German WWII Luftwaffe Gravity Knife - Take Down Model

Description

1/22/25 - This is a very nice example of a late-war produced Type II "Take down" version of the legendary Luftwaffe, German air force paratrooper knife, with a Solingen RB Nr on the blade. Mild age staining on the blade but no corrosion or pitting. The wood scales are in great shape with small, minor cracks at the rivets, but they are completely solid. Positive lock when opened or closed. Functions properly with minor resistance on the blade. Matching numbers on the blade, cap and frame.

German RB Numbers, or Reichsbetriebsnummer, also known as the National Business Number, were an alternative to the 3 letter codes in use late in the war. The first number 0 is the prefix for "industry", while 0561 is the location code for Solingen, the largest and best blade producing city in Germany. From what we can tell from records, contractor 0019 is thought to be SMF or possibly Paul Weyersberg - both well known names in Solingen who were producers of these earlier in the war. There is unfortunately not much information out there on the RB number system.