36thIDAlex Posted January 21 #1 Posted January 21 A recent addition, this very neat theater-made souvenir 36th Division knife! I always enjoy finding unique souvenir pieces brought home by men of the division. You see all sorts of improvised GI blades from the war, but my favorite are always these unique “theater made” pieces. The knife itself is made of several components. The handle is some sort of bone that has been cut into this piece which fits solidly in the hand. The maker then decided to spice up the appearance by embedding an American dress uniform pocket button onto the pommel. The blade itself is from a shortened German dress bayonet. The maker, E Pack & Sohne, Solingen, made all sorts of knives, bayonets, and daggers for the regime. This one was “liberated” from one of their polished and proper short parade bayonets. The sheath is also a totally unique fabrication. Cut from bits of GI canvas webbing, it seems to have been made from scratch to fit the blade. An inner wooden sheath is hidden inside the canvas while the soldier has sewn a loop on the top for his web gear and shoelaces to act as a sort of lanyard like were on the pistol holsters. And of course, the best part is the 36th carving on the grip.
John Parker Jr. Posted January 22 #2 Posted January 22 I think that the blade was not shortened at all, indeed it comes from a German Military Dress Bayonet, and only the handle and sheath were hand-made.
opseccc Posted January 22 #3 Posted January 22 I wish the "theater" maker had put a date on the handle.
36thIDAlex Posted February 3 Author #4 Posted February 3 On 1/22/2025 at 1:39 AM, John Parker Jr. said: I think that the blade was not shortened at all, indeed it comes from a German Military Dress Bayonet, and only the handle and sheath were hand-made. Seems probably right! I've never had one of them and was just told it seemed shorter by some knife guys, but looking at yours and other examples I do think it was probably just put onto the custom grip.
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