this dagger was given to me 10 years ago. i dont know anything about it and been searching for it's historical roots. if anyone can give any insight, i would greatly appreciate it :)

I am quite sure this is not medieval. It's rather XIX/XX century.

I agree, it's probably 20th century, could be late 19th.

What's the hilt made out of?

Yes, I'd agree with the above, though it puts me in mind of trench-art that I've seen before - my mother collects a whole range of items, some which were crafted by those actually in the trenches to send to sweethearts, to pass the time, for good luck charms, and others sold as trinkets after the event or to take home.

Have a look at the pen-knives for example on this page:
http://www.trenchartofww1.co.uk/3.html?frm_da...type=large

particularly the one in the top left here:

http://www.trenchartofww1.co.uk/3.html?frm_da...type=large

It's just a guess though. ;)

I'll admit that I don't know what it is but I think the blade looks too finely finished for it to be trench made. I, too, would like to know what the hilt is made from and if the hilt was burned. The iron cross symbol on the blade makes me think it may have been a ceremonial dagger or something. Also, how big is it, does it have the cross section of a letter opened or a dagger?

Nice little mystery!

The cross-section of a blade is what you would see if you looke straight down the blade.

You could post a photo looking straight down the blade.

Hi Rod,

You wrote, "the knife is 6 inches long." The overall length is 6" or the blade length is 6"? If the length of the whole thing is only 6" then I'd guess we're looking at a souvenir or letter opener. On the other hand if the blade is 6" long then I'd opt for some sort of decorative or ceremonial dagger.

"at a local shop the owner mentioned the hilt may have been shrink wrapped with leather originally. he said the hilt was made from metal. i originally thought the hilt was rock." Man, your guess is as good as mine, I've never seen anything like that handle! If I had to hazard a guess I'd say it was something flammable that had been partially burned but I'm just going on what it looks like in the photo. Does anybody know if bakelite burns?

" how were ceremonial daggers used?"I wasn't alluding to blood sacrifices or anything like that. At one time there were an uncounted number of fraternal organizations, like the Elks for instance. Some were national or ethnic, German Turnvereins are an example. A dagger could be a symbol of membership or office or grade or something like that.

"what do you mean does it have the cross section of a letter opened or a dagger?" Rod, I'm not sure I can describe the difference to you in a succinct fashion. Look at a letter opener and a knife and you'll see that while there are similarities, they're essentially different. A letter opened will probably have a slightly convex cross section coming to a not very sharp but smooth edge, knives generally are not convex but have a straight taper that leads fairly acutely to a sharp edge.

I want to thank you for presenting us with such an engaging puzzle, I suspect we aren't going to solve this one.

I'm saying trench art ( some of which as well as POW camp art was of excellent quality ). The handle is i'm 'thinking a chunk of shrapnel, the quillons appear to be made from the firing band of an artillery shell ( I used to have a German trench art bracelet from WWI made from a firing band that looks like pretty much the exact same thing ) and the blade is made in mimic of the letter opener ( I used to own several of variations of the one Frances pointed out in her mothers collection with the iron cross motif ), the maker perhaps having seen one while spending time back from the front lines. Scrap metal was literally everywhere on the western front and the volume of trench art produced was prodigous and often ingenius. The dagger would be German is my guess based on the firing band quillons and blad decoration.


Frances, your mother has a wonderfull collection! In the past I collected everything to do with WWI ( and WWII and ACW ect. ) and had a large collection of trench art letter openers, you moms is a nice a grouping as i've ever seen.

Its a trench art dagger from the first WW1. The handle appears to be made from a shell splinter (shrapnel). These were made as souviniers for troops headed home.