West German GRAVITY knife

This is a forum for discussion on automatic an switchblade knives.

Moderator: The Motley Crew

Forum rules
There are a few things you should know before posting in these forums. If you are a new user, please click here and read carefully. Thanks a lot!
button_man
Posts: 632
Joined: Mon Feb 11, 2019 2:08 pm

Re: West German GRAVITY knife

Post by button_man »

.

Tom ~ Does your dealer pal have any of those 200 left? I'd like to buy a dozen or so....

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Current repro from "Asia" (i.e., China) selling for $125: https://www.atthefront.com/product-p/gwkgrav.htm
This company is attempting to pre-empt complaints about quality by ridiculing anyone who expects a decent product:

"These were made in Asia and the manufacturing tolerances were not the same as those in Germany. ....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."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And here is a genuine contemporary German Eickhorn priced at $175: https://www.knifecommand.com/eickhorn-s ... per-knife/

Attached is a zoom photo of the blade markings -- almost identical to mine, except that the two bottom lines are absent.

.
Attachments
EICKHORN_LL_LABELED__49839__markings_zoom.jpg
EICKHORN_LL_LABELED__49839__markings_zoom.jpg (10.47 KiB) Viewed 2445 times
User avatar
JPD1998
Posts: 55
Joined: Tue Oct 11, 2011 12:32 am
Location: NY and SC

Re: West German GRAVITY knife

Post by JPD1998 »

button_man wrote: Wed Sep 01, 2021 2:36 pm .

JPD ~ What is the OAL of your knife? I find it interesting that the spike is non-reflective but the blade isn't...!

It's also interesting that the bolster catch is a little different..... and that your bolster doesn't have the cord-puller on the bottom.
At least that's what it appears to be..... probably in case the user is wearing gloves, or a cord is just a couple inches out of reach.
(And I suspect that design changes like these can help forestall claims of patent infringement.)
The closed length is 6" and open it's 10".
Yes there's no hook on the front bottom bolster and the marlin spike and bolsters are parkerized.

I think the blade is stainless steel, but I'm not sure, I keep the blade oiled in case it isn't.
button_man
Posts: 632
Joined: Mon Feb 11, 2019 2:08 pm

Re: West German GRAVITY knife

Post by button_man »

.

I recently spotted a German-paratrooper style knife in "Calling Bulldog Drummond" (1951). It appears about 10 minutes before the end of the movie, when a Bad Guy THROWS it at one of the Good Guys and sticks him! Seems about as likely as sticking your target by throwing a steak knife that's taped to a brick.

I was curious to see how many other gravity knives are in the Movie List, and there aren't many:

THE Alfred Hitchcock Hour "Memo From Purgatory" (1964)
The Final (2010)
Knife in the Water (1962)
Wait Until Dark (1967) (gravity knife built into a small statuette)

.
User avatar
Bill DeShivs
Yes.
Posts: 7342
Joined: Sat May 25, 2002 2:50 pm
Location: In de lan o' cotton
Contact:

Re: West German GRAVITY knife

Post by Bill DeShivs »

There were no patents to infringe by the time these smaller gravity knives came out.
The reason the blade is not blued is because it is stainless steel. The spike is carbon steel.
Bill DeShivs, Master Cutler
http://www.billdeshivs.com
Factory authorized repairs for:
Latama, Mauro Mario, LePre, Colonial, Kabar, Flylock, Schrade Cut Co., Presto, Press Button, Hubertus, Grafrath, Kuno Ritter knives, Puma, Burrell Cutlery.
Fishtail Picklock
Posts: 2207
Joined: Sat May 03, 2003 11:10 pm
Location: Forest Grove, OR

Re: West German GRAVITY knife

Post by Fishtail Picklock »

Bill DeShivs wrote: Tue Nov 16, 2021 1:31 am There were no patents to infringe by the time these smaller gravity knives came out.
The reason the blade is not blued is because it is stainless steel. The spike is carbon steel.
Mickey,

These seem as if they would be useful as cutting tools as well as untying excessively tight knots. Am I correct, or are these "novelty knives"?

With all due respect,
Fishtail Picklock
Fishtail Picklock
User avatar
Bill DeShivs
Yes.
Posts: 7342
Joined: Sat May 25, 2002 2:50 pm
Location: In de lan o' cotton
Contact:

Re: West German GRAVITY knife

Post by Bill DeShivs »

The large models were originally issued to German paratroopers so....
They aren't novelty knives.
The later, smaller models would still be good utility knives, but the zinc bolster limits their strength.
Bill DeShivs, Master Cutler
http://www.billdeshivs.com
Factory authorized repairs for:
Latama, Mauro Mario, LePre, Colonial, Kabar, Flylock, Schrade Cut Co., Presto, Press Button, Hubertus, Grafrath, Kuno Ritter knives, Puma, Burrell Cutlery.
krc0217
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2021 3:48 am

Re: West German GRAVITY knife

Post by krc0217 »

Does anyone know where to find the Eickhorn LL80?

Knife Command is linked in an earlier reply, but they are out of stock and don't know when they will have them next. I also contacted Eickhorn directly. They said I could buy it directly from them, however then they stopped replying.
SchwarzStock
Posts: 36
Joined: Mon Oct 31, 2022 11:20 am

Re: West German GRAVITY knife

Post by SchwarzStock »

Sorry to be late to the party. These three books are must have if you are serious about collecting German combat knives. Unfortunately I do not believe they are available in English. The picture of the page is from the Gravity knife book and at the bottom it lists the "type V" knife (LL80) as never having been issed to the BW, it was strictly a civil item. I know from personal experince the LL80 is not very robust and the blade is held in an expended position by friction. If you try to "stab" something with it the blade is pushed back into the grip. In my opinion they are mostly tourist crap.

Last night I was digging around in a drawer and found I have a WMF blade for the 1963 model, I guess I need to either sell it or find a handle. Here in Germany handles are easy to find. It is not allowed to carry around a functional gravity knife but you can own one in your own home. People often take them apart and sell the pieces on ebay separately but there always seem to be more handles than blades.
Books.jpg
Books.jpg (505.22 KiB) Viewed 1263 times
Grav 1.jpg
Grav 1.jpg (627 KiB) Viewed 1263 times
User avatar
Bill DeShivs
Yes.
Posts: 7342
Joined: Sat May 25, 2002 2:50 pm
Location: In de lan o' cotton
Contact:

Re: West German GRAVITY knife

Post by Bill DeShivs »

JPD's knife is the post-WW2 version. Cold War era. 1960s.
These are very similar to the WW2 versions.
There were no patents on these. They were made by 3 makers specifically for issue to the German military-to military specs.
Bill DeShivs, Master Cutler
http://www.billdeshivs.com
Factory authorized repairs for:
Latama, Mauro Mario, LePre, Colonial, Kabar, Flylock, Schrade Cut Co., Presto, Press Button, Hubertus, Grafrath, Kuno Ritter knives, Puma, Burrell Cutlery.
SchwarzStock
Posts: 36
Joined: Mon Oct 31, 2022 11:20 am

Re: West German GRAVITY knife

Post by SchwarzStock »

Yes, all true as far as "JPD's" knife. The AES knives with the i-piece grip as depicted at the beginning of this thread are what I was referring to as being tourist junk. The type "V" from the picture in my previous post. The information clearly says "never adopted by the Bundeswehr".
User avatar
Killgar
Posts: 298
Joined: Fri Nov 19, 2021 6:52 am

Re: West German GRAVITY knife

Post by Killgar »

button_man wrote: Mon Nov 15, 2021 10:13 pm .

Seems about as likely as sticking your target by throwing a steak knife that's taped to a brick.

That made me laugh :lol:


button_man wrote:Mon Nov 15, 2021 10:13 pm
I was curious to see how many other gravity knives are in the Movie List, and there aren't many:

THE Alfred Hitchcock Hour "Memo From Purgatory" (1964)
The Final (2010)
Knife in the Water (1962)
Wait Until Dark (1967) (gravity knife built into a small statuette)

.
The bad guy/hacker in the movie "Black Hat" (2015. Michael Mann directed) had a German/German-style gravity knife. He tried to stab Chris Hemsworth in the neck with it. It only appears at the end of the movie. Slow-mo shot of it being deployed.

Good movie, odd choice of knife for a weapon.
Avatar- Ti-Lite Auto Conversion. Video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q79nia-_DzU

My youtube knife channel- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjSYCK ... 3s5HNcsL5A
Tom19176
Posts: 3619
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2008 12:23 am

Re: West German GRAVITY knife

Post by Tom19176 »

There is one for sale HERE in the for sale section. A high asking price....Take a look.....
SchwarzStock
Posts: 36
Joined: Mon Oct 31, 2022 11:20 am

Re: West German GRAVITY knife

Post by SchwarzStock »

Looks like the rescue knife is still available from Eichkorn. More of a gravity "hook" than a knife.

https://www.eickhorn-solingen.de/epages ... cts/820116
Post Reply