Antique Knife and Pistol

bigbossman

Need info on two items; First, the pistol.A Dreyse .32 Auto by Rheinmetall, bears Imperial German markings and was made from 1907-1914 only. Breaks open for cleaning, yet has a magazine. Can anyone add any more info or history to this?Second, an old fighting knife that came with the Dreyse, probably the same era:Overall length unfolded is approximately 12 inches. Blade is a folding Bowie-type, and folds back through around 4 inches of staghorn grips, giving the overall appearance of a Buck-Type lockblade with a really long blade sticking out past the end of the grips. You push a button on the side of the knife and unfold it manually. As it is opened, a handguard rotates into place from its storage area on the side pf the handle, and locks into place at the front of the grip. To re-fold the blade, it has a Buck-Type rocker button on the flat side of the handle. This knife is labeled "J.A.HENCKELS, SOLINGEN,GERMANY".Has a hard leather sheath to protect the user from the overlength blade. Knife is heavy, and has a serious edge on it for something believed to date back prior to WW I. Can anyone give me and the owner any info on this fine old blade, or 'guesstimate' a value. Thanks........

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Fight Crime- Shoot Back, and Better !!!

rhmc24

I had a Dreyse .32 auto years ago that shot OK and was well made but that breakopen design feature was a hazard. If it was opened with a round in the chamber it would fire. A friend of mine shot his hand with it for that reason. It was not supposed to be able to open it while the striker was cocked but that feature had failed. The Henckels knife could be worth a lot more than the pistol if in exc condition. Henckels is one of the best German makers of cutlery, maybe THE best. Hope this helps.