A boy scout knife and thought on a "culture"

This is an old German hunting knife I recently got for very cheap on a local flea market. Knives like that were popular as youth Knives from the 50s on, and even sold as "Boyscout Knives" in Germany. It was one of my very first fixed blade knives, which I got at the age of  five.  These knives were the go-to knives for any Outdoor activities that requires a more robust blade.  Before bushcraft knives, this is what we used in Germany. We built our forts in the woods with those, prepared wood for the campfire, prepared food, carved sticks and whittled ugly sculptures and made toys and whatever came to our minds. I never left home without a SAK, and most of the time, a fixed blade knife. In school, it sat in my backpack next to my food pack and my lamp.  I rarely took it out, except for snacking.  I never, not once, drew a knife in anger. Never at all.  Instead, it was a means to solve problems, and when there was something that needed cutting, the teacher always found someone who had a tool. For a tool it was. I got mobbed a lot in school and beaten up a lot. I still have the scars. But even this kind of violence never involved any weapon. There were unwritten rules that even the bullies dared not break. You never whacked someone in the face who had glasses on, you stopped when someone was on the ground or bled in a worrying manner, and under no circumstances at all you used weapons. That was elementary school, of course. On Gymnasium, that changed, but those were the bankster kids using knuckle dusters on me.  This was in the Eighties.  There was a rather subtle shift, almost unintelligible.  

Now, according to studies by the WHO, the world suffers from a mental health crisis. There is a significant loss of empathy and creativity worldwide in college students. More than 40% of Brokers suffer from a narcisstic or psychopathic mental disorder, and this holds true for "the upper echelons" in general. 

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11301-020-00194-6 

On the other hand, there is a rather worrying process of a drastic increase in anxiety and depression and a drastic decline of empathy and creativity.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9517193/

https://www.childcreativitylab.org/the-creativity-crisis

It is quite the scientific commonplace to state that Outdoor activities for children can enhance mental health, further creative thinking and empathy.  Carving with a knife has been proven a century ago to be beneficial for the development of children, and taking responsibility and indulging in social activities like Scouting, Camping and Woodcraft furthers empathy and creative thinking.  

It is only logical that we ban and stigmatize a knife, especially and explicitly stated for children in an educational setting.  

Not. 

So, this raises questions.  There are a legion of studies linking a narcisstic or psychopathic mental disorder to hyperconsumerism. As an example, please see:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3968766/

Narcisstic mental disorder is linked to materialism and the symbolic value of status symbols. Now narcissm in Leaders is quite a commonplace nowadays.  And in order to maintain a system of civil obedience that is based upon trained helplessness in times of crisis,  you need to take away the capability to solve problems from the broad populace. I postulate that the decline of empathy and creativity is manufactured, not by all Leaders per se, but by political and economical leaders, mostly, but not exclusively so, from the far right and far left.  

The harsh reality is, making a kid understand why a tool is a tool, takes time, empathy and patience that most parents nowadays do not have, and cannot have, because they read silly pamphlets on blogs getting political about beautiful knives😉, but, more probably so, because they need to work three jobs to pay rent and/or mortgage. And they need to because high property prices are manufactured to control.  If kids do not learn responsibility and creativity around tools, hey presto, they are incapacitated to think creatively, effectively creating a slave caste.  And do not call me comrade, because the commies are just as bad as the far right assholes.  As are some centre politicians. Because it is not a matter of a political orientation any more, but of a mental disorder diagnosed by leading scientists.  The implications are grave. We currently experience a loss of democracy worldwide. And I cannot emphasize enough that this is not due to just one party, politicians or even the super rich (although a lot of them are supposedly stark raving pissed mad). It is a global mental disorder. We are going conkers. We know that our economy, our society and culture are at stake and maybe dysfunctional.  Our Planet can sustain a system of sustenance at the moment and nothing more. 

And the solution is not to buy a Tesla. 

The solution, if there is solution any at all in the first, is gardening, farming, foraging, making and repairing. What now would we need for that? 

Community, cooperation and creativity, and above all, empathy and the will to take responsibility. To care for the elderly, the unfortunate, the weak. Not because someone told us, but out of an intrinsic motivation. 

To achieve this, we need to stop this shit. 

Teach your kids how to carve, how to garden and make things. They should be able to identify plants rather than know the disgusting stories that narcisstic assholes aka celebrities tell about themselves. 

A rant, you might say. Also, noone is capable of living in the Mesolithic, you might say. 

Because you are told (and do not get me wrong, I fall for it myself most days) that we have to go back, and far. 

This knife is presumeably from the Fifties.  The blade is older, because Fred Mac Overland used old blanks from before the war at first (1920s-1930s), but it was in the Fifties, Sixties up to the late Eighties, that those knives were quite commonplace, especially as youth knives. Production rates skyrocketed first in WWI and then again in WWII and ever since. In business promotion you calculate a minimum growth of pure profit p.a. of 300% in order to even stay in the game. Just so you get the picture.  

Actually, postulating infinite growth in a very finite system is necessarily leading to collapse in physics.  If you put a high pressure pump to a bicycle tyre and do not stop, the tyre will explode. There is no "but" or "if", it does.  Infinite cell growth in your body, aka cancer, will kill you sooner or later. 

Growing anyway in a finite world is the ideology of a cancer cell.  98% of all money is bound in the Portfolios of 3% of the world populace. The money just isn't free, so there is little to no chance that common Joe can earn it. The fact is concealed, whether on purpose or not, I cannot say, and I need not say, by printing money and generating fictional value assets.  Again, not everything that happens must necessarily happen because of some sinister world conspiracy.  And please do not get me wrong: I suck at economics, so I might get the details wrong. 

The frightening thing is, that it doesn't matter. There is a culture war of some raving madmen who simply want to impose their own hubris on the majority of people. 

I cannot put it any other way. I cannot put it politely, and it sucks.  And well, there is no such thing as a "deep state" or "reptiloid elites". Just a small group of people gone completely conkers and who are so powerful that they shit on law and order or contributing to society. What they do, however, is buying media. Follow the flow of money and you get my meaning.  The really frightening facts about climate change are definitively NOT a scam. But if we are talking about depriving e.g. Standing Rock Reservation (wopíla was'te, Piymayelo was'te aikiçitan, tunkasíla kiçi'un!) of water rights in the name of some weird notion of sustainability, well, you do not need some weirdo's blog to tell that this might be a bit bold.  Or depriving the Sáami of herding rights because of the claim their herding economy were not sustainable (they have done so for at least 3000 years and the Tundra depends on the reindeer for ecological balance. I call bs and I am not the only one. 

Fact is, in the last half of a year I signed a petition against one or the other kind of assault on civic and human rights almost every week, at the most five petitions per week. I wrote a shiteload of letters to politicians.  It keeps one in a constant state of agitation and will eventually burn you out, and it is designed that way. Because it is warfare we experience.  It is a culture war. 

It is not fought with weapons, and you are not the enemy. You are not even prey. You are meat in the larder, cultivated for the harvest.  And there is little you can do against it.  Not every politician is a criminal, but those who are, are working highly efficiently.  

They have proactively destroyed the educational system in Germany and progressively cut back on funding in the social care and healthcare sector. There is a well-documented correlation between poverty, lack of education, and lack of social integration and perspective.  Social violence is a reality. 

Noone in their right mind would start a knife fight or see a knife as a weapon. But the kids cannot possibly be in their right mind. Successful psychopaths become top managers or political authorities (sources: Time magazine et al), less intelligent psychopaths become felons. 

This knife comes from a time before the rise of hyperconsumerism and Miltoenesque capitalistic Religion. The cultural context and its implications were rather wholesome. Kids were encouraged to climb trees, read books and reenact their content. They camped, learned to build shacks in the woods, built dams and in spite of breaking one or the other bone, they developed a rather healthy outlook on life and its natural boundaries. They were able to act out energy and relieve stress. And, contrary to popular beliefs, they rarely hurt themselves or others with a knife, in spite of the knives being razor sharp and pointy. I am not advocating educational violence, but the parents nowadays simply have no time or attention-availability to firmly lead the kids through situations with difficult orientational challenges.  It is not only the parents 's fault, because our society doesn't generate a safe environment for raising kids. In fact, it is toxic as to creating a sustainable future. 

The elephant in the room is, that this toxic environment is artificed by political forces. Those manipulate the populace in order to create profit for the very few, and, consequentially, themselves.  One cannot possibly expect them to honestly even try to solve the problems, which are undoubtedly existent.  Because their agendas would fail with a populace of responsible citizens that could care for themselves. Because their self-image is that of power, fear, greed and control.  Noone wants kids that are asking creative questions or citizens that think for themselves, because our system of hyperconsumerism would collapse without trained helplessness, as I said countless times. There is a lot of talk of sustainability, but most of it is the aforementioned greenwashing.

That knife is 70 years old. If it would get banned, I would most certainly have to destroy it. One doesn't need to be a clairvoyant in order to suppose that it is only a matter of time. Mrs.  Faeser, Federal Minister Of Homeland Security tried to establish thought crime as felony, proposes the reversal of the assumption of innocence and total surveillance via AI.  

(https://www.cicero.de/innenpolitik/attacken-bundesregierung-rechtsordnung-lisa-paus-nancy-faeser, https://www.cicero.de/kultur/nancy-faeser-spd-terrorismus-bka-wohnungsdurchsuchungen) 

As I have made clear, this is possibly antidemocratic. And it is not even trying to be sustainable or even effective, because it doesn't target the root of the problem and doesn't even try.  

It sucks, because this is our life now. They try to destroy democracy, we try to fight them.  They own the media, though, and it is only a matter of time that the majority of protesters will get numbed and muffled.  

On a more positive note, the mere existence of such a knife is very good news.  To me, as you might know by now, it is not a weapon. It is conveying meaning and sustainability in a world gone conkers. Every time I use such a knife, fond memories are coming up, of childhood adventures, of loong and beautiful hikes with my father through woods that were denser and wilder (or so it seemed), of carving hiking sticks from hazel, a ritual my father and I did at the beginning of every longer hike. Of shacks my pals and I built in the woods, dangerous treehouses 25m above the ground, sitting in the crown of a spruce tree, gently caressed by the wind and the perfume of resin.  Of dams and forts we built, and campfires where we spent whole evenings without even talking, but understanding each other without words. Of toys we made, of bows from hazel and arrows without fletching, of sunlight through the leaves and hot cocoa after a snowstorm outing on skis.  

They do not want to just take the knives from you. Not just the memories. They want to destroy the possibility for you to make such memories. They want to destroy your mental health, and your soul. 

Do not become violent. They are just waiting for you to go off your rocker in order to further diminish your freedom. Protest is still possible in a democratic way.  

Do not talk with them on informal terms.  Do not help them. Do not believe them. Do not sell them bread nor wine.  Do not care about them. That is not to say that you should demonize or dehumanize them. Stay kind to everyone, to yourself, to the last seven generations and to the next seven generations.  I am not saying you should wish them any harm.  Not force opposes the darkness. Light does. 

Make memories for yourself, your family and your kids.  Take the Smartphone out of their hands and put it aside, and fill their hands with the jewels of reality. It is obviously bad if they break a bone. Teach them responsibility and realistic caution, and it might not happen. But it is far worse if they are not allowed to go and test their limits. 

Teach them limits yourself.  Of course, if you put a knife in their hands, they will injure themselves. Given that they hopefully do not damage something crucial, you can see that as an opportunity. It hurts to cut yourself, and when the tears have dried and the wound is better, then is the time to talk to them what went wrong. Not earlier.  Also, you need to make them never to forget that they can still do it, that it is worth it, that pain is a part of life, and the only way to make it bearable is care and help for others and carry on, maybe in a different manner.  

As always, the solution is kindness and resilience. They do not care about children.  But they are not immortal.  Repair the mess we have created, and, yes, it is not "us vs. them". We are all a part of it as well. 

Make fond memories.  Memories that can warm your kids when they will have to deal with bankster or politician scum or get whacked with life's blunt end, and that can warm yourself when your treeclimbing times are over. The world is a very beautiful and awe-inspiring place.  It is a huge and great adventure, even if you never left your tiny village.  These adventures are free. And if you create a place in your mind and soul from adventures and memories, you would even be free yourself if they succeed to establish a real-life dystopian hellscape.  

Take care and all the best! 

Musings on a very old German knife- 1865's Jagdnicker

 One of the oldest and most interesting knives in my collection I only got recently. 

I have been fascinated by the traditional German and Austrian hunting and utility knife, especially the Jagdnicker variety, since I was a kid.  I do have sort of a collection, always with sort of a historical approach. Most quite contemporary pieces, but also several antique pieces.  

This is a really well-preserved piece.  The stag antler is in pristine condition, the handle hasn't come loose and I doubt the blade has ever been sharpened at all.  The patina on the blade is just surface corrosion.  It hints of some kind of refined or crucible steel. 

The handle bolster and buttcap are not cold-pressed, but soldered from sheet metal and decorated with file work. The metal is either low-content silver alloy or nickle silver.  The hand-decorated bolster hints of a pre-1910 origin.

The blade is stamped "Reil". Now that is interesting, for Reil, a small community in the Mosel region in Germany, was producing iron ingots and bars in the local ironforge, from iron ore mined in the vicinity. The bars were then triple refined, amongst other methods, by re-smelting and refining in a neighbouring community, Alf.  The foundries in Reil and Alf produced highly refined steel for the gun manufacturing and weapon industry in the Old Prussian kingdom. Since 1669 there had been a concession for a foundry and mining activities.  Since 1761 the ironforge in Reil was producing raw iron and steel bars for local smithies. The production of highly refined steel took place from about 1816 until the ironforge had to close down in 1871 for economical reasons.  The old smithy in Reil was producing steel goods, gun barrels, and knives and other tools from 1790 until 1871, too.  The house still stands today and was renovated several times and there was a hardware store in it until the late 1970s or later.  Given the knife most definitely is forged from highly refined steel, it probably was made from 1816- 1871.  

The sheath is really well made from half-tanned leather, without a welt, over some kind of model.  It is composed of several layers and feels really sturdy. It is just a cover, though, that is suited for transporting the knife, but little more.  This could be due to a speciality of regional German traditional attire. The trousers of male attire offered a small pouch, especially made for a knife or cutlery set.  This varied regionally, but wasn't limited to the famed "Lederhosen" (leather pants), which actually is not a traditional German attire at all, but an invention of the Bavarian king Max I. Joseph in 1810 for the first Oktoberfest in Munich ("Wies'n"). Bavarian nobility wore those pants when hunting, but common people could never afford them.  As late as 1883 some Bavarian pub mob founded the first "traditional attire club", having extremely short "Lederhosen" tailor-made. As late as 1913, the bishop of Freising condemned them as "work of Satan". Later, maybe exactly for this reason, the new Wandervogel and Bündische Jugend (youth movement) adopted it, maybe as a symbol of rebellion. If you want to get one, it actually is quite a practical piece of garment, made from buckskin, often with a chamois lining. If it molds to your body, it really feels like a second skin. 

The knife pouch on it is really well suited for a knife like this. On a good Lederhosen every single seam and stitch is welted, sometimes double-welted. It keeps the blade in and protects the wearer even if there were no sheath at all (but of course it is much safer with a sheath), and this is one of the reasons (apart from cost-efficiency) those sheaths are often rather simple. 

The butt cap has something to do with the original function of the knife. Originally a hunting knife from a time when hunting was, deriving from Arabian, Syrian, Iraqi and Turkish hunting etiquette, a privilege of nobility, it was used to deliver the "stab of mercy " (coup de grace), accompagnied by a cry of "Halali" (May he rest in peace), deriving from Arabian "Helal/Halal" (lawful, permissive according to Islamic law). The animal, mostly roe deer, red deer and stag, were held by dogs and peasants, the chief hunter or the nobleman himself was putting a hand above the snout, pulling the head towards the chest, therefore exposing the nape of the neck, hence the German name of the knife, "Jagdnicker", deriving from the German term for the neck, "Genick",cognate with German "nicken" (nodding).  You can also find the names "Knicker" or the older "G'nicker" (*Genicker). 

(Picture from:Alfred Fritschi, Kleines Jagdlexikon, J. Neumann-Neudamm Verlag, 1937, pp. 120)

Fun fact, many of these knives share striking similarities with knives like the Persian Kard. Actually, the occasions for such a use were originally relatively rare, and it turned out that this kind of knife was also really practical. Travelling merchants had used a set, together with a fork and awl, since the medieval ages. The knife also has roots in the Messer and Hauswehr variety of knives, so naturally a lot of people had and used them for everyday tasks around the fields and farms, also since the medieval ages.  

One variety of the knife, known as "Drudenmesser" (a knife used against a special kind of witch entities, evil spirits, insomnia, storms and lightning) also served as an apotropaion.  

(Image copyright quoted from sagen.at)

This is a very old and widespread folk custom, with practices maybe transmitted from older beliefs, but in itself rather young.  Iron and iron objects, especially cutting tools like sickles, axes and knives, as apotropaion, are spoken of even as early as by Roman historical sources. We cannot actually know how old the actual folk custom is. Fact is, similar customs in the time period range geographically from Romania, Austria, Germany, Poland, Czechia, Ukraine and Russia to Finland, with different tools.  In Tyrolia and other parts of Austria there were fixed blade as well as folding knives inscribed with apotropaeic inscriptions like "IHS" (Iesus Hominem Salvator), often with nine (half-) moons and nine crosses (crucifixes as well as St. Andrew's crosses), or, more frequently, nine stars and other apotropaeic symbols like the "witch fence" or "witch bar" or even a knot. In Austria there is an incantation:" Nein sterren und nein mo, greifen olla teifen o" (Styria), which translates as "Nine stars and  nine moons attack all devils". 

The use of the knife in the "Halal" Ritual coup de grace might have contributed to the beliefs of the common people, but probably the apotropaeic function of the knife as such is going back to older beliefs. I do want to emphasize, though, that it is a bit difficult to claim a continuity for want of concrete evidence.  It is probable, but it is also very disputeable, since e.g. what little we know of Celtic culture and beliefs is very different from a Christian society of the late medieval ages and early modern times.  

We have a lot of knives with a deduceable apotropaeic function from the 18th and 19th century, but apart from that time period, little to no material evidence of such a custom before that time period.  

On the other hand, well, the knife variety is quite a fascinating topic and a deep cultural heritage.  And in contrast to the beliefs of some altright propaganda, it is not exactly suited for some Blut-und-Boden Nazi mythology. Instead, it is neither. Its cultural influences are complex and hailing from diverse backgrounds. The true story, if we even can call it that way, is even more fascinating for its cultural diversity.  As usual, the cultural aspect of food is one big part of its history.  But most certainly, for a lot of country folk it also was a do-it-all utility tool.  If you browse on Ebay or similar platforms you find a lot of older examples with blades almost used away to small slivers of metal. 

Back to my knife. I am right grateful that it doesn't belong to those examples.  It is a beautiful cutter. In spite of its age, the sharpness and edge retention is amazing.  Out of the box, it shaved right away, even though the former owner said he "had not cleaned it", and most certainly did not sharpen it. Stropping it resulted in hair-splitting properties.  Most probably after 150 years since the last TLC. 

The blade has a distal taper to it. The grind is a high convex bevel to zero. Carving with it takes a bit of practice, because it wants to really dig into the wood. Food prepping is absolutely ace with it.  No wonder that the Jagdnicker variety became the staple knife in German snacking culture (Brotzeit, Vesper). But apart from that, it really does excel at camp work, too. It works different to a Puukko and has some shortcomings compared to that style of knife in a bushcraft setting, or better, needs different technique, but there is no mistaking the fact that it really is a practical style of knife and has been refined since the medieval ages.  

I am really glad to be able to own such fine historical piece. Its story to me is really inspiring, and I love the journey the research on this topic puts me on. 

And let us be clear about one thing, too. Banning knives per se is an attack on the most profound aspects of cultural heritage.  Yes, a knife can be used for really bad things.  But the way to deal with that is education and integration.  The very history of this seemingly very German knife (which it is, only in a way that transcends what propaganda from all sides wants us to believe. It is composed of diverse cultural influences, just like German history is) spells that. Of course it is pointy and deadly sharp. On the other hand, it mostly played and still plays a really prominent role in German hospitality, good food, good products and local goods. Being able to create stuff, repair things, prepare meals. Get the gist? 

The trade of the knifemaker is on the intangible heritage list of the UNESCO for a reason. A ban on knives is an attack on the trade of the knifemakers worldwide. Even to date, the skills that made such a knife, have been lost, maybe for good. So an attack on the cultural heritage might be deduced as to be an attempt not only to breach international law, or at least, international cultural consent and might even go as far as being an attack on the concept of humanity as such. I do not want to state that, of course, because I cannot even investigate, let alone prove such an intent. But you do not need to rely on this here weirdo's opinion alone. 

"In light of the various threats facing living traditions and cultural diversity globally, the first step is to raise awareness of the invaluable significance of such diverse intangible cultural heritage as a guarantee for sustainable development and cultural exchange. " (https://www.unesco.at/en/culture/intangible-cultural-heritage/the-unesco-convention)

This knife in itself is the epitome of sustainability.  Naturally so.  Noone threw it away when its blade got some stains.  It is 150 years old.  This alone is cultural relevance.  

"Intangible cultural heritage is characterised by its recognition as part of a common cultural heritage; it forms identity through shared experiences and memories. Although they are frequently understood as rigidly conserved and passed-on attitudes, living traditions arise through the change which makes them useful for new generations and life situations. All people, in particular the younger generations, should have the opportunity to set the parameters for “sustainable development” themselves. It is precisely this creative and self-determined process of transmitting and adjusting that characterises living traditions."

So, what might be the threats that are imposed upon intangible cultural heritage worldwide? 

"Threats to the transmission of this living heritage come from such factors as social and demographic changes that reduce intergenerational contacts, for instance from migrations and urbanisation that often remove people from their knowledgeable elders, from the imposition of formal education systems that devalue traditional knowledge and skills, or from intrusive mass media. The response to such threats must come from the communities and groups concerned, assisted by local organizations, their governments and the international community as represented in the General Assembly of States Parties to the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the ICH.

UNESCO’s efforts are aimed at assisting States wishing to strengthen existing transmission systems within communities, or to complement these with formal or non-formal education programmes teaching skills and knowledge to other, usually younger, community members."

Formal education systems that devalue traditional knowledge and skills and intrusive mass media, urbanization, and a lack of intergenerational transaction sounds like a Miltonesque  capitalist 's wet dream, though it is doubtful whether this is still capitalism. For capitalism is not a bad thing per se, of course.

On the other hand, repairing things, traditional farming or trades of craft are not welcomed in highly capitalistic society, for obvious reasons.  Corruption is another factor, and while it is not as bad as one might suspect, according to studies by Transparency International, the average ranking in Europe is 65 on a scale from 0(highly corrupt) to 100 (not corrupt). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_in_Germany). In Germany, the index lies at 78, pun intended.  As I said, not as bad as one might suspect, but not as good, either.  Because democracy is at threat when just one politician is bought and gets into a position where (for the most part) he can push through an agenda. 

Knives are increasingly used for really bad things.  But the culprit is, if kids associate a knife with hurting or even killing people, no matter if they are advocating such a use or are afraid of such a use against them.  

Well, the solution to the problem, or at least, part of it, is relatively simple. If you do not talk about knives with your kids, someone else will.  If they exclusively see a knife as a weapon because you told them, they will use it as a weapon. If you do not speak at all about knives, they will talk to their peers, who see it as a weapon. 

Keep in mind that the transmission of cultural heritage is not encouraged in our society. Our society is not centered around sustainability. Means, chance is, there is not that oft-quoted old conker with a pocket knife teaching kids how to whittle a stick or peel an apple instead of using a knife as an artifact of power as in a video game.

The other aspect of the problem is that there is an immense pressure on youth today. They either get rich or have no perspective at all. Without sympathizing with the phenomenon, the mass shooter just thinks this societal  pressure through consequentially. Actually the mass shooter understands the process of competition completely, but fails to understand the necessity for cooperation as completely as he eliminates his competition really efficiently.  Of course, in most cases, this is a mental disorder, but a mental disorder that is endemic to our current understanding of capitalism.  

To be frank, our society is toxic and narcisstic.  About 40% of all brokers in Germany are suffering from a clinical narcisstic or psychopathic mental disorder. This phenomenon can be witnessed with political positions as well as in society in general.  As an example, see 

  https://www.manager-magazin.de/hbm/fuehrung/narzissmus-in-deutschen-fuehrungsetagen-die-jungbullen-kommen-a-0ee3251e-0002-0001-0000-000177064950

Connection is the opposite of overcompetition.  The often quoted old conker might not be the fastest or the most efficient worker, but she or he has things to give.  If you have patience with her or his shortcomings, you can not only learn the merely technical aspects of cultural heritage, but also patience, and therefore, empathy.  Empathy is the epitome of a working society. If you have empathy with another human being, you will not stick her or him with the pointy end.  It really is that simple. 

Again, empathy and solidarity are not encouraged in our society.  

You want cultural heritage passed on? Be a rebel.  

Use your knives for having good food with people, create nice things, love what you have, but also treasure it. First and foremostly, try to understand empathy. 

And don't be as absurd as I am, writing pamphlets on a Google platform. Because these corporations play a huge part in estranging and disconnecting us from each other. Maybe a Blog a little less than Tiktok or other platforms, but still.  

I want to emphasize, though, that this knife is not controversial to me.  It is something good from a time with more empathy and little joys. I will write more about the cultural aspect of German knives from way back then in order to give you some more insight on what I mean, for I fear, it is not that simple a topic.  In the meantime, have fun for yourself, but also for others. If you meet some old conker, ask him as many questions as he will permit. Most will share their knowledge readily. 

All the best, and take care!

German Hunting knife from hell ;-) got a new garage

 Now you know this knife already. Might be the progress I made with it is tiny, but the effect is cool, if you ask me. I did some buffing up and made a dangler sheath for it. The sheath is made from 3 mm vegetable tanned leather, carved and hardened with a spirit-soda concoction, beeswax and violin lacquer to achieve a chagrin effect.

 Licce oooowl again...

...and a detail of the filework. The knife is very dexterous and even carves good. It´s one that will be special for me, keeping in mind that it was made from a 3 cm piece of crap!

German hunting knife on the bench

Currently in the making: My interpretation of an all -time favourite of mine, the famed German Jagdnicker hunting knife. Made from an old lathe chisel fragment I found in the woods, 97x6mm long and thick. Selectively tempered. High convex bevel to zero. The handle is Sambar stag I got from Hubertus corporation, Solingen www.hubertus-solingen.de . The Ritter family is a good acquaintance of mine and also hold up the flag of this traditional knife design. Sambar stag is very rare because the only stuff you can get is from historical Solingen storage contingents. It´s lovely because it has next to no marrow and has a wonderful colour. The tang does not reach all the way through the handle, but it is some hefty 9mm rectangular at the base and fades to 6mm towards the end. Since Sambar stag has next to no marrow and the epoxy is as strong as it is, there should not be any problem even when submitting the knife to abuse.

I carved this owl wood spirit into the integral bolster.... hope the idea shows... ;-)

Bit of filework on the spine...

and in riverso. The blade takes a polish quite well and seems to be stainless. It´s not taking as good an edge as the Wootz blades, but is still hairsplitting sharp ;-). It´s also very ductile in the edge. I slammed it into an iron rod with but minor dents that could be removed with a strop. Do I like it? ;-)

WAAAAY! ;-)

I am currently contemplating what precious stone or mojo to glue into the butt of the handle, and then it´s off for a sheath.

Thoughts on a knife-German Jagdnicker

 This is part of my not exactly tiny collection of German hunting knives, representatives of a very distinct and ancient style of knife. You can find knives with a very similar outline and concept as early as from the Roman empire, and throughout the medieval ages. It presumeably developed from both utility knives from the medieval ages as well as the "Lange Messer" / "Grosse Messer" and the "Bauernwehr". For the most part, a "Jadnicker" is seen as genuine, if it has the following properties:
-OAL 15-25cm
-Integral bolster, the "Kropf"
-usually single-edged with a somewhat triangular blade shape. Newer versions sometimes also have recurved cutting edges or a more En-nep or Kopis edge line.
-Handle material often is stag antler, although there are also cow, buffalo or ram´s horn, bone and wood around.
-The integral bolster for the most part has a fuller running rectangularily over the fingerpiece to the edge line and incisions or fileworks on the part towards the handle
-The tang can be either a short rat-tail tang or a full tang. Both are historical. If the tang is a rat-tail tang, there is an often richly decorated ferrule from either nickel silver, silver, and sometimes bronze or pewter. Newer versions are often cast, only but recently there are some reconstructions using sheet-metal techniques.

The term "Jagdnicker" refers to a hunting technique, when the knife is used to stab an animal into the neck to sever the nerves running from the brain through the spine, to kill it immediately. The vertebra directly under the skull base in German hunting jargon is called a "Nicker" (from the word nicken-to nod), the process is called "abnicken". The prefix "ab-" refers to a terminating action in this case.
This technique was always employed to ease an animal´s pain and in hunting folklore accompagnied by the word "Halali", which derives from Arabic "Halál": lawful, permissive. See also the term "helal" as anattribute for food. In hunting folklore in Germany, this was connotated into "May he rest in peace", and, psychologically speaking served as a legitimation for the killing of the prey. But this was far more than barely a lame excuse. There seems always to have been a more esoteric kind of folklore surviving in German hunting culture where the hunter was identified with the prey (Miracle and vision of St. Hubertus, St. Eustachius etc., Cernunnos-mythology), and so the call "Halali" also had to do with the wish to legitimate the own death in the death of the prey.

The Jagdnicker was widely in use since the medieaval ages. In early modern times there was the custom of an apotropaic use (use as a talisman against evil spirits). A most excellent essay in German you can find on the site of Peter Pfaffinger: http://www.fuhrmannsmesser.de/html/drudenmesser.html, who also does some of the best modern interpretations. The use of knives and metal objects as "apotropaion" is presumeably as old as metalworking an known throughout every human culture.

Also this style of knife was an integral part of the "Fuhrmannsbesteck", a set of cutlery, including a knife of triangular shape, a fork (up to two forks, to be precise) and a strop that could double as an awl. As such, it was (and is even now) carried in a separate pouch on the leg of the "Lederhosen" (leather pants) in traditional Bavarian attire. The custom of carrying two forks, one smaller one was, by the way, to provide one´s female accompany with an additional fork to partake in a feast, and called "Dirnd´l - Gabel" (Girl´s fork).

The Jagdnicker so has a very broad cultural background. What connects all of the aspects is a sort of ritualistic use. On many "Fuhrmannsbesteck" knives there are inscriptions found such as the Lord´s prayer, with an emphasis on the line "give us this day our daily bread", but also the AGLA - sigil: http://symboldictionary.net/?p=1135, the SATOR-square, INRI or IHS (Iesus Hominem salvator). Here (http://fimbulmyrk.blogspot.de/2014/02/jagd-und-hund-expo-2014-meeting-with.html) I have already written something about an encounter with Peter and some of the symbolic meanings of this style of knife.

Now keeping in mind the hunter´s call "Halali" and its Arabian roots I want to point out as a byline that there is a stunning similarity between the Persian Kard and the German Jagdnicker. See this (http://www.ashokaarts.com/img/product_images/image/detail/ewkardsheath1-45.jpg) as an example. You might also want to visit www.pinterest.com/Fimbulmyrk _ Russian and Persian knife and sword culture, for a load more examples. Now there seems to be a custom in the Achaemenid culture of Iran in the context of the paradise gardens (look here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise_garden), where hunts were staged. It is therefore relatively safe to state that medieval courts in Europe were influenced by these concepts in their staged hunts, since the oriental influence on high medieval culture in Europe was being very strong. Of course that does not necessarily mean that the Jagdnicker was directly derived from the Persian Kard, and also a similarity by functionality might be possible, but it is highly probable. In a most interesting thread on bladesmith´s forum there is a "Bauernwehr" :
https://www.bladesmithsforum.com/index.php?/topic/21619-bauernwehr/, see the more utilitarian version that also shares the cylindrical tip of Persian Kards.

It is kind of a juicy aspect of all this that some hunters who are very traditional also tend to the right wing of the political spectrum and deny e.g. Syrian immigrants any kind of culture, while the very tradition they so much adore might be derived from a very ancient aspect of Syrian /Iranian/Persian culture, and more so, the tradition they uphold has its very roots in Islamic belief. Now do not get me wrong: I am not saying we all should convert to Islam (if we don´t mean it). But what I am decisively saying is that we have to admit that this world IS F***ING ROUND. Without so - called "foreign influences" any culture will die or be corrupted by incestual processes. And I am decisively saying that we should concentrate on what we have in common in order to sort out the things we must differ on. That does not mean we should adapt to any silly things that do not make sense to us. But we have to get in contact and decide without bias.

Things like these knives help me in the process. 

  

Another juicy thing: The décor on the blade of this knife is called "arabesque" for a reason... ;-)

The etching on the Hartkopf Jagdnicker depicts a stag, black-on-black.

This is a rare Hubertus piece with art nouveau ferrule and cap...

Below you can see one of my own works. Made from Wootz I found in the woods, 95x6mm blade, heat-coloured stag antler, selective temper, high, almost flat convex bevel to zero.

An early (2004) replica of a knife found in the Tyrolean Paseirer valley, originating from 1765. Forged from an old chisel with a full bainite temper.

Below there is the knife of my laid father. Hubertus full tang (tapered), 90x4mm, 1.4109 steel, full temper. He used it for just about everything from snacking to cutting drywall, from whittling to harvesting mushrooms for 30 years and loved it almost to death. When he was already sick, he tried to regrind it and completely messed it up and it was one of his joys when I managed to save it, so much in fact, that he gave it to me.  

This is another treasured knife, and one I found on a flea market in Wuppertal. It is a pre-WWI Solingen Jagdnicker (according to the style of stamping). The handle was rotten through and the tang corroded, so I epoxied a brass tube to it and, using the original ferrule, fitted a new stag handle. It is made from crucible steel (which showed a pattern), has a convex bevel to zero and is "nagelgehend", meaning the edge is ground as thin that it can be elastically deformed when drawn along a metal edge, such as a nail or steel finger ring.



This post can be by its very nature just be a teaser. The topic is vast and incorporates more knife types and regional variants, of course, and I plan to do some more work on it. As a conclusion, I want to say that I obviously love this style of knife. Obviously this is, because I grew up with it, but also for practical and cultural reasons. The knife has a lot of lessons to teach and questions to answer, while it also asks a lot more questions. It is a challenge and a treasure at the same time. And it is an important part of German culture.

This is something I want to emphasize. German culture and tradition is something that is held up either by right wing assholes or put down by superficial left wing madmen. But, if you stick to the mere facts (something that cannot be overrated in times of our everyday factocalypse), it has a lot of things to offer. German culture is rich, and it is rewarding to hold it up and live some of its traditions in a modern way. It has absorbed a lot of cultural influences and integrated them into its own context.

What makes me proud to be a German, if that phrase be allowed, stands out in stark contrast to what those right - wing hate preachers state. To me, German culture is that rich, because it was always open for new things while remaining true to itself.

I am proud that Germany welcomes refugees. That does not mean I am blind towards the fact that it is a difficult situation. There are a lot of fears involved, but the difficulties of the situation are not to be solved by hatemongering. If there is a large enough group of people, there is an ever growing chance that you will find an increasing number of assholes among them. If anyone I had welcomed as a guest in my home does not behave according to manners generally consented upon, the least thing I would do is give him a kicking outta my flat. If anyone acts as an asshole towards me, I will return the same coin. Of course. Anyone would do. But the culprit is: If your personality is strong enough, you can cope with foreign influences and take what they have to offer as your own, while dismissing what you do not want. So, say, you welcome a Syrian in your home, and you took turns cooking, you´d be in for some tasty adventures (I did, and I was), as would be the other way round. You don´t have to wear Syrian clothes or eat Mazza the whole time. But the fact is, interaction and the resulting cultural dynamics is never wrong. You just need firm ground on which to operate. Namely a strong cultural identity, and, yap, another problem, a solid material background. But without a true cultural identity, no solid material background would be possible.  

Enter the Jagdnicker. There are books on Puukos, Kards, Bowie knives, Khukuris, Ulus and whatnot. The only book on German knife culture I could find was a booklet, more of a brochure of some 35 pages and argueably written with a bit of political bias. People simply do not know. And yet I have the opinion that there is a lesson waiting to be learned. And if you do not know yourself, how can you possibly develop strength in your personality? A strong personality is capable of coping with arguments in a non-violent way. A strong personality is able to discuss criticism. But where is a strong and healthy personality in the German psyche? What would we lose, if we accepted our hunting traditions were originally influenced by Persian customs? A book written on German knives would gain quite a lot of pages and become a more interesting read if one would dare to analyse the roots in that.

There are a lot more questions to be asked, of course, and I am not saying I provide answers. But in my opinion, here´s a thread with which to begin. So this will not be the last post on German knife culture.  

German backwoods knife

 Hi there and a happy new year to y´all! I had a good time in my holidays, but with no smithing, and had no motivation to shoot any pictures for an article of riding or the hikes I did. What I did, however, is spending some time with the projects on my bench, and this is one I like a lot actually. What I tried to do is incorporate the Jagdnicker design into something more buscrafty and combine it with some thoughts I was inspired to by medieval knives and swords at the Solingen museum. The knife has a wider blade than most making for a high grind line and good slicing capabilities. For the traditional technique "ringeln" (German hunting colloquial for a special technique to remove the intestines via the anus of game, mostly roe deer, with the help of a kind of curling cut) it would be not so ideal, but few hunters do practice this nowadays in the first place, and I am no hunter in the second place. I mostly use knives for whittling, preparing food and harvesting, and for that a wide blade with a good balance does the job well enough.

Speaking of balance-the blade has a very distinct taper from a hefty 10 mm towards the bolster to just a mm at the tip. While it is no prybar, it is surprisingly well suited for prying. I have to add a buttcap (I plan to do it in brass, bronze or silver with some engraving), and hope to get the balance point on the index finger. This is a very delicate process few will appreciate, but in my book it´s well worth the effort. There are a lot of knives on the market with hefty looks and awkward balance, and I want to learn to do it right. Having had the opportunity to handle some good historical pieces it never ceases to amaze me how well-balanced even smaller knives were. I made this one for myself and I like to handle the knives I make while completing them. I have already doen some kitchen work with it. It is an able cutter and chopper at the same time as is and feels nimble and dexterous. The handle is relatively short. With just a tiny shift of grip the pommel will come to sit in the middle of my palm. Sometimes, when hunting (if I were so inclined, that is;-)) you need to apply force with a thrusting motion (Opening the pelvis, for instance), and this would be a good feature to have. But I am still figuring it all out. I write this because the nuances are fascinating me, not because I know it all;-).

The handle is stag antler and might see some carving, blade is 11,5cm x 10-1mm taper, spring steel, selective temper and forged at low temperature and then carburized, the grind is a very high convex bevel.