this is crazy, I was digging through my garage and found my grandpa’s old knife, and tried to find out the history of it, and it just blew my mind when I found out, I have the original version and everything, definitely something cool to add to my knife collection
My uncle had two of these from ww2. A buddy from the Europe campaign gave him one of the German paratrooper gravity knives he confiscated when taking German prisoners. He also got one from the pacific when he was with the marine raiders. The Japanese had a version he came across that he collected. Both in excellent condition
My grandpa took one of theses knifes off a nazi solider along with a nazi Luger. My dad has them in his safe. I hope to get those pieces of history passed down to me one day. My grandpa was a tank commander for general patten a fought 3 battles including Battle of the bulge. He passed away at 93 in 2012. RIP grandpa
Heh just reading this it cut off the second line so it looked like you said "My grandpa was a tank" which I have no doubt he was. But reading on, it was still a cool little tidbit of history in and of itself. Thanks for sharing this. Cheers!
I love knives and history. This is one of the finest history videos I have ever seen in my life. Amazing job... I would love to have one of these...superb German ingenuity and craftsmanship...
@@arvedludwig3584 I have used German knives for 50 years...It is crazy that the finest knife makers have such goofy laws.. I spent a lot of time in Argentina and found some great german blades attached to incredible gaucho style knives in Tandil and Mar del Plata. My Wusthof Gran Prix chef knives I bought in 2004 are like brand new...glad I have a discontinued series. The pocket knives of today open so swiftly and with such little effort it is funny that these would be banned. But, I come from a part of the USA where we all have guns and knives and nobody is going to ever take them away.. Take care
@@arvedludwig3584 I am such a knife hound I would buy a Windmuhle...But, I am 64 and have plenty of chef knives..I was a Chef in the USA for 25+ years.. I live in Cambodia now.. I brought most of my knives with me.. I have my German and Japanese Chef knives I use every day... Thanks
Great video. I'm a former US Navy aviator and parachutist. I handled one of the early models of the gravity knife owned by a collector and while I thought it was a very cool design and very well made, I did not see it as being very practical for a flier or parachutist. I would not want anything that took any manipulation to get into action or depended on gravity. Small motor coordination goes out the window in an emergency and when you are falling through the air, gravity becomes relative. We had fixed blade, hook-type shroud line cutters on the outside of our gear and a full combat knife in a pouch. They weren't perfect, but I think they were a better arrangement. But thanks fo the video. I always wondered about the origins of that knife.
@@jonsmith5124 I know those human bottle openers, thinking they're cool but really- people who can't turn a lighter or another beer bottle into an opener should stick to draft or cans. Nobody's impressed by selfmutilation and wasting beer.
I serviced 4 years in The Fallschirmjaeger battalion 261 in Lebach in the late 80ties, I found this knife from the design very cool but we never used it during Parachute jumps, it was to bulky in the side pocket of our combat trousers on top it could cause injuries during the landing. At some point I found the knife usless, I used to carry a Buck 110 which I was able to open it with one hand too. Anyway very interesting video, would be interesting if other German Parachuters have the same view on this knife.
Your comment hits the nail on the head. Actually even the WW2 veterans have confirmed that they did not carry the knife in the trouser pocket, when jumping but in the jacket. In the later pilot suits, they were stored in a front leg pocket to avoid injuries.
I am always using the new Swiss army knife when para-gliding which can be opened with one hand due to a hole in the blade, and usually have a membership with REGA helicopter rescue which saves 500'00 Franks in helicopter costs when caught in a tree.
Yep, know what you are talking about, been there in the late 60's, carried that thing on top of the emergency chute, split my lip once at the landing. Still have one of the newer production, just for the memories. nice but basically useless. I don't live in Germany anymore.
@@copperhammer Still a very special item symbolizing the unique Fallschirmjäger legacy and THE only item still in service since 1937. However soon they will all be gone .....
@@divingeagletv It is like so many "German engineered" items a little bit overengineered but nicely made, razor-sharp not suitable for combat. And I guess, totally overpriced by now. BTW, is it still in service in Germany ?
That is one of the most awesome designs, that's advanced knifetech for the time, hell, even now, and I am watching designs and machining and creativity in non-fixed blades get more wild and interesting constantly, it seems like something that would be right alongside current innovations
Excellent video! I also would like to mention that the book quoted above is a must for collectors of these knives to prevent one from being fleeced by better and better fakes.
Unfortunately, nowadays in Germany, even the possession of a gravity knife is an offense according to § 53 WaffG. Shows once again how stupid the legislators actually are.
The legislators are not stupid. You guys are to let this happen to you. ( Don't be offended ) . I looked once into some laws pertaining to gun ownership. Guess you have to be holier than thou, don't even need to apply for a permit if you ever had a parking ticket.
@@copperhammer It's true. The German people have allowed the German legislators to stop the German people from having weapons to go around murdering each other. That is so incredibly STUPID! Just look at America and our American freedoms! We Americans are free to murder tens of thousands of people every year! Hooray for America!!!! 😃
Actually there is so much more info available. The video only gives a brief overview. The book shown in the end is 240 pages thick and full of interesting facts solely on the development and use of these unique rescue and fighting knives. I love the chapter with the stories of the German WW2 soldiers talking about how the knife saved their lives. So many cool stories.....
@@Shinzon23 Similar with the Kukri (BSI/BSA) - both have origins before their military adoptions that could be considered centuries worth of trial and adaptation. I don't mean the whole history of knives/blades but those two specific patterns; the Ka-Bar and the Kukri.
@@rickybuhl3176 kukri i consider a cultural thing, as it's been part of Nepalese history for centuries, whilst something like the KA-BAR is more a model/company thing
@@Shinzon23 Yes and no. The knife that came to be known as the "Kill a Bear" Ka-Bar was a knife that in various guises had been used by settlers and hunters. There were also changes from the initial 1898 knives to the ones issued in the military, naturally.. Ka-Bar is just a hunting knife that evolved to where it became a military issued piece of kit. Ka-Bar as a name wasn't even adopted until into the 1920s, when stories of hunters using them had surfaced, similar to the Bowie knives.. The history is much shorter because of the circumstances but it was neither new nor unique at the time - they just decided to try to sell it to the military after 'great success' selling them to the general population. Since not many were making real hunting knives en mass and from high-ish quality metal. I'd still take a Solingen blade over almost any US at the time.. It's just the one that was adopted. If you took 100 hunting knives from 1800 America, at least 20 would look very similar - there aren't many shapes for hunting and fileting knives that work in practice. And once the tip is snapped off, well - the blade is still good and we're left with the Ka-Bar style. As such, it's merely an evolution of a long line of hunting knives going back through the frontiersmen and whatever they adopted from the natives. So although not the history of the Kukri but that isn't possible either. It does however have a history that almost spans the colonization of the States up until WW2 - which is the best it can do in the circumstances and would place it as more cultural than a specific singular model, imo.
I've seen and handled one of those gravity knives. A friend of mine collects memorabilia. I had a student in my class that claimed she had her grandfather's Hitler youth knife.
I have one of these that was given to me by my late father-in-law, Feliks, and it's marked SMF SOLINGEN ROSTFREI and stamped 939. He was in the 3 Dywizja Strzelców Karpackich (2 Korpus Polski) - (3rd Carpathian Rifles Division, 2nd Polish Corps) that took Monte Cassino in 1944. The cutting edge of the blade has a centimetre chunk missing - reputedly from when the original owner thrust it at Feliks who parried it away with his Sten gun. According to one of his old comrades at his funeral, the brown stains on the blade showing fingerprints are the original owner's blood (Feliks lost the top of his right index finger in the exchange). He settled in London after the war but got caught up in a brawl in a pub while carrying the knife. Gravity knives were and still are illegal in the UK. A colonel in the British Army testified to his good character and he was offered the choice: the knife could be confiscated and destroyed or he could keep it if the blade was removed. It's very hard to disassemble a mark 1 knife so the blade was snapped off at the metal "hammer" head. It's a good job they didn't know about the Luger and 250 rounds of 9mm he'd also brought back as a souvenir! When he died in 1991 we offered his army memorabilia including his uniform, Virtuti Militari cross and the broken knife to the Sikorsky Museum in London but they said they already had so many exhibits - it seems Polish soldiers were fond of collecting war souvenirs (he also gave me a Soligen cutthroat razor he "found" in Italy) and so I still have the broken knife upstairs in a drawer.
That is an awesome story, showing that the knives were actually used in close combat. In my book, there are more stories like that, which make the history of this unique weapon more vivid.
There is no version of reality where any woman or man who lives on their own resources, fends for herself, or if he's a soldier, that having a knife isn't a hugely helpful tool. And yes, if I've got a knife, mostly it's a bean stirrer, but you know it's also deadly.
As said not a combat knife at all, but a cutting knife, i have several and they are heavy, and not easiely repaired if the spring breaks , but really cool and a peice of history to be preserved..
The New and True Swiss army knife is it seems based on this German knife since the main blade can be opened with one hand only (has a hole in the main blade-use your thumb to open with handle firmly held) which is also important for Mountaineering troops, plus it has screw-drivers and blades, saw and tools to maintain SIG 90 assault rifle. only misses the cork-screw which isn't necessary anymore with the wine bottles having no more corks ( was very important for our Gipfelwein ( Peak-Wine) in the Mountain troops-Gebirgstruppen. BTW, I cleaned out my first White tail deer on Anticosti island with a normal 20.00$ Swiss army knife, today I have the special hunter version, but using my index and other finger not to cut into the tripes worked well.
The version with the corkscrew was never issued to anyone. It was developed by Victorinox with the intention to be used by officers but only the version with the screwdriver and blade was adopted. The SAK is used to this day by German forces as it was used in WW2. The gravity knife was only used by paratroopers while the regular infantry carried bayonets
@@sterkriger2572 the old officiel Victorinox-Wenger Soldiers knife used to have a cork-screw in the 60's then with the SIG 57 became the alumunium version without cork-screw, thats what I received in Military school, my father still had the older version with cork-screw, there were never officers version given out, Swiss soldiers had to buy lots of stuff themselves such a socks and undewear, also shirts and even speicial boots.The new Swiss soldiers knife can be opened with one hand and is especially adapted for mountaineering and para-trooper units.
When I served in the Infantry of the Bundeswehr in the 90s, we still had this knife as a standard. It was the only knife, w/o the butter knife from the cutlery set, that we have gotten. It was exact the type 4 and it was a peace of crap in my eyes. The blade had a lot of play und you could shake it, when out, it wobbled about 2cm at the tip, we have never used it.
That was truly a bad one then. The first ones were produced around 1970-1972. So possibly yours was almost 25 years old and had already seen many owners, who played with it a lot.
I inherited a mass of German WW2 stuff, I sold it all...except the gravity knife. It goes with me on every camping trip and long hike. It's brilliant. Completely illegal to own here in Germany, even to keep at home I'm told. I didn't know it was a fighting knife, that's interesting.
Quite expensive Camping Knife! They sell for 500-1000 Euros if all original. And you may have a rare piece which will go for more ..... happy to check out your knife, for you to know what you've got.
I have an original type I bought in Munchen over 22 years ago on honey moon/flitterwoche. A couple BW model s as well as a brass pinned type one reproduction.
I had one in highschool I carried constantly, but don't have anymore, it was actually camo, with the plastic and spike, I can't find the camo pattern ones when were those made?
You missed to mention the last iteration, the rescue knife without a tip. It’s the last one sou can buy in many European countries like Germany, since the original is outlawed..
Yes, that's what I am saying in the video. To untie knots in the parachute lines. However soldiers get creative. I had one with the spike transformed into a screwdriver-like tool.
Once owned a Type 4 never overly impressed with its mechanism or operation. Was probably considered state of the art in its day a clumsy design at best.
Yes....try to put yourself in the shoes of a Wehrmacht soldier only being equipped with a bayonet. This knife was the shit. Please subscribe if you like my Videos.
I have the AES78 version, amazing, all reparable, indestructible. The one best knife do it all, of my collection. Actually the AES78 has a cable cutter and stripper on blade's back. It is very useful in all circumstances. The head can serve as bottle opener and lever small things
That is the so-called type 5 or LL80 (80 as for the length of the blade). Are you aware, there is a longer version as well called LL100? Eickhorn sells these to countries where these knives are still allowed...
These knives can be fixed e.g. with 1970s/1980s parts. Check out my other Video on how to repair these knives. And I know a guy in the US who does it very well.
Great video ! While [military] guns are the subject of countless videos, knives aren't. I want to suggest making a video about the allies version of the paratrooper's knife, but I pause when I notice that the name of your channel is Flieger-Kappmeßer. Do you only make videos of German military equipment ? Thanks for a very informative video
Apparently these knives were hanging right next to the AN-2 door, so the jump masters could cut off the jumpers in an emergency. Did a couple of jumps out of the "Bee" myself...."interesting" plane!
One of our jump instructors showed us an odd one. It was orange, an actual switchblade mechanism and had a hook instead of a knife blade. Only one I've ever seen.
You may be talking about the Eickhorn RT 1 Rescue Knife, which is actually an offspring of the potential 5th generation German Army Gravity Knife - the LL 80. However LL 80 was never introduced to the forces.
TS: It's a Camilus brand survival knife made for the US Navy since the 1960's. They are actually pretty cheaply made. The blade lock is weak. The hood is for cutting parachute shrouds. (old navy flyer).
I really liked reading your book. I would have wished that you would have integrated a few pages on the type IV or type V. The type V seems to have a different way to lock the knife, as they a the decent in the blade. I also found two errors in the German version, you probably already know they exist, however I can send them to you if you provide me with your email.
That is a good question: Other than most OTF (out the front) knives this one is not spring loaded/operated. Instead it functions simply by using the principle of Gravity. Or in other words: if you turn the front to the earth and push the lever, the blade FALLS out simply due to its weight.
This video becomes very nice to watch on 1,5x speed. If you work a bit on your vocal presentation you can greatly improve your production value. The visuals are beautiful and nicely cut. For someone with no prior knowledge a precursor to what a gravity knife really is would have saved a lot of trouble before getting into how its used and for what.
@@LeOssiTrollterrible lol your attention span is fucked due to all the tiktok snapchat fortnite porn surfing shit going on on ur mobile and computer at home in school on the bus at friends and outside 24/7. There is nothing wrong with his speech.
Not for the purpose of jumping. I can tell from experience. However, I replaced the knife with another knife with one hand opening mechanism after 2 years of service back in about 2000.
I have a decent knife collection but only have 1 military knife, a RN Divers Knife in sheath with leg or arm straps with matching NATO Stanag/Serial numbers. Anyway, enough of that, what would i pay for a post war Gravity knife model from 50s-60s that is genuine?
Post war type 2 knife (with wood scales) about 750 -1000 Euros (they are rarer than WW2 knives) vs. post war type 3 knife which are of a different and inferior design with black plastic scales about 150-200 Euros vs. post war type 4 knife with green plastic scales (1972 - 1984) about 200 Euros. 2021 prices for very good condition....rising annually as many disappear forever in private collections and fan community grows.
Weiß jemand wie die rechtliche Lage ist mit diesem Messer. Der Onkel meiner Oma war bei der Luftwaffe während des Krieges und hat sein Kappmesser 1945 bei uns im Haus versteckt als wir Umbauten haben wir es wieder gefunden. Jetzt ist meine Frage ob es legal ist dieses Messer zu besitzen oder nicht
@@divingeagletv okay dann werde ich es so machen da ich es nur ungern hergeben würde da es ein Familien Erbstück ist mit einer sehr bewegten Geschichte
Wo ist das Problem? Lass es einfach zuhause als Andenken. Solange Du nicht damit draussen rumläufst, kräht doch kein Hahn danach. Ich weiß, beantwortet Deine Frage nicht..
Не надо ничего ломать!!!Это память....Но и по улице не надо с ним ходить...жалко!По улице можно с кухонным ножиком ходить ...если отберут - не жалко будет.
You speak good englisch Kamerad. Schön zu sehen des es nicht nur deutsche gibt die extrem schlecht englisch sprechen lol Besonders englisch Lehrer sind grausam
Il est maintenant considéré comme précieux, surtout lorsqu'il est bien conservé. Mais il pourrait aussi être interdit d'en avoir en F. C'est le cas, par exemple, en Allemagne, en Grande-Bretagne et aux États-Unis.
@@BoydCooperLegend d'en avoir un.... sur soi vous voulez dire !? mais aux usa a me fait bien rire vu ce qu'ils possedent commes autres armes de n'importe quelle catégorie !!!
![เจ็บที่ยังฮัก - ม่อน วรวิทย์ [ Official Mv ] จอนนี่มิวสิค](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/KALIGSRSjFs/mqdefault.jpg)
this is crazy, I was digging through my garage and found my grandpa’s old knife, and tried to find out the history of it, and it just blew my mind when I found out, I have the original version and everything, definitely something cool to add to my knife collection
Check out the book I wrote, will blow your mind even more!
@@divingeagletv so you’re the one who wrote the book I saw???
@@lucas_theofficial5230 yes, was officially published in Germany last year. Trying to find a US publisher now.
My uncle had two of these from ww2. A buddy from the Europe campaign gave him one of the German paratrooper gravity knives he confiscated when taking German prisoners. He also got one from the pacific when he was with the marine raiders. The Japanese had a version he came across that he collected. Both in excellent condition
My grandpa took one of theses knifes off a nazi solider along with a nazi Luger. My dad has them in his safe. I hope to get those pieces of history passed down to me one day. My grandpa was a tank commander for general patten a fought 3 battles including Battle of the bulge. He passed away at 93 in 2012. RIP grandpa
I got passed down mine from my grandfather who picked it up in the war.
@@lifeaquatic1267 The greatest generation
*Patton
Heh just reading this it cut off the second line so it looked like you said "My grandpa was a tank" which I have no doubt he was. But reading on, it was still a cool little tidbit of history in and of itself. Thanks for sharing this. Cheers!
Lies
I love knives and history.
This is one of the finest history videos I have ever seen in my life.
Amazing job...
I would love to have one of these...superb German ingenuity and craftsmanship...
@@arvedludwig3584 I have used German knives for 50 years...It is crazy that the finest knife makers have such goofy laws..
I spent a lot of time in Argentina and found some great german blades attached to incredible gaucho style knives in Tandil and Mar del Plata.
My Wusthof Gran Prix chef knives I bought in 2004 are like brand new...glad I have a discontinued series.
The pocket knives of today open so swiftly and with such little effort it is funny that these would be banned.
But, I come from a part of the USA where we all have guns and knives and nobody is going to ever take them away..
Take care
@@arvedludwig3584 I am such a knife hound I would buy a Windmuhle...But, I am 64 and have plenty of chef knives..I was a Chef in the USA for 25+ years..
I live in Cambodia now..
I brought most of my knives with me..
I have my German and Japanese Chef knives I use every day...
Thanks
Great video. I'm a former US Navy aviator and parachutist. I handled one of the early models of the gravity knife owned by a collector and while I thought it was a very cool design and very well made, I did not see it as being very practical for a flier or parachutist. I would not want anything that took any manipulation to get into action or depended on gravity. Small motor coordination goes out the window in an emergency and when you are falling through the air, gravity becomes relative. We had fixed blade, hook-type shroud line cutters on the outside of our gear and a full combat knife in a pouch. They weren't perfect, but I think they were a better arrangement. But thanks fo the video. I always wondered about the origins of that knife.
....well, now you know! Thanks for your comment and interest.
I bought the newer version in the 80s. I still have it to this day, it’s a cool knife. Plus the head serves as a bottle opener.
I hate to break it to you, almost everything can be used as a bottle opener
@@forcesightknight
I’m sure there’s a couple of dentist with some good stories about improvised bottle openings…
@@jonsmith5124 I know those human bottle openers, thinking they're cool but really- people who can't turn a lighter or another beer bottle into an opener should stick to draft or cans. Nobody's impressed by selfmutilation and wasting beer.
I serviced 4 years in The Fallschirmjaeger battalion 261 in Lebach in the late 80ties, I found this knife from the design very cool but we never used it during Parachute jumps, it was to bulky in the side pocket of our combat trousers on top it could cause injuries during the landing. At some point I found the knife usless, I used to carry a Buck 110 which I was able to open it with one hand too.
Anyway very interesting video, would be interesting if other German Parachuters have the same view on this knife.
Your comment hits the nail on the head. Actually even the WW2 veterans have confirmed that they did not carry the knife in the trouser pocket, when jumping but in the jacket. In the later pilot suits, they were stored in a front leg pocket to avoid injuries.
I am always using the new Swiss army knife when para-gliding which can be opened with one hand due to a hole in the blade, and usually have a membership with REGA helicopter rescue which saves 500'00 Franks in helicopter costs when caught in a tree.
Yep, know what you are talking about, been there in the late 60's, carried that thing on top of the emergency chute, split my lip once at the landing. Still have one of the newer production, just for the memories. nice but basically useless. I don't live in Germany anymore.
@@copperhammer Still a very special item symbolizing the unique Fallschirmjäger legacy and THE only item still in service since 1937. However soon they will all be gone .....
@@divingeagletv It is like so many "German engineered" items a little bit overengineered but nicely made, razor-sharp not suitable for combat. And I guess, totally overpriced by now. BTW, is it still in service in Germany ?
That is one of the most awesome designs, that's advanced knifetech for the time, hell, even now, and I am watching designs and machining and creativity in non-fixed blades get more wild and interesting constantly, it seems like something that would be right alongside current innovations
Thanks for sharing my love for this knife ! For a much better idea of the unique design, check out my video on the repair of these knives.
Excellent video! I also would like to mention that the book quoted above is a must for collectors of these knives to prevent one from being fleeced by better and better fakes.
Thanks for your comment.
A fascinating story about a simple yet effective bit of kit. Thanks for posting
Thanks for your comment; for more detailed info on the simple design, please check out my other video "Luftwaffe Gravity Knife repair".
Unfortunately, nowadays in Germany, even the possession of a gravity knife is an offense according to § 53 WaffG. Shows once again how stupid the legislators actually are.
Stupid. In every kitchen are bigger knives
And the murder rate in Germany is so low. I cannot believe how stupid that is.
@@TrilobitesRTasty I think it is mentality. Ordnung!
The legislators are not stupid. You guys are to let this happen to you. ( Don't be offended ) . I looked once into some laws pertaining to gun ownership. Guess you have to be holier than thou, don't even need to apply for a permit if you ever had a parking ticket.
@@copperhammer It's true. The German people have allowed the German legislators to stop the German people from having weapons to go around murdering each other. That is so incredibly STUPID! Just look at America and our American freedoms! We Americans are free to murder tens of thousands of people every year! Hooray for America!!!! 😃
It's crazy how hard it is to find authentic German stuff from WW2.
too many neo-nazi fucks looking for souvenirs
@@stocktonjoans I know quite a few here in Germany. Tough bastards, love watching them chase Antifa spackos off. They'd love you.
A relative brought one back from WW2. Still in the family. When it surfaced, I had to identify it for the new owner.
I have one of the older ones. Found it while rebuilding an old house
I have one I bought a army surplus store just outside of Chicago in the early 80'S
Excellent work. There's more about this knife than i thought.
Actually there is so much more info available. The video only gives a brief overview. The book shown in the end is 240 pages thick and full of interesting facts solely on the development and use of these unique rescue and fighting knives. I love the chapter with the stories of the German WW2 soldiers talking about how the knife saved their lives. So many cool stories.....
@@divingeagletv impressive!
I bought a Type 4 when I was on exercise in Germany in the 80s, I lost it somewhere and wish I still had it, a very useful tool.
sadly, now they are illegal to own now in germany
Appreciate German narrator’s excellent command of EN and DE.
Thanks, please subscribe if you like my Videos...there will be more.
That looks like an awesome knife. I want one.
A tribute to the designers of this pattern. Amazing that it has been in use so long! I don't think any weapon in modern times compares in this regard.
KA-BAR.
@@Shinzon23 well said!
@@Shinzon23 Similar with the Kukri (BSI/BSA) - both have origins before their military adoptions that could be considered centuries worth of trial and adaptation. I don't mean the whole history of knives/blades but those two specific patterns; the Ka-Bar and the Kukri.
@@rickybuhl3176 kukri i consider a cultural thing, as it's been part of Nepalese history for centuries, whilst something like the KA-BAR is more a model/company thing
@@Shinzon23 Yes and no. The knife that came to be known as the "Kill a Bear" Ka-Bar was a knife that in various guises had been used by settlers and hunters. There were also changes from the initial 1898 knives to the ones issued in the military, naturally.. Ka-Bar is just a hunting knife that evolved to where it became a military issued piece of kit. Ka-Bar as a name wasn't even adopted until into the 1920s, when stories of hunters using them had surfaced, similar to the Bowie knives.. The history is much shorter because of the circumstances but it was neither new nor unique at the time - they just decided to try to sell it to the military after 'great success' selling them to the general population. Since not many were making real hunting knives en mass and from high-ish quality metal. I'd still take a Solingen blade over almost any US at the time.. It's just the one that was adopted. If you took 100 hunting knives from 1800 America, at least 20 would look very similar - there aren't many shapes for hunting and fileting knives that work in practice. And once the tip is snapped off, well - the blade is still good and we're left with the Ka-Bar style. As such, it's merely an evolution of a long line of hunting knives going back through the frontiersmen and whatever they adopted from the natives. So although not the history of the Kukri but that isn't possible either. It does however have a history that almost spans the colonization of the States up until WW2 - which is the best it can do in the circumstances and would place it as more cultural than a specific singular model, imo.
I've seen and handled one of those gravity knives. A friend of mine collects memorabilia. I had a student in my class that claimed she had her grandfather's Hitler youth knife.
I have one of these that was given to me by my late father-in-law, Feliks, and it's marked SMF SOLINGEN ROSTFREI and stamped 939.
He was in the 3 Dywizja Strzelców Karpackich (2 Korpus Polski) - (3rd Carpathian Rifles Division, 2nd Polish Corps) that took Monte Cassino in 1944.
The cutting edge of the blade has a centimetre chunk missing - reputedly from when the original owner thrust it at Feliks who parried it away with his Sten gun.
According to one of his old comrades at his funeral, the brown stains on the blade showing fingerprints are the original owner's blood (Feliks lost the top of his right index finger in the exchange).
He settled in London after the war but got caught up in a brawl in a pub while carrying the knife.
Gravity knives were and still are illegal in the UK. A colonel in the British Army testified to his good character and he was offered the choice: the knife could be confiscated and destroyed or he could keep it if the blade was removed.
It's very hard to disassemble a mark 1 knife so the blade was snapped off at the metal "hammer" head. It's a good job they didn't know about the Luger and 250 rounds of 9mm he'd also brought back as a souvenir!
When he died in 1991 we offered his army memorabilia including his uniform, Virtuti Militari cross and the broken knife to the Sikorsky Museum in London but they said they already had so many exhibits - it seems Polish soldiers were fond of collecting war souvenirs (he also gave me a Soligen cutthroat razor he "found" in Italy) and so I still have the broken knife upstairs in a drawer.
That is an awesome story, showing that the knives were actually used in close combat. In my book, there are more stories like that, which make the history of this unique weapon more vivid.
Gravity knife was a popular souvenir for WWII USGI’s…
Little known fact; the wood on the handle is genuine knotsee pine.
That's great lol
Oh my, I did not see that coming!
Interesting history of a knife I never knew existed.
What’s the value of the original on used by the lufwaffa
There is no version of reality where any woman or man who lives on their own resources, fends for herself, or if he's a soldier, that having a knife isn't a hugely helpful tool.
And yes, if I've got a knife, mostly it's a bean stirrer, but you know it's also deadly.
@@fauxnews3740 very true!! Especially the lid to the tin, you can make a lethal blade with one.
Well said.
As said not a combat knife at all, but a cutting knife, i have several and they are heavy, and not easiely repaired if the spring breaks , but really cool and a peice of history to be preserved..
However, repair is possible! Check out my other Video to see how!
Nice piece of kit...
The New and True Swiss army knife is it seems based on this German knife since the main blade can be opened with one hand only (has a hole in the main blade-use your thumb to open with handle firmly held) which is also important for Mountaineering troops, plus it has screw-drivers and blades, saw and tools to maintain SIG 90 assault rifle. only misses the cork-screw which isn't necessary anymore with the wine bottles having no more corks ( was very important for our Gipfelwein ( Peak-Wine) in the Mountain troops-Gebirgstruppen. BTW, I cleaned out my first White tail deer on Anticosti island with a normal 20.00$ Swiss army knife, today I have the special hunter version, but using my index and other finger not to cut into the tripes worked well.
The version with the corkscrew was never issued to anyone. It was developed by Victorinox with the intention to be used by officers but only the version with the screwdriver and blade was adopted. The SAK is used to this day by German forces as it was used in WW2. The gravity knife was only used by paratroopers while the regular infantry carried bayonets
@@sterkriger2572 the old officiel Victorinox-Wenger Soldiers knife used to have a cork-screw in the 60's then with the SIG 57 became the alumunium version without cork-screw, thats what I received in Military school, my father still had the older version with cork-screw, there were never officers version given out, Swiss soldiers had to buy lots of stuff themselves such a socks and undewear, also shirts and even speicial boots.The new Swiss soldiers knife can be opened with one hand and is especially adapted for mountaineering and para-trooper units.
What about the Mercator, thought this was popular in German service
When I served in the Infantry of the Bundeswehr in the 90s, we still had this knife as a standard. It was the only knife, w/o the butter knife from the cutlery set, that we have gotten.
It was exact the type 4 and it was a peace of crap in my eyes.
The blade had a lot of play und you could shake it, when out, it wobbled about 2cm at the tip, we have never used it.
That was truly a bad one then. The first ones were produced around 1970-1972. So possibly yours was almost 25 years old and had already seen many owners, who played with it a lot.
Yea, we traded knives with them during REFORGER. Well, it cut.
had one too , never had the problems you mentioned! Bulky but it worked well.
@@divingeagletv Maybe, I only had that one, played it once and never touched it again. :)
I inherited a mass of German WW2 stuff, I sold it all...except the gravity knife. It goes with me on every camping trip and long hike. It's brilliant. Completely illegal to own here in Germany, even to keep at home I'm told.
I didn't know it was a fighting knife, that's interesting.
Quite expensive Camping Knife! They sell for 500-1000 Euros if all original. And you may have a rare piece which will go for more ..... happy to check out your knife, for you to know what you've got.
Wer dir das gesagt hat lügt. Oder ihr Deutschen habt viel strengere Gesetze als wir Österreicher.
i got one in the mid 80's by winning a bet with a fallschirmjager. still have it.
I have an original type I bought in Munchen over 22 years ago on honey moon/flitterwoche. A couple BW model s as well as a brass pinned type one reproduction.
I had one in highschool I carried constantly, but don't have anymore, it was actually camo, with the plastic and spike, I can't find the camo pattern ones when were those made?
Very interesting story and video. I didn't know the history of this knife, what a great design.
You missed to mention the last iteration, the rescue knife without a tip. It’s the last one sou can buy in many European countries like Germany, since the original is outlawed..
I'd like to have one today in 2022!
I thought the spike on the end of the knife was designed to untangle/ un-knot their parachutes?
Yes, that's what I am saying in the video. To untie knots in the parachute lines. However soldiers get creative. I had one with the spike transformed into a screwdriver-like tool.
Cool video, I appreciate it a lot!
Excellent video! Danke!
This was a very interesting video of a unique knife.
Thanks, I appreciate your comment
Compliment, very well and clear story, especialy during start of. Thank you
Hello to France!! Merci pour ce document excellent!!!
Cool knife
The Iraqi Republican Guard had these, as well. I don't know what numbers they were issued in, but we ran into them in '91. They are cool.
Wow, that is new Info. Are you sure? Which version? The shorter AES 79 version or regular German Army Type 4 with green plastic scales on the handle?
I would like to own one of these
Once owned a Type 4 never overly impressed with its mechanism or operation. Was probably considered state of the art in its day a clumsy design at best.
Yes....try to put yourself in the shoes of a Wehrmacht soldier only being equipped with a bayonet. This knife was the shit. Please subscribe if you like my Videos.
I have the AES78 version, amazing, all reparable, indestructible. The one best knife do it all, of my collection. Actually the AES78 has a cable cutter and stripper on blade's back. It is very useful in all circumstances. The head can serve as bottle opener and lever small things
That is the so-called type 5 or LL80 (80 as for the length of the blade). Are you aware, there is a longer version as well called LL100? Eickhorn sells these to countries where these knives are still allowed...
Interesting informations. Thank you.
I’ve only recently started collecting historical knives….. I want one👍
Be quick....prices are going up.
Just got myself a replica. Very cool knife.
Absolutely !
Where did you get it? I'm looking for one.
@@pz3j Was on gunbroker. Seller had only a few. I doubt they're still there.
@@AjackLee4 thanks. I live in Poland. You'd think it would be easier here, but it's not.
Was that actor "robert deniro"?
Thank you. Loved it.
I had a falshirmjaeger knife I had inherited from my grandfather (a staff sergeant in the FA)...My brother broke it not knowing how it was operated...
These knives can be fixed e.g. with 1970s/1980s parts. Check out my other Video on how to repair these knives. And I know a guy in the US who does it very well.
my dad has one of these and i never knew what it was
Now you know, he has an expensive knife.
What a great video.
I have a swiss navy knife. It is cool too!
" .... swiss navy knife ....."
A swiss NAVY knife? ...... Oh my god, sailing down the Matterhorn?
@@BoydCooperLegend Exactly! It was issued to the commanders of the Bodensee submarine fleet in 1941. It is the most rarest of knives!
Great video ! While [military] guns are the subject of countless videos, knives aren't. I want to suggest making a video about the allies version of the paratrooper's knife, but I pause when I notice that the name of your channel is Flieger-Kappmeßer. Do you only make videos of German military equipment ? Thanks for a very informative video
Could make a video on the Ibberson Gravity Knife used by British WW2 special forces. Unfortunately my knowledge on other knives is limited....
@@divingeagletv I understand. I'm glad I found your channel
It's not a jump school on the photos, that's standard safety equipment for any AN-2 passenger.
Apparently these knives were hanging right next to the AN-2 door, so the jump masters could cut off the jumpers in an emergency. Did a couple of jumps out of the "Bee" myself...."interesting" plane!
@@divingeagletv I've done few jump too. Plane looks straight from WW2 but they're still in use so must be good I guess.
Do you still have access to the Blueprints? I would love to take a look at them.
Only the blueprints of the 1960s knife. However I am out of country until June 22. Stuff is at home.
@@divingeagletv Great, we will talk then.
That looks like a Swiss army knife you'd get when you turned 8.
One of our jump instructors showed us an odd one. It was orange, an actual switchblade mechanism and had a hook instead of a knife blade. Only one I've ever seen.
You may be talking about the Eickhorn RT 1 Rescue Knife, which is actually an offspring of the potential 5th generation German Army Gravity Knife - the LL 80. However LL 80 was never introduced to the forces.
I've got the same one but it's not Orange it's black and it's made by Imperial.
May be an American parachutists knife.
TS: It's a Camilus brand survival knife made for the US Navy since the 1960's. They are actually pretty cheaply made. The blade lock is weak. The hood is for cutting parachute shrouds. (old navy flyer).
Gefällt mir sehr gut
I had one of those when I was a kid... :)
Nice....what happened to it? Sold?
@@divingeagletv my brother had it, and the police took it... : (
Still love my Dad's Switchblade
Where have the GDR Knifes been built? I suggest Suhl, right?
First in Steinbach, then Leegebruch. Please subscribe to my channel. Will post more this year.
wow i just framed one of these that someones grandfather took from the battle of the bulge
Where did the gravity come in?
Not sure what you mean.
Where can i buy a Kappmesser?
stay tuned ! I may offer some on this channel by the end of the year.
I really liked reading your book. I would have wished that you would have integrated a few pages on the type IV or type V. The type V seems to have a different way to lock the knife, as they a the decent in the blade. I also found two errors in the German version, you probably already know they exist, however I can send them to you if you provide me with your email.
I am working on the new Edition, which will have Info on Type IV and V: Kappmesser.fabrik@gmail.com
I have 8...i love them
Кроме немцев и англичан этот ножик никому не глянулся!Но в бундесвере его еще используют....
Sehr gut und jetzt bitte noch mal gerne auf Deutsch
How much do they cost?
Between 400-1200 Euros, depending on how rare and condition. Prices go up by at least 4-6% annually.
Looking at prices for new knives it would be cheaper to buy a gun.
Where can I buy one?
They are getting rare. Hard to answer this question.....
I do not understand what 'gravity' has to do with it. Why is it called a "Gravity Knife"?
That is a good question: Other than most OTF (out the front) knives this one is not spring loaded/operated. Instead it functions simply by using the principle of Gravity. Or in other words: if you turn the front to the earth and push the lever, the blade FALLS out simply due to its weight.
I've got one an just found out what it is Who would of known ?
Unforunately those Knifes are considered as "illegal Items" in Germany..... so your are not allowed to own one..... sad but true : (
Fantastoc tool made in naxi germany
Does the Bundeswehr still use them?
The olive green type 4 model with plastic handles was phased out in 2017. Some may still be in use today but they will all very soon be gone.
@@divingeagletv ah sad
This video becomes very nice to watch on 1,5x speed.
If you work a bit on your vocal presentation you can greatly improve your production value.
The visuals are beautiful and nicely cut.
For someone with no prior knowledge a precursor to what a gravity knife really is would have saved a lot of trouble before getting into how its used and for what.
Thanks for the advice. What do you mean with 1,5x speed? Are the scenes to long?
@@divingeagletv speech is just a little too slow but consistent
@@LeOssiTrollterrible lol your attention span is fucked due to all the tiktok snapchat fortnite porn surfing shit going on on ur mobile and computer at home in school on the bus at friends and outside 24/7.
There is nothing wrong with his speech.
Man, I dunno. It’s nice, but wouldn’t you rather have a fixed blade?
Not for the purpose of jumping. I can tell from experience. However, I replaced the knife with another knife with one hand opening mechanism after 2 years of service back in about 2000.
I once found one of the EICKHORN in a forest. I tried using it to cut away a willow branch. The knife fell apart. It is not reliable.
Why not make it spring loaded?
The more complex, the less suitable for the Army. Simple as that!
They`re heavy enough, as it is....
I have a decent knife collection but only have 1 military knife, a RN Divers Knife in sheath with leg or arm straps with matching NATO Stanag/Serial numbers.
Anyway, enough of that, what would i pay for a post war Gravity knife model from 50s-60s that is genuine?
Post war type 2 knife (with wood scales) about 750 -1000 Euros (they are rarer than WW2 knives) vs. post war type 3 knife which are of a different and inferior design with black plastic scales about 150-200 Euros vs. post war type 4 knife with green plastic scales (1972 - 1984) about 200 Euros.
2021 prices for very good condition....rising annually as many disappear forever in private collections and fan community grows.
@@divingeagletv Thank you for the response, it's very informative. All the best 👍
@@divingeagletv $ 250 bucks !!!! Want mine?
Are you a german
Weiß jemand wie die rechtliche Lage ist mit diesem Messer. Der Onkel meiner Oma war bei der Luftwaffe während des Krieges und hat sein Kappmesser 1945 bei uns im Haus versteckt als wir Umbauten haben wir es wieder gefunden. Jetzt ist meine Frage ob es legal ist dieses Messer zu besitzen oder nicht
Nein, die Messer sind leider illegal. Man könnte die Klinge entfernen und getrennt lagern. Dann wäre es legal.
@@divingeagletv okay dann werde ich es so machen da ich es nur ungern hergeben würde da es ein Familien Erbstück ist mit einer sehr bewegten Geschichte
@@sese123sese7 ich habe ein Reparaturvideo bei TH-cam eingestellt. Einfach reinschauen. Bügelniete entfernen und dann die Klinge raus....fertig.
Wo ist das Problem? Lass es einfach zuhause als Andenken. Solange Du nicht damit draussen rumläufst, kräht doch kein Hahn danach. Ich weiß, beantwortet Deine Frage nicht..
Не надо ничего ломать!!!Это память....Но и по улице не надо с ним ходить...жалко!По улице можно с кухонным ножиком ходить ...если отберут - не жалко будет.
Well.... Germans were and still are great engineers.....
I want 1!
Get one now....the longer you wait, the more expensive they will get.
Ich bin mehr der M9 Messer, Bowing Messer & der Tanto wue die Assasinen Klingen Type.
You speak good englisch Kamerad.
Schön zu sehen des es nicht nur deutsche gibt die extrem schlecht englisch sprechen lol
Besonders englisch Lehrer sind grausam
Danke
Hätte es gerne in deutsch gehört 😏
Alternativ einfach das dazugehörige Buch auf Deutsch kaufen. Erschienen im Wieland Verlag "Flieger-Kappmesser ".
Tank soldiers? Really? Never seen one...
For sure the tank recon soldiers (Panzeraufkärer) had them. Apparently the spike was perfect to fix a jammed 20 mm cannon I was told by a friend.
nous en avons un à la maison !!! et je ne savais pas a quoi il servais précisément je savais juste que c'était un couteau allemand !!
Il est maintenant considéré comme précieux, surtout lorsqu'il est bien conservé. Mais il pourrait aussi être interdit d'en avoir en F. C'est le cas, par exemple, en Allemagne, en Grande-Bretagne et aux États-Unis.
@@BoydCooperLegend d'en avoir un.... sur soi vous voulez dire !? mais aux usa a me fait bien rire vu ce qu'ils possedent commes autres armes de n'importe quelle catégorie !!!
resembles a butter knife
ioff this i had one not relatet that to aiforce
well the knives of Greeks in Creta island were better....
Wehrmacht street gang blade😱😜😎