German sawback firemans dagger makers mark J & Cross ????

[phil reid]

Hello Chaps , First time on (hopefully posting in right section) and scratching my head in regards to the manufacturers or retailers stamp on the blade of this ww2 fireman's dagger , looks like a J and a slanted cross (thats if its right way up!)?
Any help would be appreciated.
Cheers
Phil in Aus 20200718_110843 (2).jpg 20200718_110843.jpg

[Billy G]

It's not a J, it's a stylized L with a sword. It stands for Johann Leupold, Beyreuth.

[phil reid]

Thank you Billy , greatly appreciated.????
Cheers
Phil

[phil reid]

Dont know why the question marks showed up was meant to be a thumbs up
Thanks Billy

[AndyB]

Corect, the dagger is in reality Faschinenmesser, knot looks like of sabre type.

[Gene]

Faschinenmesser! Faschinenmesser! Faschinenmesser!

[jancz3rt]

Wow, that's a beautiful sawback with a rarely seen maker mark. Love it ???? Also waiting for my latest (and first sawback) to clear customs.

[phil reid]

So meant to cut Faschine????? Photo of blade with knot showing, pretty sure its correct firemans knot 20200718_110950.jpg

[Billy G]

The knot is correct for a long model (25cm) fire bayonet. The strap does not appear to be the thicker style used on fire swords.

The hilt appears to be an Eickhorn product, they made a lot of bayonet parts for the smaller manufacturers. Can you tell me if the pommel is magnetic?

[phil reid]

only have a couple of fridge magnets so dont know if there suitable for testing but they stick to the blade but not the pommel so looks like non magnetic handle

[Billy G]

The reverse shot shows the width of the crossguard and pommel profile better, it's not an Eickhorn hilt, looks more like a Höller product. These are typically nonmagnetic, just little details I like to see on these things. It's a nice looking sawback rig.

[Frogprince]

So meant to cut Faschine????? Photo of blade with knot showing, pretty sure its correct firemans knot

Not that I can see as a really practical matter. Otherwise all of them would have been sawbacks. The sawbacks on first swords, and then rifle bayonets were designed to cut the smaller pieces of wood used or encountered by soldiers in the field. Making them have dual purposes. Apparently nobody (myself included) knows how they came to be associated with fire departments as private purchase accessories to uniforms. FP

[AndyB]

Yes the knot is correct for FW.
Faschinenmesser explanation "Like the billhook they were used for cutting saplings (e.g. willow, hazel or chestnut) that were bundled up to make fascines or woven into hurdles, or gabions. Many revetments used a combination of all three, with fascines at the bottom of the trench, hurdles just below ground level and gabions above, filled with the earth from the trench."

[AndyB]

Wiki explanation Faschinenmesser "Like the billhook they were used for cutting saplings (e.g. willow, hazel or chestnut) that were bundled up to make fascines or woven into hurdles, or gabions. Many revetments used a combination of all three, with fascines at the bottom of the trench, hurdles just below ground level and gabions above, filled with the earth from the trench." So its combination of tool and edged weapon.