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Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on December 22, 2015 at 14:37

Looking through Solingen hallmarks but it can take time

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by John McCain on December 23, 2015 at 13:19

David- I know what your knife is but still haven't found the maker- Like Jan has said, this can take a little time. What you have is a fine example of a German nicker knife (sometimes spelled knicker knife).These small hunting knives were used to provide a mercy killing to a wounded deer when hunting.They would stab a deer where the head met the spinal cord to finish the deer off.This style is actually a part of traditional South German lederhosen garb, which actually has a pocket on the side to hold such a knife.Early German deer hunting was very refined,done close to a sporting lodge.The nicker knife almost had a sort of ceremonial aspect.These knives also found their way into both World Wars, both as trench knives and boot knives.It is very likely your nicker is from the late 1800's to early 1900's I did manage to find the same hallmark on a pair of Solingen scissors purported to be from the 1930's marked JNR Garantie (guarantee) .Here is a pic of the scissors mark.

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Permalink Reply by David Patrick on December 24, 2015 at 12:40

Thanks John. I see similar knives by different makers including Puma but I didn't know they had a specific hunting purpose. Very interesting info. I'll look at these knives differently now. This maker apparently made a variety of cutlery. Here is another photo of the unusual stag on this old knife from a different point of view. Its amazing that it is in such good shape.

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