Victorinox German Soldier knife, pre-2008 model

[Texas Star]

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qg3E5oHVK-0[/ame]

Here's a good video in German, about the former GI pocketknife. Some have been sold as surplus and you may find them at a gun show at a low price. If not abused, they're good values. Not all were made by Vic. I've seen some by other contractors.

Mine was bought new and has been cared for. I especially like the large saw that doubles as a bottle opener and two styles of screwdriver. Will "do" Phillips-head screws or plain ones.

The corkscrew is also a bit larger than on typical 91 mm (closed) SAK's and is easier to use. Many of those posting videos on YouTube seem ignorant of any reason for the corkscrew. If these lugs drink wine at all, I think they buy cheap stuff with twist-off caps. But a corkscrew also makes a good item for undoing knots!

I can understand only some of what this guy says. Of course, Absalom and our other German-speaking members can enjoy all of his thoughts.

BTW, I think he says at the outset that he's drinking coffee. But it looks more like hot chocolate/cocoa. Whatever. It's a good video and you can follow as he explains the knife and your eyes will tell you most of what you need to know.

I hope you find this informative.

Oh: without measuring mine, I think the closed length of these knives is 111 mm. He has a red 91 mm knife on his desk for comparison. My Hunter model is larger, but oddly, has the std. size corkscrew. The one on the German Army Knife (GAK) is better.

Since 2008, Germany has used a larger, one-handed opening knife, also by Victorinox. You can find videos of it. But of the two, I prefer the older German model. I have a Hunter if I need a knife as large as the 2008 model. The older GAK is the largest I'll carry in a pants pocket. My Hunter or other large knives require a belt pouch or a coat pocket or backpack.

 

[bigwheelzip]

Hubby has this weapon. Do you know anything about it?

 

[Texas Star]

Heer (Army) officers dress dagger, Nazi era. May be a copy. Many today are. This one is really dirty. They were bright silver when new.

Real ones had a sword knot, missing on his. PM Absalom for more. He was German, I think. But may not be well up on military arms.

This was a dress dagger, not meant for real combat. Sometimes, the imitation ivory handles look yellow.

There are different versions for Luftwaffe and Navy wear.

I don't collect Nazi stuff. Someone else here may. But I can say that original ones aren't inexpensive now.
Never really were. They were quality items, by famous makers in Solingen.

A HS chum's father had an original Luftwaffe dagger, about new. Very nice.

 

[Ranger514]

Thanks for the post. Wish I understood German. I have the identical Victorianox olive handled GAK in the video. I picked it up used back in the mid 1990s. Mine came with a metal slip on/off protector that covers the saw teeth. Having carried one or another model SAK all my adult life, the GAK was a novelty because of the size and the German eagle emblem.

 

[Texas Star]

Ranger-

Mine has that saw protector, too, and I think it may be in the video. Watch carefully.

 

[Alpo]

I bought a 4-pack of them from Sportsmans Guide, back in the late 90s-early 00s. Only one had the saw protector.

Damn good knife, especially for the five bucks or so it cost.

 

[mauser9]

Texas Star is indeed correct concerning the Heer [army] german dagger. Could be worth a lot more than you think! This one more uncommon than S/A type daggers. I would not try cleaning it. Often causes more harm than good. Thanks for showing.

 

[bigwheelzip]

Texas Star is indeed correct concerning the Heer [army] german dagger. Could be worth a lot more than you think! This one more uncommon than S/A type daggers. I would not try cleaning it. Often causes more harm than good. Thanks for showing.

FIL had the dagger since shortly after WWII. No memory of where it came from. No makers marks anywhere on it.

 

[Marshwheeling]

One of a number of knives I bought by mail order in the ‘70s and ‘80s is the Mauser-labeled version of the Knife, by Victorinox. It differs from the standard GAK by the addition of a third spring and a clip point blade between the saw and the spear. The third blade is etched with the Mauser logo and the legend NAME UNTER LIZENZ DER MAUSER-WERKE OBERNDORF.

Unlike the Opinels and SAKs I was buying in those days, I had no particular use for it. I just thought it was a cool knife.

A few years ago, I took it out of its box to put it on a shelf with my other knives, probably a mistake. Although I am pretty sure I did not throw the box away, I could not tell you where I stashed it.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

I also had the 3 blade version with the Mauser markings. I gave it to a friend from South Africa. The knife is noe in Tanzania or Congo helping with missionary work.

Ivan

 

[Warren Sear]

Here's what I have. It appears to be like the one in the video, but the stamping on the blade is different.

????

 

[Absalom]

Here's what I have. It appears to be like the one in the video, but the stamping on the blade is different.

????

The old Bundeswehr pocket knife, commonly referred to as “BW-Stumpf” (BW-Dull), was produced by a whole slate of manufacturers for the German army. Victorinox, Miltec, Adler, and Aitor were the most-encountered and they were all slightly different and the specs weren’t particularly closely enforced.

Nobody paid any particular attention in issuing or carrying to what they had. Plus there were cheap Asian copies that soldiers would buy as replacements if they lost theirs so they had one to turn in at the end; the supply people didn’t pay attention, and those ended up issued to the next recruit, so you never knew whether you got a Vic or a piece of c**p.

 

[CZU]

I have 4-5 of these and pick them up when I find them reasonably priced, there are different variations of these out there. This website has some of those listed:

German Army Knife Variants