WW1 LA BALKANIQUE?

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Unclebob
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WW1 LA BALKANIQUE?

Post by Unclebob »

I have been lead to believe that this little knife was bought back from France at the end of WW1, by one of my Great Uncles, whom served in the Highland Light Infantry. The hilt is horn and the blade has 'Le Balkanique' inscribed on it. The knife is 7" (170mm) overall with a 3" (70mm) blade'
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stancaiman
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Location: Paris - FRANCE

Re: WW1 LA BALKANIQUE?

Post by stancaiman »

I confirm the age of this knive
"lebalkanique" is a trademark registered the 8th april 1914 in Thiers (french equivalent to Shieffield or Solingen). this name is surely linked to the balkan war (1912-1913).
it's a "couteau à palme" (palme is the metal piece which locks the blade) type navaja
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Eustace
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Re: WW1 LA BALKANIQUE?

Post by Eustace »

Here's what I found information from other forums:

" Le Balkanique" is a french brand from Thiers. brands "Le Balkanique" , "The Balcanic" , " Le Balkanais" , "Les Balkans" were registered between 1914 and 1919 by Saint Joanis / Bayle then located 16 place du Palais , Thiers .
This kind of model was issued to french troops during WWI.

It is interesting that the name is in memory of the First Balkan War 1912-1913 between the Ottoman Empire on one side and Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and Montenegro on the other. France has no connection with this war, but maybe the producer is of Greek origin - the name Joanis is typically Greek.
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stancaiman
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Re: WW1 LA BALKANIQUE?

Post by stancaiman »

French and English have a connection with this war : both have send military force again Ottoman

and this kind of model (lebalkanique/ le vengeur... and so on) was not specially made for military and sold too for civilian (you can see here the beginning of the marketing :-) )
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Eustace
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Re: WW1 LA BALKANIQUE?

Post by Eustace »

stancaiman wrote:French and English have a connection with this war : both have send military force again Ottoman
Excuse me, I'm interested in history, but for the first time I hear about the direct involvement of your forces in this war. Would you indicate sources of information?
As far as I know, the help of France is expressed in loans from French banks for the purchase of artillery from the French company "Schneider".
But you may be talking about the Second Balkan War when France supports the Romanian offensive at the back of Bulgaria, while we are fighting at the same time with Turkey, Greece and Serbia.
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stancaiman
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Re: WW1 LA BALKANIQUE?

Post by stancaiman »

you're right : in 1912 french does'nt want to fight again german (ottoman allied).
Army forces were send in 1914 during the Battle of dardanelles -
i confused the dates :|
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Eustace
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Re: WW1 LA BALKANIQUE?

Post by Eustace »

Yes, Gallipoli Campaign.
Unclebob
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Re: WW1 LA BALKANIQUE?

Post by Unclebob »

Many thanks again guys, nice confirmation of the story, date and some excellent background history of this little knife!
dmgibs1
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Re: WW1 LA BALKANIQUE?

Post by dmgibs1 »

I was so excited to find this post. I bought my Le Balkanique knife about 25 years ago on Ebay and have never found any info about it. The stamp was not done well so the "Le" does not show up and all "Balkanique" got me was "Balkans". If it wasn't for your post on this site, I still would not know anything more than that. My knife is 7 inches closed and has a 5 1/2" blade. It is missing the ring that would be very helpful when opening it. Can't have it all I guess. Thank you so much for this knowledge. I inherited a large collection of knives from my father, so I will be using this site a lot in the future. Thanks again, Donna
doglegg
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Re: WW1 LA BALKANIQUE?

Post by doglegg »

Welcome, amazing what you find here. Stick around and show us some of your knives. ::handshake::
Duzig
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Joined: Sat Nov 23, 2019 1:55 am

Re: WW1 LA BALKANIQUE?

Post by Duzig »

Hello,
New member here, not really a knife collector but always picking up items like that. In any case, I joined to get information about some knives I own. Happened upon this thread and it answered some questions about a knife I have exactly like this one. Thanks for clearing up one of my questions. Look forward to finding some more interesting info and help
thanks
Duzig
dmgibs1
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Re: WW1 LA BALKANIQUE?

Post by dmgibs1 »

doglegg wrote: Fri Jul 26, 2019 12:54 am Welcome, amazing what you find here. Stick around and show us some of your knives. ::handshake::
I just figured out how to get into the site and find this info again. Thanks for the "welcome". I am finding AAPK very helpful, since I know nothing about knives. I have just started researching how to start cleaning them since they were poorly cared for. I am going to start listings soon. The knife in this discussion will be first I believe. Any more info available would be helpful.
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