The Switchblades

[Faustina Bartsch]

I guess that I ought to mention that M.H. Cole added an example of a parachutist knife with a hawk bill in his fourth volume. As in his 3rd volume, Cole doesn't provide any evidence that the knives were ever issued, but as this knife doesn't conform to the known examples in the hands of WWII veterans, I would assume that the knife is only a curiosity, rather than an actual paratroop-issued knife.

The purpose of this thread is not to trash M.H. Cole, as his volumes have been the basis for a lot of outstanding collections and he really was on the cutting edge of knife and bayonet research. However, I do think that it is crucial that collectors study what was actually issued and carried by the soldiers, sailors, and airmen who used them.

My question has always been to what extent these were issued to paratroopers in WWII - Was every paratrooper issued one from 1941-1945? Were they issued early on and then discontinued? I have talked with many WWII paratrooper veterans who have either no recollection of this knife or declare unequivocally that they were never issued one. I have heard stories that they were withdrawn from issue after too many "leg" soldiers were stabbed or cut in bar fights, I have heard stories that to company officers purchased boxes on their own to hand out to their own troops - those may not have had bales as they were privately purchased. Then you have to consider the PX where versions of this knife were sold to individual troopers.

I have several in my own collection and, though I really like them, I have always questioned the efficacy of the knife - It seems to me they are fairly flimsy for cutting through the very heavy parachute webbing - shroud lines certainly, but not the webbing. It seems to me they were likely an early thought about a solution to a problem that was either solved by other means (the later quick release harness) or just didn't end up working out to well as to be practicable. I recall reading in one of my reference books that originally all paratroopers were to have been issued at .45 pistol because the difficulty in getting to rifles and SMGs after landing. Obviously an idea that didn't end up being followed. I think the M2 might have had the same end.

There's no reason I can think of for someone to spend over $100 for a copy of Coles Vol.III as a reference source. In the last few weeks I've seen three copies sell for less on Ebay. They can be found from other sources at similar prices.

Allan, I also admire the M2's. Unfortunately, where I live I have to admire them from afar. Regarding your interviewing of the paratrooper vets, have you run across any information about issued fixed blade knives other than the M3's? I'm wondering how common issuing of the knuckle knives were, and if other knives were issued before the M3 became generally available.

I would like to thank everyone for their comments thus far as I had hoped that what I wrote would evoke some discussion. I'd like to start with a response to Bellumbill's questions and comments. For starters, I am in complete agreement that there were loads of paratrooper veterans that I met who did not have a knife, nor did they recall ever having them. Most of these men were those who trained later in the war. Most, if not all of the "early paratroopers" had a pretty clear recollections of the knives. Most of the soldiers who still had the knives were former members of the 101st and 82nd Airborne divisions, though there was also a fair number of 11th Airborne veterans with them as well.

I could probably start an entire thread on stories related to the switchblade. I've heard stories about the knives being used as weapons in Phenix City, Columbus and in other locales. I've mentioned my favorite switchblade in this thread- -my-favorite-m2-switchblade/ It is by far the worst condition blade in my collection, but it is the last one I would ever get rid of. I even had a 507th PIR vet tell me that the Germans never found his switchblade when he was captured in Normandy as it was in the throat pocket of his jump jackets and his captors didn't look there.

I know that some units had their switchblades confiscated after "incidents" and know that some units had the blades turned in and issued with the parachutes, but a number of veterans from various units still had switchblades in their possession 40 plus years after the war.

SACTroop- I agree on the value of Cole's reference. It was a pioneering work and deserves the praise that it has received in the decades since it was written. There have been other books written on the subject with more information and accuracy, but none of them have surpassed the status that Cole v3 has enjoyed in that period of time. As for the questions regarding different knives, being issued, my experience has been that the 82nd A/B veterans seemed to have more of the M1918 knuckle knives issued to them than other units, though there is good photographic evidence that the 509th and 503rd PIRs had them in numbers as well.

Even though these comments have dashed my enthusiasm for owning the one black painted longer version I possess as an issued piece of Airborne issued equipment, I am going to remain hopeful that it was intended to be a GI issued item.

I do agree that they seem to have been lacking the robust character necessary for their intended use but that seems to be the case with many pieces of GI equipment. Is it possible that the metal handle examples were intended to have one use only, as a cutting tool, which could be operated by one hand during the jump only? Never intended to be a fighting knife or for other necessaries in the field. The fact that there are so many of these metal handle versions remaining in both the 3" and 3 3/4" inch seems to indicate that there was a military contract for their production or a manufactures anticipation that there would be a need by Airborne troops.

I am sure many are aware that the German Fallschirmjager were issued a gravity knife for one handed operation with the sole purpose of cutting the lines. These were also rather fragile and not the first choice as a edged fighting weapon.

Thanks for the input and maybe Frank will chime in as I would be very interested to learn more about the subject. I'm not quite sure why jigged bone" would become a scarcity, so am assuming that it wasn't so much a case of scarcity as it might have been the amount of time that it might have taken to work bone into handles. I'd actually question why the handles would change from a non-critical material (bone) to a critical metal (sheet steel). I would also like to know why Presto would have changed over to metal handles while Schrade never did. Since I'd say that around 80% of the knives I have encountered have been Schrades and 20% bone handled Prestos, I would have assumed that the bigger manufacturer would have changed over first. This obviously is not the case. It would also be nice to know what is meant by the mid years- mid war or mid 1940's?

I want to be very clear here. I am NOT saying that the metal handled Presto knives were not issued to paratroopers in World War II. What I am saying is that since specializing in WWII airborne from around 1979 to present, I have yet to encounter one of these metal handled Presto knives that I could confirm was WWII issued. In the interest of full disclosure, a number of years ago, I did run into a FSSF veteran who told me that he had a Presto knife and that it was painted black. I assumed that this was the metal handled Presto. Once the veteran was able to produce the knife, it turned out that it was a bone handled Schrade where the metal bolsters and blade had been coated with black paint. The veteran then said that they darkened the metal so that they didn't get a shine off the blade. I should also mention that most of the Forcemen that I talked to said that the FSSF never had switchblades issued!

Of course, we are talking about men who were trying to remember details some 40 years after the fact. Many just couldn't recall details about their knives. My only recourse was to see what those veterans (who still had examples) had in their possession. To a man, everyone of the switchblades that I have observed were bone handled knives.

I should finish this post by saying that these knives were meant to be a tool and not a weapon. Of course, even in the 1940's gang members were portrayed as switchblade wielding thugs, so it is natural to think that some soldiers would equate the knife with a weapon.

Just for giggles, I thought I would add this US Army Signal Corps photo of a paratrooper's gear. I'm sure everyone has already seen this, but am wondering how closely it has been observed. I have taken the liberty of adding a couple of circles to the photo. The larger circle shows an M1918 knuckle knife sitting behind the .45 auto pistol and holster. This is a similar configuration to other soldiers' set ups with an M3 trench knife showing up behind the holster. In order for the knuckle knife to be worn here, the guards have to be ground down, otherwise it would be quite painful to have it worn in this position.

I have one of the metal handled versions that the neighbor who gave it to me about 50 years ago said he won it in a poker game on board ship coming back from Europe in 1945. Although I cannot confirm the story, I have no real reason to doubt it.

The lower one I picked up locally from a family. They knew nothing about it, just the name of the serviceman that it came from. I have located a little about him, he was a paratrooper but didn't get into the main war.

. I'm not quite sure why jigged bone" would become a scarcity, so am assuming that it wasn't so much a case of scarcity as it might have been the amount of time that it might have taken to work bone into handles.

Supply versus demand. Pocket or jackknives were a highly procured item from all services, one navy contract alone was awarded for a quantity of 1.5 million. That's just one of hundreds of orders. Jigged bone was antlers and only grow at a certain rate plus harvesting it from the animals only retains so much volume. Some Contractors had a pride in some lines of their knives and did not deviate plus cost of raw materials, it would be more cost effective to use alternate materials such as cellulose acetate and stamped sheet metal as in this case.

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