French Red Beret dagger

[kwakster]

My latest find is this original 1st model French marine paratrooper dagger from the 1950's and/or 1960's.
On the steel guard it reads "Poignard de Combat" and "Special Beret Rouge", which translates into something like: "combat poniard for red berets"














Specs:

Overall length: 11.89 inches (30.2 cm)
Blade length: 7.08 inches (18.0 cm)
Max blade thickness: 4.82 mm
Steel type: drop-forged carbon steel
Handle materials: steel guard with hollow brass handle (can be disassembled)

 

[Furlan]

Beautiful find, congratulations!

 

[kwakster]

Thank you,

The main reason this Red Beret dagger looks like it was never used or even carried is the fact that it only had rudimentary edge bevels that weren't even apexed, and it also only had a narrow rounded section where originally a sharp point is supposed to be.
My guess is that it must have slipped the final quality control, or the worker just didn't care enough.

So i used my Tormek T7 wet sharpener and a special home made jig to create what looks like narrow factory bevels nicely coming together in a symmetric and needlesharp point, making the dagger fully functional again while at the same time preserving that untouched appearance so it looks like nothing was done to the knife.
Anyway, i'm very pleased with the result myself.