Help with a German stamp

[swizzarmygrizz]

I’m looking at getting this early officers style knife and part of the tang stamp is illegible and there is an icon that I can’t make out. Anyone seen one like this. What I can read is Heinrich…..Wald Solingen.

[danno50]

From Carter's "German Knife and Sword Makers":
that is the mark of Gerbruder Roeger. Their trademark (as on your knife) is a standing frog holding a partly open pocket knife. This mark was registered in 1920. There is very little information on this maker, but, an advertisement in Messer und Schere from the mid 1920s illustrates pocket knives, cutlery and straight razors.

[kootenay joe]

Great info Dan. Thanks for taking the time to find this one in Carter's book.
kj

[swizzarmygrizz]

From Carter's "German Knife and Sword Makers":
that is the mark of Gerbruder Roeger. Their trademark (as on your knife) is a standing frog holding a partly open pocket knife. This mark was registered in 1920. There is very little information on this maker, but, an advertisement in Messer und Schere from the mid 1920s illustrates pocket knives, cutlery and straight razors.

Hey thank you for your help. That’s exactly what I was looking for. I found a few other examples but they’re all the same frog holding a straight razor. I just received the knife today and it is a very cool officers style knife that looks and feels like it is from at least the 1920s if not earlier. The frog is on the screwdriver, but the only other mark is Heinrich_________Wald Solingen, which is only on the saw. It has Germany on the rear.

[danno50]

1920s would be about right, however, the frog stamp was registered in 1922, so the knife is not likely older than that. I believe the "Wald" refers to an area of Solingen? Heinrich _______ may be the name of a business that the knife was made for?

[Dan In MI]

A very neat and interesting old knife with a ton on character! For whatever it's worth, "Wald" translates to "Forest." Would it be possible to get a photo of that stamp?

[swizzarmygrizz]

I’ve seen other makers use Wald and Solingen. I think you’re right that it means an area that is part of Solingen, maybe outside the city limits. I believe the stamp on the saw is from a maker named Heinrich Klein which as is usually the case is one of several brothers that made razors and knives. The Frog is obviously for Geroeso/Gebr. Roeger so I’m thinking the knife was made by Roeger and sold/exported by Klein. The other option is that Klein made just the saw, which seems unlikely but I am aware of makers outsourcing scissors so a perhaps it wouldn’t be a stretch to do that with another specialty tool. I think it dates to the beginning of the use of the frog stamp as other examples seem to have more detail and the few knives I could find with it were all stainless steel.