Original Item: One-of-a-kind. This is an outstanding trench raiding mace, this exact model being featured in David F. Machnicki’s At Arm's Length Trench Clubs and Knives (Vol. 1) on both the cover and on page 42! This is not the exact example found in Volume 1, but it is the same model, and this example is slated to be featured in the upcoming Volume III!

This example of a World War One German trench club originally had five sharp spikes equally cast about the surface on the egg-shaped iron head, but one of the five has broken off long ago. Some of these were maker-marked, but this example has no markings. There is a 6.0 mm thick eyelet attached through the base of the iron head designed to articulate with its 13.5 mm diameter spring handle. The handle's flexible steel spring is embedded approximately 110 mm into the wasp-waist wood grip. Its grip has 12 regularly spaced, 1.5-millimeter deep grooves turned about its circumference. Located near the bottom of the pommel is a 12-millimeter wide groove for its canvas Lanyard, which is still miraculously attached and complete. A 41 mm long cone-shaped steel ferrule (with a 22 mm upper diameter and a 28 mm lower diameter) was attached to the top of the grip by a twelve-millimeter diameter rivet. This ferrule was designed to minimize the chances of splitting the wood when the dub was used as a weapon. The head of the pommel is flat. The handle of this example shows some minor woodworn damage which is a testament to its age and authenticity. The bottom of the pommel is stamped:

F.R. KOTTENHOFF
GEVELSBERG

Friedrich Kottenhoff Gevelsberg was a known manufacturer of weapons, which included edged weapons (i.c.Faschinenmesser), during World War One. This is a known maker of this model of club, and this is the first time we have ever seen the maker's mark on the pommel like this! What a treat!

This is an outstanding maker-marked example of a well-documented model of trench raiding mace. We have only had two similar examples before, so don’t miss out on this one! Ready to display as the centerpiece of your collection!

Trench raiding clubs were homemade melee weapons used by both the Allies and the Central Powers during World War I. Clubs were used during nighttime trench raiding expeditions as a quiet and effective way of killing or wounding enemy soldiers. The clubs were usually made out of wood. It was common practice to fix a metal object at the striking end (e.g. an empty Mills bomb) in order to maximize the injury inflicted. Another common design comprised a simple stave with the end drilled out and a lead weight inserted, with rows of large hobnails hammered in around its circumference. Most designs had some form of cord or leather strap at the end to wrap around the user's wrist. Bosnian soldiers serving in the Austro-Hungarian army were fond of using maces. They were also used by officers to finish enemy soldiers wounded by poison gas attacks.

Trench clubs were manufactured in bulk by units based behind the lines. Typically, regimental carpenters and metal workers would make large numbers of the same design of club. They were generally used along with other "quiet" weapons such as trench knives, entrenching tools, bayonets, hatchets and pickaxe handles – backed up with revolvers and hand grenades.