Description
New Zealand AKE WW2 fighting knife, rare spear-point dagger blade type; cast aluminum handle initialed RDS; British scabbard. VERY hard to find WW2 “Kiwi fighter” type.
Rare WW2 era fighting dagger made in New Zealand by a little-known AKE manufacturer (stamped AKE REGD on the blade). This type is erroneously listed as an Australian fighter on pages 64-65 of the KNIVES OF THE UNITED STATES MILITARY WORLD WAR II book by Michael W Silvey, but M.H. Cole correctly identifies it as one of the New Zealand-made fighting blades. Ron Flook also illustrated this exact type on page 215 in his excellent reference book BRITISH AND COMMONWEALTH MILITARY KNIVES, as the fighter manufactured in New Zealand (see the book’s scan attached). Regardless of its actual point of origin, this WW2 era fighting knife type is quite rare; most of the surviving specimens are in private collections and rarely come up for sale.
This specimen is veteran-marked: the handle is initialed R.D.S. on the side and one more time with the faintly-struck letter R near the base. Looks like this fighting knife was used as intended – the “skull crusher” at the base of the handle has a couple of dings; the 4-point bow shows a few contact marks; the blade has been re-sharpened but not harshly. High-carbon steel blade has some pitting from exposure to the elements; the tip is intact. The manufacturer’s stamp AKE REGD is boldly struck on ricasso; the die-cast solid aluminum handle still has about 50% of the original goldish finish remaining. The handle is in great overall condition, considering the age; all parts are intact with just a few typical contact marks here and there. This fighting knife is about 10″ / 25.4 cm overall; dual-edge dagger-point blade is about 5-5/8″ / 13.6 cm long; the blade is tight with no play. Brown leather scabbard is marked MADE IN ENGLAND – obviously not original to the knife but it is a contemporary WW2 era vintage. The leather is soft and supple still; all original rivets and stitching are intact; the scabbard is in great condition overall. Almost 80 years after it was made this rare New Zealand AKE WW2 fighting knife is in 100% serviceable condition still. This type is VERY hard to find in any condition these days – don’t miss your chance to add it to your collection!
I have a few more scarce WW2 and WW1 fighting knives, daggers, trench knives and bayonets available for sale – please take a look in our Militaria section. Argocoins accepts all major credit cards and payments via PayPal as forms of payment. Old-fashioned checks and money orders will work as well; please take a look at the Payments section within our Terms and Conditions for additional details.
FREE SHIPPING WITHIN THE U.S. FOR THIS ITEM!
No International shipping for this item, sorry (too many international customs prohibit import of D-guard knives).
