Posted 10 years ago
Chrisnp
(310 items)
I don’t think any collection of Imperial German edged weapons would be complete without an example of a faschinenmesser. Partly because faschinenmesser is such a fun word to say. Come on, say it with me: Faschinenmesser. Faschinenmesser. Faschinenmesser. I bet you are smiling right now.
Anyway, a faschinenmesser (literally a “fascine knife” or knife used for cutting bundles of brushwood) was issued primarily for constructing field fortifications, clearing fields of fire, and hacking paths through the underbrush for the artillery to roll through. They were only secondarily a weapon of last resort. As a tool, the shape of this blade, and the heft and balance of it is that of a machete. As a 19th century soldier’s sidearm, the fancier hilt was in order.
There are a number of variations of the faschinenmesser, and as with many things, they often differed between German states, and there were Artillery, Pioneer and Infantry versions. This type seems to be mostly associated with Saxony, and several internet references list it as the model 1845. As of now I believe it to be the Saxon Model 1845 Infantry Faschinenmesser.
The 18 ¾” blade is almost 3/8 inch thick at the base, tapering to about 1/16” thick at the tip. The flat of the blade is 1 3/8” at its widest. Unfortunately it’s so pitted that any markings are long gone. The hilt is solid brass and makes a nice counterweight to the blade. There are no markings on the hilt, which opens up the possibility that this particular example was an export.
I was just thinking the other day about edged weapon collections needing a Faschinenmesser.
Still yet another excellent post.
My favorite German word is sturmgeschütz. They do have the best names.
Sorry to be so late again this week! seems the hurryier I go the behinder I get.
Thanks fortapache.
German has so many great words I don't have a favorite, but one I like is for something I don't have in my collection yet, a hirschfänger!
Of course there is always Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz
Ahh yes of course: the meat monitoring law! (I had to look it up naturally)
I smiled heaps Chris - thanks!
Your collection is so extensive. Do you have groups you deal with that collect military swords or are you a lone researcher? Either way it's a very impressive collection and your posts are always informative (and not boring) :)
Thanks so much for the appreciation! Oh, and I didn't exactly write down that German word from memory either, hehe.
I've been collecting military for well over 40 years, but over time my interests drifted from one sub category to another, like British regimental badges or WWI victory medals or late 19th century military firearms. For several years I was keen on swords.
Over the years I've accumulated a fairly good library of reference books, and of course there's the internet. Unfortunately there's a lot of bad information on the 'net, so I try to find multiple sources that corroborate the information.
I research items pretty thoroughly when I first get them, but I double check the information I have before I post it here. Sometimes there's new information on the internet, and sometimes I learn things I missed!
Unfortunately the local military collecting scene isn't very active. I do belong to an internet forum that specializes in swords, but most of what I write is on CW.
Chris
Thanks Chris. I find that what I put up here helps me keep a record too, and I'm sure that other military sword collectors are using your posts as excellent references.
Thanks for the love trunkman, racer4four, blunder, battlegear, Militarist, Manikin, surfdub66, aghcollect and fortapache.