As promised earlier I'm starting a thread on the NVA Paratrooper Cutting Knife / Kappmesser. There is not much information on this knife so I did some reviews of German language NVA forums to find the basics.
The Kappmesser was considered a piece of emergency equipment. It was used to cut away parachute shroud lines when the main parachute did not properly open or when the jumper was tangled in his or another jumper's parachute. These knifes were used by both military and sport parachute organizations.
There were basically 3 types of Kappmesser.
The first was an almost exact replica of the WWII Fallschirmjäger-Messer which used a gravity-operated mechanism to deploy its sliding spearpoint blade from the handle. The side of the knife has a latch to open and close the knife. There are versions with NVA or GST stamped on the frame and they were also serial numbered. I don't know how long these knives were used, but possibly up until the late 1960s. This knife is very hard to find and is currently illegal to own in German, possession is considered a crime.
The second was a Polish made Kappmesser. This is a blunt ended knife with a razor sharp cutting edge on each side of the knife. The finished wooden handle is held on the knife with a riveted metal end cap. The knife is kept in a form fitting tan colored leather sheath with four metal rings to attach it to the reserve parachute. There are two variation of this knife. On one the blade is maker marked, the other in unmarked. The handle is similar to the Polish paratrooper WZ.55 fighting knives. This knife was thought to be used starting around 1971.
The third is similar to the second, but was a much simpler design with the blade riveted between two halves of a wooden handle of unfinished wood with three brass pins. The sheath is also similar to the second model, but contains metal rivets at the top edges. This knife was made in the DDR and was adopted near the end of the 1970s.
Below is a photo showing the 2nd and 3rd Types of Kappmesser:
There was some discussion in the Combat Knife thread about where this knife was carried on the reserve parachute. I could be attached to the "bungee cords" on the top, bottom or rear of the parachute by threading the metal rings on the knife sheath onto these cords.
I've seen at least one photo of SAK wearing this knife at the bottom of the reserve parachute. However it was generally worn on the top or behind the reserve. That way a paratrooper would not loose precious seconds feeling for it at the bottom of the parachute during an emergency. After the altimeter /stop watch housing was adopted in the mid-1970s there was limited room at the top of the parachute so the knife was often attached to the back of the parachute with the handle paced diagonally upward either left or right depending upon if the jumper was left of right handed.
If the knife was mounted too far forward on the BE-8 reserve parachute and the parachute straps were not tightened, there was the possibility it would slap the wearer in the face when the reserve parachute opened in an emergency.
There was some discussion on the NVA Paratrooper forum about the use of the Kappmesser as a throwing or fighting knife. Because of the blunt end and the balance of the knife it's really impractical as a throwing knife, Only if the blade tip was cut off on both sides in a 45 degree angle and sharpened could it be considered for throwing. As far as a fighting knife it would have been perfect for slitting throats since the blade is sharp enough to shave with.
The Kappmesser was considered a piece of emergency equipment. It was used to cut away parachute shroud lines when the main parachute did not properly open or when the jumper was tangled in his or another jumper's parachute. These knifes were used by both military and sport parachute organizations.
There were basically 3 types of Kappmesser.
The first was an almost exact replica of the WWII Fallschirmjäger-Messer which used a gravity-operated mechanism to deploy its sliding spearpoint blade from the handle. The side of the knife has a latch to open and close the knife. There are versions with NVA or GST stamped on the frame and they were also serial numbered. I don't know how long these knives were used, but possibly up until the late 1960s. This knife is very hard to find and is currently illegal to own in German, possession is considered a crime.
The second was a Polish made Kappmesser. This is a blunt ended knife with a razor sharp cutting edge on each side of the knife. The finished wooden handle is held on the knife with a riveted metal end cap. The knife is kept in a form fitting tan colored leather sheath with four metal rings to attach it to the reserve parachute. There are two variation of this knife. On one the blade is maker marked, the other in unmarked. The handle is similar to the Polish paratrooper WZ.55 fighting knives. This knife was thought to be used starting around 1971.
The third is similar to the second, but was a much simpler design with the blade riveted between two halves of a wooden handle of unfinished wood with three brass pins. The sheath is also similar to the second model, but contains metal rivets at the top edges. This knife was made in the DDR and was adopted near the end of the 1970s.
Below is a photo showing the 2nd and 3rd Types of Kappmesser:
There was some discussion in the Combat Knife thread about where this knife was carried on the reserve parachute. I could be attached to the "bungee cords" on the top, bottom or rear of the parachute by threading the metal rings on the knife sheath onto these cords.
I've seen at least one photo of SAK wearing this knife at the bottom of the reserve parachute. However it was generally worn on the top or behind the reserve. That way a paratrooper would not loose precious seconds feeling for it at the bottom of the parachute during an emergency. After the altimeter /stop watch housing was adopted in the mid-1970s there was limited room at the top of the parachute so the knife was often attached to the back of the parachute with the handle paced diagonally upward either left or right depending upon if the jumper was left of right handed.
If the knife was mounted too far forward on the BE-8 reserve parachute and the parachute straps were not tightened, there was the possibility it would slap the wearer in the face when the reserve parachute opened in an emergency.
There was some discussion on the NVA Paratrooper forum about the use of the Kappmesser as a throwing or fighting knife. Because of the blunt end and the balance of the knife it's really impractical as a throwing knife, Only if the blade tip was cut off on both sides in a 45 degree angle and sharpened could it be considered for throwing. As far as a fighting knife it would have been perfect for slitting throats since the blade is sharp enough to shave with.
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