Can anyone tell me the purpose for unusual solingen knife

[Stormy5342]

This knife was supposedly taken from a german soldier during WWII. It is stainless and pretty sharp.

[useem]

Looks like a Melon Tester to me

[greyelm]

If it was from a German it could be a sausage knife. And no I'm not joking.

[Stormy5342]

thank you for taking the time out to respond. I have been told before that this could be a sausage knife. It was also described as a Doctors knife. It is well worn and likely used for a number of things it was not originally intended for! It was also suggested that because the Soligen markings are in english that it was likely prewar or perhaps, postwar. However, if the history told to me about it is true, post war is unlikely as the war was apparently not over when this knife came home with an american soldier. Anybody's guess!
Curt

[Paul Tummers]

thank you for taking the time out to respond. I have been told before that this could be a sausage knife. It was also described as a Doctors knife. It is well worn and likely used for a number of things it was not originally intended for! It was also suggested that because the Soligen markings are in english that it was likely prewar or perhaps, postwar. However, if the history told to me about it is true, post war is unlikely as the war was apparently not over when this knife came home with an american soldier. Anybody's guess!
Curt

Perhaps the soldier from which it was taken, took it from another English/Canadian US soldier before?
At the end of the war, there was not very much supply for german soldiers anymore, and there are always people who can use everything, perhaps this was such a kind of man?

[trail]

Or the German soldier story could just be a way someone came up with long ago to add some glamor to a nice but common tester knife. You hear the darndest things about knives sometimes. A fella told me once with a straight face that the Case lightning stamp was in commemoration of the Nazi SS and that knives with that stamp were special made for the Hells Angels to give to recruits at initiation ceremonies.

That said, i like the tester a lot. That lower bolster sets it apart from most testers (other than Case).