knife?

[Razoredj]

A coworker recently found the above knife and gave it to me, having no reason to keep it. He believes it may have been brought back from Germany or thereabouts by a relative who was in World War II. Can anyone help me identify this knife? Anyone have any ideas about it?

The knife appears to be entirely steel (and is covered with corrosion, including pitting on the blade and along the blade edge). There is a corkscrew on the spine, and some sort of awl or spike as well as a can opener. The blade is a spear point number about four inches long, and the handle is five inches long. The only marking is the word "SOLINGEN" etched into the base of the blade and along the spine. It's a locking knife, and has that hump-style lock release characteristic of some German lockbacks.

Any information or theories that anyone can offer would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Razor

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AKTI #A000845
And tomorrow when you wake up it will be worse.


[This message has been edited by Razoredj (edited 23 July 1999).]

 

[not2sharp]

Razor,

The knife appears to be a Mercator 4-bladed sportman's knife c. 1937. Levine call it @ about $60 in good condition.

N2S

 

[Kodiak PA]

I know this has nothing to do with this particular knife but to throw in some trivia regarding Nazi WWII "pockeknives"...there are no such thing. There are a ton of pocket knives with WWII markings, i.e., swastikas and they're fakes. Levine has an excellent pocketbook called "Pocket Knives" and in it he describes that in the 30's and 40's the Nazi party ordered millions of knives but they were all daggers. One thing he goes on to say is that they ordered no pocketknives. So why do so many show up at knife and gun shows? Fakes. They were dreamed up in the 70's by an American company, mostly the Parker Cutlery Co of Tennessee. They have been around so long that they're showing up in antique stores and estate sales but they're not genuine and have no value.

There are lots of German pocket knives and since the middle ages, Solingen has been the hub of German brands though they're not the exporters they were in the early part of the century.

Regards,

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~Greg~

 

[Cougar Allen]

I should probably mention most of the Nazi daggers, pistols, medals, etc. sold in America are fakes, too. And I really feel obliged to explain the vast majority of the Americans who collect Nazi memorabilia are NOT Neo-Nazis. The stuff that isn't fake was brought home by soldiers as war trophies -- it symbolizes the heroism of those soldiers in the minds of the vast majority of collectors, not Naziism.

There's a market for reproductions that are honestly sold as reproductions, too. I find that harder to understand.... Well, in a world where people buy "collector's items" from the Franklin Mint, I shouldn't be surprised at anything.

-Cougar Allen :{)