LUFTGRAV #29798 LUFTWAFFE GRAVITY KNIFE - S.M.F.

This gravity knife is in good overall condition, having nickel fittings throughout. The nickel is in good shape, the throat fitting having the original owner’s initial “A” scratched into both sides of it. The blade release activator is numbered “2”, as well as “655”. The marlin spike is in good shape and is waffenamt with the stickbird having a “5” in his belly. The grip plates of this example are a good dark walnut and they have a pleasing grain, showing some minor usage signs. The blade is as good as you will ever see. This mint condition example has full original graining and precise shape. A beautiful example here! The reverse ricasso is darkly etched with the seated king trademark. The king holds an upward pointed sword, while sitting on the firm’s initials, “S.M.F.”. Beneath this in an arch shape is the town, “Solingen”, and beneath this the German word for stainless steel, “Rostfrei”. A very nice gravity knife here with good working springs.

 LUFTGRAV #29705C LUFTWAFFE TAKEDOWN GRAVITY KNIFE - S.M.F.

This Luftwaffe Take-Down Gravity Knife has excellent blued surfaces throughout. In fact, the bluing is in near 100% condition. The only part that is not blued on this piece is the ring on the back of the knife. The take-down activator lever is marked “288”. The take-down button works well, and when the throat mechanism is removed it reveals the number “0117” stamped on the lower edge. The marlin spike is also in a good blued state, and I do not see any waffenamt stamping in the corner, although this piece is definitely a World War II vintage Luftwaffe example. Perhaps the inspector missed this one! The grip plates are a dark walnut color, having very pleasing grain. These plates are in perfect condition throughout, and it is also interesting to note that the obverse grip plate up at the edge area near the back part of the plate is stamped with the number “8”. I do not know what the purpose of this would have been, other than a property stamping. The blade itself is a real beauty, having outstanding bright finish with very good crossgraining. This graining is still almost all there, and the blade itself grades in near mint condition. There is the tiniest of edge sharpening if you really look close, but it is nothing. The reverse ricasso is etched with the seated king trademark, the king having a pointed upward sword and positioned on the firm’s initials, “S.M.F.”. Below this is an arch shaped “Solingen”, and the word for stainless steel, “Rostfrei”. A very nice take-down gravity knife here.

 LUFTGRAV #29252C LUFTWAFFE TAKEDOWN GRAVITY KNIFE – Paul Weyersberg

This takedown gravity knife shows some usage of the period but overall, it is in quite good condition. The blued surfaces only show a little thinning on the sharp areas. Overall, the blue is still at about 95% - 98%. The takedown system works good and the activator lever is numbered “69”. The internal parts are stamped “386”. The grip plates are a fine walnut having a good, rich color and little usage signs. The marlin spike is in good condition, having a waffenamp in the corner. It is the usual stick bird having the number “5” in his belly. The blade itself is still in nice condition, having most of its original graining still showing in the surfaces. It has only a slight amount of age over the surfaces and may clean up if someone wanted to do this. As it is, though, the blade is in a near mint state. It is etched on the reverse with the double ovals which trap the firm’s name “Paul Weyersberg & Co. Solingen”. Inside, is the downward pointing sword placed between two wheat shafts. A good working example here and a nice piece to display with other Luftwaffe paratrooper parts.

LUFTGRAV #28932C LUFTWAFFE GRAVITY KNIFE – Paul Weyersburg

This gravity knife is the non-take-down type, having good nickel finished mounts. This knife shows general usage throughout but the fittings are still in fairly good condition. The activator lever is marked, “717” and the spring portion of the lever matches this number. The marlin spike has the waffen amt consisting of a stick bird with the number, “5”. Both springs seem to work well and the blade goes in and out nicely. The grip plates show a little bit of time served as there is a small chip on the reverse upper edge area and a gauge in the side area extending to the center on the obverse area. But these are the kind of things that one would expect to see in a gravity knife that saw service. The blade slides in and out very nicely and it is still bright. It has minute amounts of graying in the surfaces if you look very closely. The blade has a couple of small hits to the edges but they are not really nicks. This blade grades at about excellent plus. The reverse has a good etch to the double ovals which contain the firm’s name and location, “Paul Weyersberg & Co. Solingen” and beneath this the word, “Rostfrie”, which of course stands for stainless steel. A decent example here, priced accordingly.

LUFTGRAV #28979 LUFTWAFFE GRAVITY KNIFE – SMF

This gravity knife is made of all polished nickel parts and it is the non-take-down type. All of the nickel parts are in good condition throughout. The springs are nice and tight on both the marlin spike and blade. The activator is stamped with a number one and also, “54” underneath this number. The marlin spike has the usual stick bird waffen amt in the lower corner and the bird has a, “5” in his belly. The grip plates are a good oak solid wood and the reverse plate is in good condition throughout. The obverse plate has a gauge cut across the letter portion of the wood as well as a matching type cut across the upper area of the same grip. I do not know why this was done but a lot of things can happen during wartime and perhaps boredom. The blade of this example works well and it is still bright. It also has quite a bit of crossgraining in the finish. Unfortunately, someone has done a sharpening job and the sharpening was not done too well as some of it has scored the blade itself. It is not bad though and this blade still rates at excellent to excellent plus. In fact, some of this could be taken out if somebody wanted to work with it. All in all though, a good original gravity knife.

LUFTGRAV #28710 LUFTWAFFE GRAVITY KNIFE – Paul Weyersburg

This This Luftwaffe Gravity Knife has the usual nickel plated mounts. The obverse side still is quite clean, where as the reverse side has some minor pitting to the throat area and the collar below. The oak wood grip plates are in good shape having a couple of minor hits, but nothing serious. The activator lever is stamped with the number “54” in two places. The marlin spike has a good tip to it and it is waffenamt with an early form of stick bird. The blade of this example is still nice and bright, having its original cross graining pretty much all there. There is some minor sharpening, but it is mostly confined to the edge area and is not bad at all. There are a couple of stains in the blade but all in all, this blade grades at excellent plus plus to near mint condition. The reverse ricasso is etched with the maker logo of the double ovals which contain the firm’s name and location “Paul Weyersburg & Co Solingen”. Inside is a downward pointing sword placed between two wheat shafts. Below this logo is the German word for stainless steel “rostfrei”. The mechanism for this knife works good but the blade does not like to come out without just a slight jerk of the wrist. This would be an easy example to operate once the right touch is achieved. A good gravity knife here, showing usage and some minor age but it is all there and the springs are still nice and tight.

LUFTGRAV #28593 LUFTWAFFE GRAVITY KNIFE – SMF

This gravity knife is the style with nickel-plated surfaces. This example has good bright nickeling throughout. The activator lever is marked, “350”. The spike is in good condition and is waffen amt with an eagle having a “5” in his belly. The grip plates are a choice oak wood having fine graining. These plates have been varnished and really look good. The varnish even appears to be very old and could be original. The blade of this example is still factory bright and has all of its crossgraining throughout. This blade is in mint condition. The reverse ricasso is etched with the seated king trademark. The king is holding an upward pointing sword while he sits on his firm’s initials, “SMF”. Beneath this is the town, “Solingen” and beneath this is the word, “Rostfrei”. An extremely nice gravity knife with all good strong working springs.

LUFTGRAV #28451 LUFTWAFFE TAKE-DOWN GRAVITY KNIFE

This take-down gravity knife has the blued finish throughout. The finish shows a little bit of mild wear and there is also some staining here and there. Overall, I would say the blue is about 70-80%. The throat area has the arrow which points downward toward the button which when pushed allows the throat to come off and the gravity knife to separate for cleaning. The blade activator lever is numbered, “62”. When the throat is taken off the numbers inside are, “865”. The mechanism seems to work quite well. The marlin spike is also in good condition having a waffen amt in the folding corner. The wood grip plates are a most attractive darker oak color having fine graining. They are in perfect condition throughout and are very attractive. The blade still has most of its brightness but it does show some usage and there is some sharpening but only at the very edge. This blade rates at approximately excellent plus, still retaining its original shape. The blade has the etching on the obverse ricasso, “RB Nr. 0/0561/0020”. These numbers are attributable to the Paul Weyersburg producer. Gravity knives made during the war were given an RB number which represented the manufacturer. A nice example here which comes from a veteran source.

LUFTGRAV #27335 LUFTWAFFE GRAVITY KNIFE – Paul Weyersburg

This gravity knife is in the nickel finish and it is in remarkable condition throughout. There are only the most minor signs of usage, the nickel surfaces still being nice and bright. The activator lever is stamped “35". The oak grip plates are in excellent condition throughout with little signs of usage. The marlin spike is newlike with its original point and is has been waffenamt at the corner joint with the stick bird having the number “5" in his belly. The springs are nice and tight throughout this piece. The blade is an outstanding example, still having all of its original cross graining and being bright throughout. The blade shows only the most minor signs of age and shows only a little bit of sharpening at the point area, but confined to the lower edge only. This blade easily rates in near full mint condition. The reverse ricasso is etched with the double ovals which contain the firm’s name and location “Paul Weyersberg & Co. Solingen”. Inside, there is a downward pointing sword placed between two wheat shafts. A very fine gravity knife here.

LUFTGRAV #28017 TAKEDOWN LUFTWAFFE GRAVITY KNIFE WITH RB NUMBERED BLADE

This takedown Luftwaffe gravity knife shows quite a bit of overall usage and age, but it still has most of the blue finish and it also still works well. The blue throughout the fittings is about 85%. There are some rust marks here and there, but nothing serious. The throat has the arrow which points downward to the button which is countersunk within the top of the grip plate where it meets the throat. The activator lever is stamped “92". When taking the throat off and revealing the lower area, the parts are marked “804" respectively. The grip plates are a dark brown oak color which probably is stained deeply from hand usage. This looks quite well. The marlin spike is in good condition and it is waffenamt in the corner with the usual stick bird having the “5" in his belly. The springs both work well on this piece. The blade also shows substantial age in the surfaces and there is some mild sharpening, but the blade’s shape still remains intact. This blade would only grade at near excellent. The reverse ricasso is etched with the Luftwaffe property marking “rb nr./0/0561/0020". This “20" ending indicates to me that this is a later-made piece, as most of these I have seen in the past ended with the number “19". This is an excellent example for someone outfitting a combat tunic mannequin or, if you are just looking for one of these takedowns that still works and available on the cheap!

LUFTGRAV #27366 LUFTWAFFE GRAVITY KNIFE - Paul Weyersburg

This fine example has all nickel fittings and shows only mild usage. The springs are still good throughout. The activator lever is stamped “22". The same stamping appears on the spring mechanism attached to the lever. The marlin spike is in good condition and is waffenamt with an early style stick bird have a “5" in his belly. The grip plates of this example are an attractive, nicely graining oak. They are in choice condition, showing only minimal usage. The blade is still nice and bright, having most of the original cross graining. There is just the slightest sharpening evident on the edge, but this is to be expected, as most gravity knives were sharpened by the owner. It was tastefully done however, and this blade still grades in near mint condition. The reverse ricasso is etched with the double oval trademark which traps the firm’s name and location “Paul Weyersberg & Company Solingen”. Inside is a downward pointing sword placed between two wheat shafts. Below this is the German word for stainless steel, “rostfrei”. A fine example here which will fit very well in any Luftwaffe collection.

LUFTGRAV #26601 LUFTWAFFE "TAKE-DOWN" GRAVITY KNIFE - Paul Weyersburg

This Take-Down Gravity Knife has seen quite a bit of usage, and shows overall age throughout. It does, however, still work, and it is all there. The knife appears to have been made with the nickel plated style mounts, as opposed to the blued type, seen later on during war production. This example has the Take-Down style throat, which has the pointing downward arrow on the surface of the mouth area, and the Take-Down button works well. Taking the mouth off reveals the number, “210”, stamped on the surface below, which also has an arrow, and also the same number is stamped on the lip of the throat area. The activator lever has the number, “35”, stamped into it. (It is not unusual to see mismatched numbers on these Take-Down pieces). The marlin spike works well, and has a waffen amt in its corner, being the usual stick-bird with number, “5”, in his belly. Overall, these nickel fittings show dullness from age. The blade spring works well when the activator is pushed. The blade shows some old edge sharpening, and overall usage throughout. This blade is slightly gray, but still looks pretty good. The reverse area, about 1/3 down, is etched with the oval trademark of this producer. The double ovals capture the firm’s name and location, “Paul Weyersberg & Co., Solingen”. Inside is a downward pointing sword, placed between two wheat shafts. The grip plates are an oak variety, and they have turned quite dark from age. There is usage signs throughout the plates, but no serious cracks or problems. This is a good working Take-Down Gravity knife, which shows age and usage, but it is priced accordingly.

LUFTGRAV #27847 LUFTWAFFE GRAVITY KNIFE - Paul Weyersburg

This Luftwaffe gravity knife is the type with fine nickel finish throughout. The activator lever is stamped “435". The marlin spike is in good condition, having fine, original point. Stamped into the bottom area where the marlin spike is hinged is a stick bird waffenamp. The waffenamp appears to have the number “5" in his belly. The spring mechanisms for both the spike and the blade all are in good working order. The grip plates are a fine darker brown oak wood. They show a little bit of mild usage, but overall are in good condition. The blade is a very fine example, still being factory bright and having nearly all of the cross graining still intact across its surfaces. Only the very edge of the blade has been sharpened, and this was not done with any scarring on the edges. This blade easily rates in near full mint condition. The reverse ricasso is etched with the double ovals. These ovals contain the firm’s name and location “Paul Weyersberg & Company Solingen”. Beneath is the German word for stainless steel “Rostfrei”. A nice example here, that will go well with your Luftwaffe collection.

LUFTGRAV #27898 LUFTWAFFE GRAVITY KNIFE - SMF

This Luftwaffe gravity knife is the nickeled type and all nickel fittings are in excellent condition throughout. The activator lever is stamped “154”. The springs are good in both the marlin spike and the blade. The marlin spike is deeply stamped with a stick eagle bird having the number “5” in his stomach. The grip plates are a lighter color oak wood tan. They show only modest usage and are in perfect condition. The blade is still bright throughout and does have most of its original cross graining in the finish. The original owner has sharpened the blade and some of the sharpening effort has gone into the blade surfaces. Overall, though, it is not bad and this blade still easily grades at excellent plus. The reverse ricasso pictures the seated king with a sword pointing upward. The king is resting on the firm’s initials “SMF”. Below is an arch-shaped location town “Solingen”. Below this is the German word for stainless steel “rostfrei”. A good, sound example here.