Let's see your sportmesser

Will Power said:
rarreola You beat me to it :D:thumbup: That Shadow bone example you have is most impressive, obviously not as sturdy as the bolstered ones but a fine looker for sure. Also, not having a shackle, it's more pocket orientated. Many of these knives would be hung from a belt, or nail when not in use, or keep in a bag or picnic hamper. Another aspect of those Bökers is having the corkscrew centrally located so there is enough pull area for the fingers when drawing a cork. Some Sportsmen knives neglect this and I wonder how difficult they may be to use...

Thanks, Will
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Yes indeed, its one of my EDC, it's a vintage shadow and very sharp Boker sportmesser. It could be one of the early design because it has a splitter in the back of the knife, not often seen in newer pocket knives.
 
Phenomenal sportsknives! Really excited to see those old ones.

Here are few of mine

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Böker

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Hartkopf & Co

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Friedrich Harkopf
 
Thanks Robert!
It is one of my most cherished ones. Found it from Berlin flea market for 15eur. Best find ever. Some 40 years old knife I have found out by research.. For that it is in excellent condition. Not to be mixed with the current Friedrich Hartkopf.
 
All these beautiful vintage sportsman knives, and some of the bigger variants I've seen on auction sites made me inspired on getting more of the older and rare pieces somewhere in the future. This is the pattern that I have genuinely grown fond of. :)

Speaking of the word "sportmesser" mentioned before, it indeed means "sports knife", sportsman knife. I have no real knowledge on why these were called sportsmen's knives but I suppose people in the old days had more knowledge on style including sports. As I would assume it, these kinds of knives could have been carried on sports such as bird hunting, and on breaks you could pop your bottle of juice (or wine) with the corkscrew etc, so that you would be prepared for such picnic chores on the field.

Just my guessing. :)

These days of course, sports knives have to be plastic and bright and.. sporty. Meh. :)
 
A.L. said:
Speaking of the word "sportmesser" mentioned before, it indeed means "sports knife", sportsman knife. I have no real knowledge on why these were called sportsmen's knives but I suppose people in the old days had more knowledge on style including sports. As I would assume it, these kinds of knives could have been carried on sports such as bird hunting, and on breaks you could pop your bottle of juice (or wine) with the corkscrew etc, so that you would be prepared for such picnic chores on the field.

Just my guessing. :)

These days of course, sports knives have to be plastic and bright and.. sporty. Meh. :)
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When googling the word sportsmesser, there will be some images like Boker, Krusius and other brands shown a 6 blades camp knife with a thumb indentation pattern on the main blade side. The name sportmesser or sportsman (IMHO) is not an official name of the pattern, but Boker use it when refer to that pocket knife.
 
Allright. I just remember "gun trader's guide to collectable pocket knives" mentioning sports knives so I assumed it was actual pattern (kind of like variant of army/scout knives). But I am no expert on the subject.
 
Messer definitely means knife. Kochsmesser-cook's knife, etc. Probably sportsmesser because of handiness when birding or fishing, or simply camping. FWIW
Thanks, Neal
 
rarreola said:
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The Weidmannsheil company closed its doors in 1991, and this knife was assembled in Solingen at the olbertz factory with parts purchased from the closed factory.
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Thanks for the info. It's a beauty!
 
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