Three African Trade Knives by Bernard Levine
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KNEWSLETTTER IN A KNUTSHELL 4 African Trade Knives 4 Military Knives 4 Riddle of Steel 4 A Really Neat Knife 4 Application Form 4 Sheffield-Cutler Trade Marks 4 Life Goes On 4 Knives Are Where You Find Them Ourinternational membership is happily involved with “Anything that goes ‘cut’!” October 2001 Three African Trade Knives by Bernard Levine Here are three knives that I have acquired in to this the past two or three years. I traded for two of them type of (one from Bill Claussen, one from Larry Peetz), “Prussian” and then bought the third, the one with the fitted butcher sheath, from Tony Mulder at the 2000 OKCAshow. knife All three are lightly made, with fullered (reproduced blades. They have hollow sheet metal bolsters -- from a nickel plated steel bolsters on the small knife, brass 1914 US bolsters on the two larger ones. The horn handles hardware on the smaller knife are "spotted" to resemble wholesale tortoiseshell. The handles of the two larger knives catalog). are smooth bone. These low- My smaller knife has a nickel-silver fleur-de- cost knives lis and bouquet pressed into the front handle. Blade had white markedACIER FONDU --French for Cast Steel. metal One of the large knives is marked (pewter), Then Steve Dick weighed in. First he FERNANDO ESSER/ ELBERFELD. Esser was a iron, or hollow sheet steel bolsters, though hollow mentioned a picture of a similar knife shown in a cutlery firm in Elberfeld that manufactured mainly sheet steel seems to have been most common. French book. It was one of 200,000 such knives for export. Elberfeld was a city just north of What the knives did not tell me was what type supposedly issued to African troops drafted from Solingen, which became part of Wuppertal in 1929. of knives they are, and where they were intended to French colonies to fight against the Germans The other large knife is marked T. ASSMANN be sold. Their light weight and cheap construction during the First WorldWar. in italics. This style of italic stamping was the suggested that they were meant to be sold or traded Then he directed me to a website in South usual form of a retailer's mark on a German knife. in some relatively primitive part of the planet, but Africa. It shows knives similar in style to my two Most likely this knife was made by Esser for in the 1910s and 1920s, that description fit a larger knives, made today in Kwazulu, both for Assmann. majority of the nations and dependencies around local use and for regional trade. The company that From the evidence of the knives themselves, I the world. makes them is a formerly German firm, which concluded that they were made in the first quarter So I post my pictures on transplanted from Solingen in 1987. of the 20th century, two of them in Germany, one www.BladeForums.com, and sat back to see what In Solingen the original firm was called probably in France --though it might have been would happen. Several people posted plausible Ferdinand Everts & Sohn. It was founded in 1880, made in Germany for sale to French-speaking guesses, including North Africa and South though the Okapi mark only dates back to 1902. customers. America, but with no solid evidence to back them The Okapi logo includes a picture of an okapi, a The construction of all three knives is similar up. forest-dwelling African herbivore related to giraffes, but which looks to have been assembled from leftover parts of half a dozen more familiar creatures, including zebra and wildebeest. Another Everts trademark was Schneidteufel, German for "Cut-Devil." Everts, Continued on Page 4 Knotes on somebody! One contract, number 1913QM 11694, Randall Blade Markings was right after a similar contract numbered The controversy over the Fl. Vs. Fla. United States 1913QM11693 issued to WR Case and Sons also marked blade is over. According to recent for “Hunting Knives”; so you tell me was that the findings by Rhett Stidham the FLA. stamp is Military Edged 337Q-6" or what! Cattaraugus records do not being used today on stainless steel Randall Made Cutlery exist, we have tried that route already. What we blades and has been used intermittently ever need is a lucky strike in the Quartermaster records since the 1984 introduction of the FL. stamp. On by Frank Trzaska to find some drawings or specifications sheets. smaller Randall Made knives the FL. Stamp is That would help us prove that once and for all time the normal stamp used since 1984. On the larger that the Catt225Q knife was an issued knife to front stainless bladed models, the ones we are most A tale of two Vince’s?? Recently I found some contract information on a World War Two contractor that manufactured the “Hard Hat Diver’s Knives” and machetes. Seen in M.H Cole’s book III, the Vince Diving knife is a hard to come by piece. In Cole IV he has a Vince Forge 18" M1942 machete shown, I am still looking for one of those babies. Well, the paperwork I found related to machetes made by Vince; but this was Vince Fencing Equipment Co., Inc. of New York, NY. Well, Vince Forge is in Easton, PA, which is a very short distance from the Big Apple; but all the Vince Fencing Equipment Co. sales listed were for “Foreign Missions”, not to the US, and among those sales were machetes. The Vince Forge machetes are not marked US on the blade nor are they dated like all the other WW II made machetes. The one shown in Cole’s book IV has the original paper sticker on the blade which is written line fighters early in the war. And concerned with here, the FL. and the FLA. in Spanish, this really made me all that stuff about the stamps are both used and have been since 1984 believe it was simply a commercial Quartermaster knives is true; but when the wrong stamps were procured. So, as we item in a military scabbard; but I am then again almost every knife see, there is no exact dating involved here except not so sure anymore. Well, anyway, purchased was purchased for the fact that a FL. marked knife is not older that is my theory for now. Vince through the Quartermaster then 1984. But the key point is if you are paying Fencing Equipment Co. Inc made Department, that was their jobs! I more for a FL. marked or FLA. marked knife fencing equipment and machetes for have been having a great don’t bother, they may have been made the US government to be sold strictly correspondence with the yesterday. On another topic, if you don’t have the to foreign aid missions, that part is wonderful military knife writer, Randall CD for your computer you need to get it. fact. The machete contract I found Chuck Karwan, on the topic of What a great reference to these knives. was for $56,000.00 alone, so at the these knives, they are one of WW II price of about $0.50 to $0.80 Chuck’s for a machete that would leave a lot favorites. He of machetes to be found, where are has an they now?? I just wonder if it was the outstanding same Vince, or was it actually a article on different company? Many them in the companies had stores in New York 1998 Knives City, it would have been a natural. Annual series. But the company having a different If you haven’t name, now that makes me wonder. If read it, you you have any information on this, I need to do so; would love to hear it. if you have, you need to re- Cattaraugus 225Q read it. Many The Quartermaster pry bar of the items knife. What a lot of hogwash that is, Chuck points but it’s tough trying to prove it. Still out are being can’t find any really good records or found out to be the original specifications on these fact, not that I buggars. Well, I can tell you that the ever doubted US government bought over him. $1,250,000 worth of them for Page 2 Campbell House is an experience in elegance. for the purpose of setting up a selling and buying OKCA Knews This year we have made special arrangements theater. That may happen, but not by our design. So with theCourtyard by Marriott . They have if you gauge the Show based on how much you sell and Musings given the Oregon Knife Collectors a or buy, then you are on your own. The buying special break on rooms. The and selling might happen for the reasons ibdennis Courtyard is located right off the we promote but having this work freeway and is easy access to the for you is your responsibility. Show. Marriott also has what they call Do not forget that Please Read this notice... theResidence Inn which is geared to table holders that leave At the close of the OKCAApril Show a table those that are staying more than the early either Saturday or holder from the eastern area of the US asked a local weekend. Their rooms have kitchen Sunday or cover their Oregon table holder to mail two large boxes of facilities. This facility has also agreed tables during the Show are knives that needed to be shipped to his home. The to extend special rates to the OKCA in violation of our Show rules.