This looks to me (as an ex-soldier) perhaps the best of the knives of that era, from the point of view of taking it into battle, rather than as a collector. You did say that the guard was awkward if you were holding the knife so the blade protruded downward as you held it. Having trained in CQB, I would have thought it unlikely that a user would grasp the knife that way.
So this is a interesting topic. It is true that in the US particularly, knife fighting is taught in a traditional grip, with in my opinion a over emphasis on slashing. This is really interesting historically because in large part it goes back to the American tradition of bowie knife's and knife dueling. However in many other cultures and times through history a reverse grip is/was the most common technique for hand to hand knife fighting. This was true throughout the medieval period with daggers, with daggers like the rondel dagger, or even up to the Scottish dirk. This gives you far more power in a thrust, and thrusting was the primary goal in knife fighting. Trusting tends to be far more lethal, and it penetrates armor. Be it thick wool coats, or even in the past chainmail. In a reverse grip you are using much more of your back and shoulder muscles to drive in a thrust, compared to wrist and forearm with a forward grip. In many knife fighting systems the reverse grip is still heavily used, in Russia for instance their entire knives and guards were designed to be comfortable in this configuration. You can see the way the guard bends on the NR-40 and SMERSH-5 knives.
@@mikejohnson555 The S-guard on the NR-40 is reversed because in the past, in some parts of the world, a knife fighting technique was common when the knife was held with a forward grip but sharpened edge up. For example, look at movie clips on TH-cam: "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) - Knife Fight Scene" and "The Long Riders (1980) - Knife Fight". The Italian combat knife MVSN M1935 also has an inverted guard . Of course, the reverse grip was also possible . And in the so-called "smersh-5" knife, the guard is inclined to the blade in order to make it convenient to place the thumb, just like, for example, on some variants of the German grabendolch from the First World War.
Wow, so nice to finaly have my own research confirmed. I found this in my grandmothers attic in Norway. So when the germans invaded france, they brought it here, and probably my granddad got hold of one somehow :D
That fine black design we see on this, do you think that was originally made that way? Or do you think it rusted and pitted and was cleaned after and that's what we see? Either way it looks very nice. I ask so I know later in case I ever see one in the wild, I'll know what to look for. As I research that weird weapon I showed you I keep learning as I go. I did learn another detail tho. I had it tested at a local jeweler with his XRF machine. It showed it has a little titanium in the mix of the blade. After some research I learned they started this about 2 Yeats before WW1. So it helps me date it a little. I guess the next step would be to find a way to have it's radiation levels tested as I hear steel after the nukes in WW2 has radiation in it. It may help me fine tune it's age also to a smaller time frame. Thanks for the information again bud. Good video
After WW1 were there many former military weapons available to civilians in Europe? Did criminals in Europe use surplus weapons in crimes? What was the penalty for having them in your possession? We’re Europeans allowed to collect weapons or was that illegal? Thanks from Texas.
Nice video! I actually have one of these from my grandfather. It is an original and has the Beauregarde makers mark, with scabbard. Do you give estimates on the range of value these knives auction or sell for?
Lovely knife. My french great grand dad was a poilus in trenchs. His history is crazy..thxx to preserve poilus memories
This looks to me (as an ex-soldier) perhaps the best of the knives of that era, from the point of view of taking it into battle, rather than as a collector. You did say that the guard was awkward if you were holding the knife so the blade protruded downward as you held it. Having trained in CQB, I would have thought it unlikely that a user would grasp the knife that way.
So this is a interesting topic. It is true that in the US particularly, knife fighting is taught in a traditional grip, with in my opinion a over emphasis on slashing. This is really interesting historically because in large part it goes back to the American tradition of bowie knife's and knife dueling. However in many other cultures and times through history a reverse grip is/was the most common technique for hand to hand knife fighting. This was true throughout the medieval period with daggers, with daggers like the rondel dagger, or even up to the Scottish dirk. This gives you far more power in a thrust, and thrusting was the primary goal in knife fighting. Trusting tends to be far more lethal, and it penetrates armor. Be it thick wool coats, or even in the past chainmail. In a reverse grip you are using much more of your back and shoulder muscles to drive in a thrust, compared to wrist and forearm with a forward grip. In many knife fighting systems the reverse grip is still heavily used, in Russia for instance their entire knives and guards were designed to be comfortable in this configuration. You can see the way the guard bends on the NR-40 and SMERSH-5 knives.
@@mikejohnson555
The S-guard on the NR-40 is reversed because in the past, in some parts of the world, a knife fighting technique was common when the knife was held with a forward grip but sharpened edge up. For example, look at movie clips on TH-cam: "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) - Knife Fight Scene" and "The Long Riders (1980) - Knife Fight". The Italian combat knife MVSN M1935 also has an inverted guard . Of course, the reverse grip was also possible . And in the so-called "smersh-5" knife, the guard is inclined to the blade in order to make it convenient to place the thumb, just like, for example, on some variants of the German grabendolch from the First World War.
Beautiful piece
Wow, so nice to finaly have my own research confirmed. I found this in my grandmothers attic in Norway. So when the germans invaded france, they brought it here, and probably my granddad got hold of one somehow :D
That fine black design we see on this, do you think that was originally made that way? Or do you think it rusted and pitted and was cleaned after and that's what we see? Either way it looks very nice. I ask so I know later in case I ever see one in the wild, I'll know what to look for. As I research that weird weapon I showed you I keep learning as I go.
I did learn another detail tho. I had it tested at a local jeweler with his XRF machine. It showed it has a little titanium in the mix of the blade. After some research I learned they started this about 2 Yeats before WW1. So it helps me date it a little. I guess the next step would be to find a way to have it's radiation levels tested as I hear steel after the nukes in WW2 has radiation in it. It may help me fine tune it's age also to a smaller time frame.
Thanks for the information again bud. Good video
OK Video.
Bonjour de France, connaissais vous les couteaux papillon des établissement Deluc, distribué au soldat français pendant la ww1 ?
Like it
Just picked mine up, a bit light but will do.
hello , are you interresed by a french snake dagger by h caux? best regards
After WW1 were there many former military weapons available to civilians in Europe? Did criminals in Europe use surplus weapons in crimes? What was the penalty for having them in your possession? We’re Europeans allowed to collect weapons or was that illegal? Thanks from Texas.
Nice video! I actually have one of these from my grandfather. It is an original and has the Beauregarde makers mark, with scabbard. Do you give estimates on the range of value these knives auction or sell for?