Otter Ankermesser another typical German pattern (pic heavy)

Humppa

Humppa

Joined
Jul 25, 2010
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Hi guys!

I´ve already made a little review about the Mercator, which is a pretty nice german knife pattern, made by Otter Messer, Solingen, Germany. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/908758-Mercator-minimalism-pure

Now I wanna give you little information about the Ankermesser which is also made by Otter, Solingen, Germany

Here it is behind my house near a nice stream

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Ankermesser opened

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Here is a size comparison to an ordinary Vic Classic Alox

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Here it is in company with my trust sniffing-tobacco-powderhorn (sniffing tobacco (snuff) is still popular here in Bavaria, most other german "tribes" think it´s disgusting ;)

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And here is an in-hand-picture

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What I still can say about the Ankermesser is that it has a pretty large sheepfoot blade. It´s a singlebladed knife. The sheepfoot is pretty tall. So the knife needs a lot of space in the pocket, when it´s carried.
Interesting here is, that the bolsters are made of steel and not of nickel silver or anything else (brass maybe). The pins and shield are made of brass, I think. The handle is made of wood, but which one hase been used, I don´t know. However, the handle feels good in hand and the handle shape is an universal one.

There are versions with carbon steel available. This one here is made 440C. Good steel, I think. After using it, unfortunatelly the blade didn´t stand in the middle of the handle. But there´s no blade play. Bombproof, I would say! The blade-stand is not the problem, but wobbling blades are an absolute No-Go for me. ;)

So I can tell you, that this one would make a fine addition to anyone´s collection. :D

I hope you guys can enjoy the pics and I´m looking forward for any replies and critics!

Kind regards
Andi
 
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Thanks for the review. Seems to be a comfortable looking handle, nicely rounded on the spine and end. The sheepsfoot blade is very useful in carving and cutting tasks, owing to its ability to apply great force to a precise point at an advantageous angle to the hand. It's the one blade that gets a lot of use on my Stockman pattern. As Ankermesser ..translates to anchor knife, I wondered about is nautical heritage so I did a search on it and found this short clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=CqwXOoHI9gQ ,although it does not reference its history.
Maybe it was made originally for the German navy? Seems like it would excel at cutting rope, so this may give us some insight into its history. I'll keep searching for some more history about it.
Very good looking knife Andi. Thanks for the post.
 
Hi Andi -

Very nice! I like the wonderful wood handle and the anchor inlay is classic.

I notice that the blade maintains a bit of an "attack" angle when the knife is open, that is not something that I am used to seeing in a folding knife - they typically open up parallel to the handle.

Thanks for taking the time to review and post pictures - it is a neat thing about Bladeforums that we can share things from our countries with other knife fans around the world!

best regards -

mqqn
 
Thanks for the pictures and review, Andi. That's a nice looking knife and the anchor shield is well done. It's great to see some traditional knives from other parts of the world.
 
Andi, thanks for sharing your pics and opinions. It might be too bulky for me, still I do like this knife alot.

fausto
:cool:
 
mqqn said:
I notice that the blade maintains a bit of an "attack" angle when the knife is open, that is not something that I am used to seeing in a folding knife - they typically open up parallel to the handle.
Click to expand...

I noticed that too. I think the angle on the blade and the shape of the handle would make it excellent for pull cuts - great for cutting rope.

Andi, that is a beautiful knife - definitely made for good hard use.
 
Hi guys!

Thank you all for the replies. What do you mean with an "attack angle"? Is it, that the blade is not in one direction to the handle, when it´s closed? Then you´re right, the blade is not really straight in there, it always rubbs against the handle. But it can be closed easily.

The sheepfoot, for sure, is a great knife for any cutting work. Maybe the origin of this pattern lays in the nautic world. I don´t know, but I tend to say this. Real tips are no good when cutting on a sailor ship and the tip damages any one of the sails. But for ropes and such, it might be great.

@fausto: It´s small and thick. And bulky, you´re right. Maybe a nice sheath for belt carrying might be better...

I´m thinking about one in carbonsteel. But I bought this one for summer and holidays near the sea where the air is salty. But at home in hills of Bavaria it also figures pretty well :)

Kind regards
Andi
 
I like how when the blade is open it is angled down slightly from the line of the handle. I think that would aid in natural cutting ability of rope and line. With all that blade exposed in the closed position it looks like it would be easy to open with gloves on. I like it. Thanks for sharing.
 
Nice Traditional Knife there Andi..thank you very much for showing us, as the others have said...that shield is great!!
 
Yes, that one is pretty easy to open with gloves, though the backspring is pretty strong. I mean really strong!

Kind regards
Andi
 
I remember you posted this in the "what are you carrying today?" thread a while ago. Thanks for putting up some more pictures here. I really like it. The handle looks cocobolo-ish, though perhaps somewhat darker. What kind of hardwoods do the Solingen makers typically use?
 
My wife got me one for Christmas. I got the carbon steel. Blade IS way off center, but everything else is good. It's a nice knife. I don't find it too large for the pocket. And it has charm for sure.
 
Thank you guys!

@ nate: I´ve tried to get an answer about the used wood at the handle at the german spoken forum. But I couldn´t find an answer. Unfortunatelly. In Solingen are a lot of materials used. Oak, Rosewood, Whalenut, seldom Cocobolo (in production knives) I think.
I have not very much experience with wooden handle materials, so I can´t tell you. Maybe it´s varnished with another colour or whatever.

@ LKJW: I´ve read about, in the german spoken forum that the handle isn´t centered, too. It seems that this is another typical thing at this knife. So it´s nothing to worry about.

I resharpened the Stainless Ankermesser today, the used steel gets razorsharp.

Some years ago the Ankermesser was produced by Lütters & Co., Solingen, but they stopped that production and Otter now makes that pattern.

Kind regards
Andi
 
Usually a drastically off center blade bothers me, but I had read the same warnings so was expecting it with this one. Thanks for the follow up!
 
Nice Ankermesser!
I have 4 made by Lütters in carbon steel.
It's not that Lütters stopped to produce them, they just stopped to produce the carbon version with steel bolsters.
One more reason I'm really happy with my 4 treasures :)

My anchor knife is my favorite slip joint so far!

Regards
surfer
 
Hi surfer!

Yes, the Ankermesser I showed off is not made by Löwenmesser or Lütters. It´s made by Otter Messer, Solingen.
I was just searching through the Löwenmesser-HP and they still offer the Ankermesser, though not in Carbonsteel.

Nevertheless - they are great little fellows. The sheepfoot is a great bladeshape.

Kind regards
Andi
 
Very nice Andi. I especially like the Anchor imbedded in the cover and the sheepfoot blade as I was in the U.S. Navy for 24-years.
 
Hi Andi, I've been drawn to this pattern for a long time. I just love the way it looks (I'm a sucker for nautical themed trinkets). Unfortunately, they aren't the easiest to find here so I have never actually seen one in person. I was wondering if you could do me a favor and take some side by side shots with your EO Boys knife so I can get an idea on size? Thanks in advance for your time!
 
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