Late Robert Klaas HJ Knife with smooth edged grips

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This knife has unusual smooth edges to the grips. Comments welcome. I attach some pics.
Thanks,
Peter.

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Hi Peter, this is an interesting piece being a 'late' produced knife with a zinc hilt.

The obverse plate looks original to the knife and is very well fitted. I've seen the same type of edge wear as shown on this obverse plate, on other knives.

The reverse plate is a very poor fit, and from the pics I'm not sure if it is the original plate. It is certainly unusual with the bulbous look on the ends of this plate. Often, later pieces do have poor fitting plates.

But, the rivets used look very recent and unusual compared with what is 'normally' seen. I don't think these are the original rivets.

Just my opinion but I believe this knife is not in its original form based on these observations.

Regards

Russ
 
Thanks Russ,
I can see what you mean about the grip plates, the reverse not fitting quite as well as the obverse, but both do seem to have the same kind of smooth edges. I will have a closer look at the rivets and compare them with one of my other knives and get back to you.
Thanks,
Peter.
 
Hi Russ,
I have finally had a chance to check on the rivets on this knife, comparing it with a damaged Tiger. The rivets on the Klaas are not as domed as the tiger, and they are the same size on the obverse and reverse, whereas on the Tiger they are smaller on the reverse. They also seem "newer" on the Klaas. This would support your view that the rivets have been replaced. Interestingly, the grip plates seem to be thicker on the Klaas. I attach some pics.
Thanks,
Peter.

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Hi Peter, thanks for those comparison photos.

The reverse rivets on your Tiger are the way they should be on your Klaas.

The thickness of the reverse plate on the Klaas is quite pronounced and leads me to believe it is definitely not the original plate on that knife.

It seems the ends of that plate have been reduced in thickness to make the plate appear to be a better fit. If these ends were not 'shaved' down like this, the ends of the plate would be pronounced above the crossguard and the pommel.

It is possible that this could be a period repair to a damaged plate, and had the rivets been the same or similar to your Tiger rivets, that may have been a potential scenario.

The plate may have come from a dress bayonet but I don't have one at hand to compare the thickness with an HJ knife.

Still, quite an interesting knife - thanks for those extra pics.

Does anyone else have any thoughts on this?

Regards

Russ
 
Thanks Russ,
It would be great to hear some other thoughts on this.
Peter.
 
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