Q & A

S.T. of Fredericton N.B.writes:

I was left this knife by my father with little information on it's origin. It is unledgeable in the pictures but it does have a saying on the blade in French "A Mort les Boches". I am not sure whether it is WW1 or Boer War but I believe it is called a trench knife. Any information would be of great appreciation. Thanks.

We asked Ross Wilson to respond:

On first viewing I would have identified this as a rather nicely decorated French clasp knife (trench knives are a sub-division of knife collecting and, usually, no where near as fine as the subject) from the late 19th or early 20th century until I looked closer at the decoration on one side of the handle. There appears to be the head of a Negro within a shield and a circlet of laurel leaves over his head. Given the etched inscription on the blade and the decoration on the handle it would appear to be a commercially made knife whose market would be French Colonial troops fighting the Germans - but this is pure conjecture on my part. If S.T. could send us the makers stamp on the blade it might help with identifying this very interesting knife. My evaluation is based on an average clasp knife, but given its unusual nature a collector could look to paying between $150 - 225 for such a item.