Original Item: Only One Available. This is an excellent example of the rare WWII Italian Fascist Fighting Knife, sometimes called a "Pugio". This example has a 8 ⅛” steel blade blade with wood grip and steel cross guard, and complete with its steel scabbard and belt locking clip. The knife is 13 ¼” in overall length.

Condition of the knife is very good, with the expected wear from service and sharpening. There is some light oxidation on the ricasso and cross guard, but nothing major. The wooden grip is in excellent condition, with only some small dents and no cracks, splits, or chunks missing.

The wooden grip has a lovely Edelweiss carved/burned on the face of the handle with Berchtesgaden carved/burned on the spine of the wood handle. Now we do not know if this knife was captured at this location or carried there by the soldier and carved as such as a reminder piece, the truth is lost to time unfortunately.

The steel painted scabbard is in good condition, with wear and no dents. The original belt clip is still intact and fully functional, something not often seen. Knife fits very tightly into the scabbard.

This is an excellent opportunity to pick up a great example of a rare WW2 Italian fighting knife. These do not appear very often at all.

Specifications:
Blade Length: 8 1/8"
Blade Style: Single Edge Spear Point
Overall length: 13 1/4“
Crossguard: 2 3/4”
Scabbard Length: 8 1/2"

Berchtesgaden
Berchtesgaden is a municipality in the district Berchtesgadener Land, Bavaria, in southeastern Germany, near the border with Austria, 30 km (19 mi) south of Salzburg and 180 km (110 mi) southeast of Munich. It lies in the Berchtesgaden Alps, south of Berchtesgaden; the Berchtesgaden National Park stretches along three parallel valleys.

The Kehlstein mountain (1,835 m or 6,020 ft), with its Kehlsteinhaus (Eagle's Nest) is located in the area.

Adolf H had been vacationing in the Berchtesgaden area since the 1920s. He purchased a home in the Obersalzberg above the town on the flank of the Hoher Goll and began extensive renovations on his Berghof in the following years. As other top Third Reich figures, such as Hermann Göring, Joseph Goebbels, Martin Bormann, Heinrich Himmler, and Albert Speer, began to frequent the area the Party began to purchase and requisition land in the Obersalzberg.

In order to serve as an outpost of the German Reichskanzlei (Imperial Chancellery), Berchtesgaden and its environs (Stanggass) saw substantial expansion of offices, security, and support services, mainly on the Obersalzberg. Included in the town were a new railway station, with a reception area for AH and his guests, and an adjacent post office. The Berchtesgadener Hof Hotel, where famous visitors such as Neville Chamberlain and David Lloyd George stayed, was substantially upgraded.

Even though a feared Alpine Fortress last stand of the NSDAP Regime in the Alps failed to materialize late in World War II, the Allies launched a devastating air raid on the Berchtesgaden area in the spring of 1945. The 25 April bombing of Obersalzberg did little damage to the town. On 4 May, forward elements of the 7th Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Infantry Division arrived and received the town's surrender.