M1918 LF&C trench knife w/ filed down guard.

[ccmax]

I was fortunately able to obtain one example of the M1918 with some customization adaptations made for use during WWII. Special thanks to Gunbarrel for his guidance and advice with this!

 

Cesar.

 

 

 

[BOB K. RKSS]

These fighting knives were ARMY modified in 1942 for issue to AirBorne troops.

[ccmax]

Were the sheaths also made by the Army? I suppose these knifes were also given to non airborne units before the inception of the M3?

 

Thanks,

Cesar.

[nuke41]

Were the sheaths also made by the Army? I suppose these knifes were also given to non airborne units before the inception of the M3?

 

Thanks,

Cesar.

 

The sheath isnt issue, but its a well made one from your picture. Most were probably issued with the metal WWI sheath, its too bad the blades were just a tad too wide to fit in an M8 sheath. Cutting the guard down so they would fit flush was the most common modification. In fact the wide guard is the only fault I find with the 1918 MK I design, other than that I think its a masterpiece.

[BOB K. RKSS]

The Sheath (pictured) could be Depot made. I aquired one of these from a WWII AB Veteran (20 years ago, & since sold): it had a leather sheath shaped like this one, but the original steel scabbard was sewn inside, & couldn't be removed. Leather color was russet brown.

[Johan Willaert]

Nice knife! I like it and if you ever want to sell it, please let me know!

 

Johan

[houston1852]

I know this is an old post but can somebody please give me any more info on filed down 1918 trench knives. Can you please tell me where you got the info about them being done in 1942? Thank you for any help.

[militariaone]

Greetings,

The filed down 1942 Airborne narrative, is based upon the various ABN units contemporarily photographed (in North Africa and later Sicily) with modified guards and scabbards view this thread here. http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/63666-anyone-have-pictures-of-paratroopers-or-rangers-with-m1918-mk1-trench-knives/?hl=m1918 I doubt that it was anything “official” from an Army Ordnance, at best a unit level modification at worst, individuals making field adaptions/mods to their kit. Lastly, there are plenty of these guard modified knives being worn by other than Army ABN troops; today, they all tend to get collectively lumped together with the “Airborne modification” moniker in order to get more money out of an otherwise modified knife. Hope this puts things in perspective.

Regards,

Lance

[houston1852]

Hi Lance, sorry for the delay, I haven't been able to get online for a few days. Thank you for the information and the thread. There were some great photos there! I have been wanting a 1918 trench knife for a while now but I've always been a Civil War collector but gradually learning more about WW2. I actually have a model 1917 trench knife and am currently reading A World Undone about WW1. I settled in to watch The Pacific the other night and thought I need more WW2 items. I came across a modified M1918 being listed as Airborne. I honestly didn't put a whole lot of stock into that but I knew I wanted the knife so I bought it. I'm definitely going to have to print some o these photos to display with it. Thank you again for your help!

 

Ryan

PS. A few yrs ago I actually found an SS dagger in an old house that was being torn down.

[militariaone]

Hi Lance, sorry for the delay, I haven't been able to get online for a few days. Thank you for the information and the thread. There were some great photos there! I have been wanting a 1918 trench knife for a while now but I've always been a Civil War collector but gradually learning more about WW2. I actually have a model 1917 trench knife and am currently reading A World Undone about WW1. I settled in to watch The Pacific the other night and thought I need more WW2 items. I came across a modified M1918 being listed as Airborne. I honestly didn't put a whole lot of stock into that but I knew I wanted the knife so I bought it. I'm definitely going to have to print some o these photos to display with it. Thank you again for your help!

 

Ryan

PS. A few yrs ago I actually found an SS dagger in an old house that was being torn down.

 

Greetings Ryan,

 

No sweat, happy to discuss these knuckle knives, sad thing is everyone wants to believe their cut down-modified M1918 Mk. I is one used by a paratrooper, but as is oft repeated here and other collectors' forums, buy the item not the story. Here's a perfect example of someone adding to the airborne mystique (see below knives from this website http://pararesearchteam.com/M1918-Trench-Knife-05.html ) These are two repro parts knives, which have been altered enough to convince their new owner that they are in fact legitimate examples, hence they come with a nice tie-in ABN story. Yes, I have e-mailed the websites webmaster and well, they are still being hosted there. Such is life.

 

Cheers,

 

Lance

[houston1852]

Yeah, those are real beauties! ; ) I'm pretty sure a fake Confederate Bowie just sold from this forum but I didn't know if I should say anything or not...

Let me see if I can figure out how to post pics of mine...

Well, I couldn't quite figure it out so I posted the pics to my photography website...

 

http://ryanpatrick.zenfolio.com/p1012440301#h16545e54

[militariaone]

Greetings Ryan,

Nice example of a “half-guard” modified variant. I took the liberty of modifying your photos to illustrate, that these knives do not fit into the M8 series of scabbards without some removal of metal (i.e. grinding) in the riscasso area and the blade’s edges (red arrows). Many collectors see these modified knives in M8 series scabbards and falsely assume they just naturally fit/drop in without any effort. Thank you, for sharing your nice example.

Regards,

Lance