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We cannot ship these outside the United States! Period. No sales to California, Hawaii, Minnesota or New Mexico.
Reproduction of the "gravity knife" carried by German Flying personnel, including Paratroopers (Fallschirmjäger) in WWII. Officially known as the Fliegerkappmesser (Fliers folding knife) these were designed as a general-purpose survival/ utility knife for pilots, air crew and paratroopers. There were two main variants, the early "Type 1" which did not break down, and the "Type 2" that one could disassemble, and trouble shoot if it became jammed. Our reproductions are of the latter which is more popular with collectors.
These are markedly improved over the previous models- these now have the correct steel pins on the handles, and the overall fit and finish is superior. However, the parts still will NOT interchange with originals.
The blade slides into the handle (as opposed to folding like a pocketknife) and there is an awl designed to help untangle shroud lines. A U-shaped swivel at the end allows a "dummy cord" to be attached. To open the blade, the thumb latch is unlocked and pushed forward while holding the knife point facing down- it is not spring loaded/ assisted- gravity alone operates the blade. Closing is the opposite.
How gravity knives work. There is NO spring assist!
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To open, point downward, and flip the latch to release the lock.
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Push latch forward and blade will fall into place.
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Close latch to lock the blade in the open position. To close the knife, reverse the steps, with the blade pointed up.
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Important! The blade does NOT deploy with spring assist! It opens and closes using gravity only (hence the name). Quite a few people have complained that their knife is "broken" or "don't work right" because the blade doesn't jump out when the release is pushed. This type of knife does not work like a stilleto or switchblade. It uses gravity, not a spring, to open and close.
Markings: All of these have the same markings- RB Nr. 0/0561/0019. and serial number 612.
Serial number labels: Each of the main components (blade, body and collar) have small stickers with a unique serial number printed on them- this is because each knife was hand fitted- and they were shipped to us disassembled. The numbers allowed us to re-assemble them correctly. They are easily removed.
Steel with wooden handguards. (The exact grade of steel and species of tree that provide the wood are unknown.)
Blade length: 4 inches.
Imported
US sales only! No international orders! Cannot be shipped to: California, Hawaii, Minnesota or New Mexico.
Notes: I don't mean to sound crass, but knives tend to attract some very finicky and demanding people, a couple of raving nutjobs plus certain individuals with ideas of making hefty profits by re-selling them as something other than a reproduction. 1. Yes, these come sharpened. However, they are not a "Rambo Operator" fighting knife with a blade intended to filet a moose with a flick of the wrist. These were designed as a utility knife, primarily to help troopers free themselves from tangled lines and parachutes. We do NOT have a metallurgical analysis of the steel. They are the best repro gravity knife made- but if you're a SEAL or or Delta operator, this isn't your ideal tool.
2. This is the take-down model which can be dis-assembled, but there is honestly no need to do so.
3. If you break one, it's yours. All of these are inspected and functioning when we ship them. In the past, the problem was people screwing around with them and not being able to re-assemble the things- it's not terribly difficult but some individuals got pissy and went to town on them with a vise, hammer, channel locks etc..
4. If you break one, it's yours take two: The other issue was clever types- parts for originals are scarce and they are often broken, particularly the band spring. Despite the intense similarity, the parts on our knives will not interchange with originals! They are off by 1mm-2mm. So, if you are thinking of swapping out your broken band spring with one of these and then returning the reproduction knife for refund, no dice. Yes, this has happened several times.
5. Fraud protection: These are not stamped "reproduction". Originals are $500-$1000. If you decide to start collecting those, as with ANY collectibles, you need to educate yourself before throwing your loot around. For those who fear we are enabling fraudsters with this, go ahead and make up some sexy hashtags and flame us all over the internet. (Has been threatened. We're amused.) For those with a bit more common sense, the easiest way to distinguish these is the serial number- ALL have "612" stamped into the metal on the plate under the collar.
6. Condition: New. These were made in Asia and the manufacturing tolerances were not the same as those in Germany. That said, these are much improved over the previous models and the majority of people will be pleased. However, for ultra-discriminating, overly anal retentive, extra special types, it's likely you'll be able to find some sort of flaw- real, imaginary, or maybe microscopic. If your game is perfection down to the molecular level, I don't think we have anything that will suit you. 7. No international orders! Many country's customs laws will view these as deadly weapons- which is why we will not ship knives of ANY kind outside the USA. The way around this is to have us send it to one of your American friends' addresses and let them ship it to Europe, New Zealand, Sudan etc..We're a business and the post knows this- if we ship it, it will likely get seized and then everyone expects a refund. Sorry, no.
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