Ground Dug Relic M1917 Trench Knife

[militariaone]

Greeting Gents,

 

I have seen ground dug trench (relic condition) U.S. WWI knives’ pictures posted on various foreign militaria forums before. I have always wanted to own one, but I have not seen any for sale before. I purchased this one (Yes, the bottom one) from an older relic collection from France a few weeks ago. It “supposedly” came from Belleau Wood, but just as easily could have been done in someone’s back yard/shed artificially. As they say buy the knife not the story. Either case, I wanted it so I bought it. It seems lately, I have seen plenty of these for sale in marginally better condition:-)

 

Regards,

 

Lance

 

 

[poch]

Really great knife!

Congratulation, Lance

[kfields]

Lance, I am fascinated by ground dug items like this.

There is enough there in the case of this knife to see what it's all about. Assuming the price was right, I can't see what motive there would be for someone to artificially age it.

Thanks for showing it!

Kim

[Jack's Son]

It certainly looks like what one would expect to find after 100 years. I can't say more about the weathering without more information about were it was dug.

Nice piece however.

[gooseandspoons]

if only it could speak

[SKIPH]

I suspect it's legit. Why would someone want to bury a knife, just to make it look "dug". Most would pay more for a good one, with a story true or make believe. I don't know, but it is cool. And we have a rare opportunity to see how one was constructed, rusty as it is. It looks like an L,F&C. Neat find. SKIP

[militariaone]

Thank you all for your kind comments, Gents. Yes Skip, it’s definitely a L.F. & C. like the one above it minus the rust.

 

Regards,

 

Lance

[jgawne]

_{The problem with dug relics (which I love) is that all too often the location they were found in is lost (or as on ebay magically tuned into Omaha Beach or Stalingrad (( or Gettysburg)) ).}

 

_{I have a fellow who has given me some things that prints out a google map of the arrow and draws in exactly where the stuff would found. Which I think is a great idea. I recommend anyone digging do this.}

 

_{I am fairly certain this is NOT from Belleau woods itself, as the woods itself are US property and they do NOT take kindly to that, however it may be from one of the surrounding areas near to the woods. Which means had the finder bothered to note the location it could have been possibly ID'd by the unit.}

 

_{I have a decent collection of relic items from WW1/WW2, and honestly if I don't know where they came from, even roughly, it takes a lot of the fun out of them}

[militariaone]

Greetings jgawne,

 

Agreed, it would be nice to possess the specifics of where this knife actually was recovered (Like a 10 Digit Grid). I was told it came from Belleau Wood and from an “Older Collection.” I agree too, it probably did not come out of Belleau Wood proper, because of the U.S. Territory/Cemetery issues. Perhaps (As you have said) it came from anyone of the patches of surrounding woods. Unfortunately, the “local” who did recover it wasn’t thinking in terms of posterity or saving history.

 

That said, I would have a hard time believing any relic (For sale) was from a particular spot unless I or family recovered it. Printing up a map to go along with a relic’s sale sounds like a great idea. In the end, it’s about your level of trust/confidence in your seller. In my case while I thought the Belleau Wood’s story was nice, I bought the knife not the story. I don’t own any other relics as frankly, they just don’t interest me as much as non dug examples do. Yes, I do have a few souvenirs (Shrapnel/Bullets/wire) I have picked up from various European and Pacific Battlefields, but their true worth is one of visits’ memories.

 

What I personally enjoy most about this particular knife, is how it looks when you compare it to other less weathered examples.

 

Regards,

 

Lance

[SKIPH]

Lance- Let me guess what's in the picture. L- R ACC, ACC, ACC, LFC, OCL, OCL, LFC. Can't throw out a guess whether any of the first three are HDS. Let us know. SKIP

[Tony V]

Lance

 

Congratulations ! I love the picture of your collection. Thank you

 

Tony

[Tony-in-NH]

Lance- Let me guess what's in the picture. L- R ACC, ACC, ACC, LFC, OCL, OCL, LFC. Can't throw out a guess whether any of the first three are HDS. Let us know. SKIP

 

SKIPH, only one OCL in picture if I can count right.

[gunbarrel]

I think it's a very cool addition to a collection. Congrats!

[Jack's Son]

Lance

Congratulations ! I love the picture of your collection. Thank you

Tony

DITTO!!

[militariaone]

Greetings Skip,

 

Tony is correct, only one O.C.L. is displayed. From Left to Right they are A.C.C., A.C.C., H.D. & S., L.F.&C., O.C.L., L.F.&C., L.F.&C.

 

Regards,

 

Lance

 

 

[SKIPH]

I stand corrected. The LF&C is right of the OCL. I looked at the handle, not the knuckles. Lance tell use about that rawhide looking sheath on the right LF&C. Never saw one before. THX for the correction. SKIP

[militariaone]

Greetings Skip,

 

Here’s the one sorta like it in Cole’s Book III on page 23 and it’s on page 31 if you own the big Combo Cole’s Book. I purchased it about 10-15 years ago and it has got to be hands down the worst scabbard in terms of quality stock of leather. The thing is made from very thin leather, so thin that if you wore it on a pistol belt for a day just walking around it surely would split and fall off. I had never seen one outside of Cole’s books and when I saw how chincey it was made I realized, that’s probably why there are not more out there. They broke and Joe tossed ‘em. I think the only reason the one pictured is still around is either “A” it is a reproduction or “B” whoever originally owned it took one look at it and tossed it into his footlocker and got the more common "Jewell" branded one. Cole has another style leather scabbard marked with the A.C.C.’s logo listed too, but I have never seen one of those in person.

 

Regards,

 

Lance

 

 

 

[SKIPH]

Lance- Interesting. THX SKIP

[solcarlus]

Bonjour.

 

Some of the salient findings of the St. Mihiel sector. TK was found on a USMC area. Spoons and the shielding plate are not U.S..

 

 

Regards solcarlus.

 

[SKIPH]

Is the trench knife in the last pic, flanged or pyramid? Can't quite tell. SKIP

[solcarlus]

Is the trench knife in the last pic, flanged or pyramid? Can't quite tell. SKIP

 

 

"flanged"

[SKIPH]

Interesting. SKIP

[jgawne]

With GPS today, I can't imagine anyone digging NOT taking a reading on where they find good stuff.

[militariaone]

Greetings Solcarlus,

 

Those are some awesome finds and thank you for posting them here for us to see. Jeeze, now I have to find a relic condition Flanged Knuckle variant too.

 

Cordialement,

 

Lance