Luftwaffe Gravity Knife Lanyard

Whilst convincing replica lanyards exist originals hardly ever come on the market, but this is one such occasion. This is an early pattern that was found in the pocket of a set of period Channel Trousers and is entirely new to the market. The lanyard is fitted with metal clips either end (research indicates late war examples only carried a single clip due to material shortages) with one end designed to attach to the swing loop of the 'Fliegerkappmesser', that was introduced for use by both parachutists and aircrew in 1937. The other end was fixed to a loop inside the pocket of the 'Kanal' trousers to secure it in an emergency. The woven beige cord remains in absolutely sound condition with the metal clips being secured by a looped and whipped end. The inner sprung edge of the clips features a serrated pattern, which is a further sure sign of an original lanyard. The extended length is 56" (142 cm).An identical example is illustrated on page 321 of 'Deutsche Luftwaffe' (as illustrated here). In 20+ years of trading this is the first original lanyard we have had in and is competitively priced seeing its scarcity and rather better value than a second pattern example currently on offer elsewhere at EU 345 whilst another sold on US E Bay in May 2018 for $250.00