WW II : Watch & Lappish knifes

[Conehead]

Hi
Maybe this a bit OT, but I hope you UK-people may find some interest. (and pls excuse my gramma and spelling!)

The watch in the picture is my first. So even for dad, he got it in 1941 during World War II. No doubt design is inspired by military watches. Dad told me that he had to choose between a number of watches and chose this because he thought the name was so cool; Helvetia.(edit: very similar to "from Hell" in swedish)
(-Dear Father, how bad I want to see what you had to choose between.)
1969 when I was 12, my father hand it over to me. So it have survived two twelve year olds wild adventures.



What then the Lappish knife in the picture have to do with it?

Well, 1944 a Sunday in October the RAF bombing the battleship Tirpitz offshore Narvik. This Sunday my grandfather was hunting northwest of Porjus (Lappland , Sweden) and could see how a Lancaster bomber, badly damaged make an emergency landing at a frozen bog. When the crew had been evacuated returned Grandfather to the plane and take care of some plexiglass from the windows.
After that Grandpa produced his Lappish knifes (although he was not Lappish), with plexiglass in the handle. It may these days seem a bit bizarre materials to blend with natural materials such as reindeer horn and skin. But you must have in mind that in 1941 no Plexiglas was available to the common man and it also is excellent for handcraft. Perhaps it made Grandpa's buddies a bit jealous when they saw the rare glass inserts.



Helvetia anno 1941

More about the Lancaster: ‪ http://ktsorens.tihlde.org/flyvrak/porjus.html

PS Im not a fan of David Irving, the book include case sheet for Adolf Hitler. Very interesting.

rgds

[soapy]

thanks for posting a interesting story

any photos of your relatives and the surrounding area in those times?

[Conehead]

Sorry, my parents have, but nothing in my house.

About pics of surrounding area google "Porjus"

rgds

[Carlton-Browne]

Thanks for posting this; it's a cool story, a cool watch and there can't be anything much cooler in the knife world than having one that incorporates part of a Lancaster bomber in the handle. As a matter of interest what size is the Helvetia?

[oldandgrumpy]

Interesting story and a unique knife. The remains of the Lancaster seem in pretty good condition - it's pleasing that the navigator was able to visit the crash site on his 80th birthday. I wonder, was he and the crew interned by the Swedish authorities or smuggled back to Britain ?

[Conehead]

Thanks for posting this; it's a cool story, a cool watch and there can't be anything much cooler in the knife world than having one that incorporates part of a Lancaster bomber in the handle. As a matter of interest what size is the Helvetia?

Thanks. It´s just a 29 mm; convenient size for a boy.

[Conehead]

Interesting story and a unique knife. The remains of the Lancaster seem in pretty good condition - it's pleasing that the navigator was able to visit the crash site on his 80th birthday. I wonder, was he and the crew interned by the Swedish authorities or smuggled back to Britain ?

Well, they was not interned/prisoned anyway. North of sweden never had any nazi symphatizer. They where in the southern high-so community but 1944 they where very quiet. I don´t know the story how or when they go back to Britain.

[jools]

An interesting story, thanks for posting!

[WatchScout]

Nice looking watch with priceless nostalgic value.

Not a huge fan of David Irving. Dont what happened to make him do, what he does.

What do you mean, that books contains 'case sheets for AH?'

Aircraft glass was a very common thing to use for field made knives during WWII, so your grandfather is in good company with other knifemakers.

I have seen many examples over the years. Some well executed, others not so good looking. Here a few knives:

[Conehead]

Thanks a lot for info and your pics of knifes with WW aircraft glass. I would send a link to my dad! I'm shure he would love it.

Theodore Morell where AH:s MD and Irving include his medical notes about AH in this book.
Rgds

[WatchScout]

Thanks a lot for info and your pics of knifes with WW aircraft glass. I would send a link to my dad! I'm shure he would love it.

Theodore Morell where AH:s MD and Irving include his medical notes about AH in this book.
Rgds

No problem.
Thanks for sharing a unique and priceless piece of family history with us.

Yes, I know about the doctor and his rather peculiar methods.

I see, the book has AHs medical history.

[EDNX]

Great story. Never thougt that bomber glass was that thick. The pics of the knifes are nice as well as the link of the bomber. Thanks for showing!

Irving is a b***** and his sight of history it wrong.

Regards.

F.

[fotopetar]

Nice watch and story!

[River Rat]

Cool story

[bomben77]

Interesting story! Promise me to never flip the nice nor the watch. Unless you sell them to me that is...;-)

[Conehead]

Interesting story! Promise me to never flip the nice nor the watch. Unless you sell them to me that is...;-)

Shure, Easy to promise...;-)

[jazzman]

thanks for sharing

[Yorkshiremadmick]

Great post thank you :-)
Nice watch
Great knife..... With one like that I could get any watch I want!!!!!
Then again :-)))
Thanks for sharing

[docd]

Great story and a very nice looking knife. Thanks for sharing

[Conehead]

Hi
I continue with this a bit OT knife / watch thread ; at a meeting some time ago I pointed out that one of the participants had a really nice Enicar Sherpa Graph. He told me that his father had received it as a gift during salvage work (as a diver) on the warship Vasa.
What then has the lappish knife to do with it. Well, the shaft includes a piece of black oak ... Yes it really is! ☺




More about the Vasa salvage u find here:

http://www.vasamuseet.se/en/The-Ship/Life-on-board/

[River Rat]

Cool story. I use to collect a lot of WW2 issued knifes but slacked off still got the collection. Were the battle took place in Narvik Norway when in the US Navy we were sent there to do a off load of a ship the US Navy use to store all the equipment for a 500 bed fleet hospital unit like a Army mash unit every 5 years they use to rotate the old stuff back to the states and replace new stuff in storage a lot of hard work. We were there 17 days with only 2 days off to check out Norway we were put up with the Norwegian Army in a barracks and worked 12 on 12 off until the job was done. But those two days we had off at the end we saw some of the WW2 history of the area . And saw this 16 inch German gun in placement built by Russian POW and some were shot and are entombed in the cement foundation here are some photo's of it think this is in Narvik.



We were taking turns taking photo's off us in the 16 inch barrow think this gun was made for a battle ship that was never made and the Germans found another use for it. Hope I did not go off the topic.
One of my WW2 issued Knifes, compass, M-1 carbine, Elgin issue watch

To keep with the topic.

[Conehead]

Thanks for sharing. Good Rat! ;-)

[sweepinghands]

Hope I don't get off topic but I really like the M1. Or any vintage rifles for that matter.