While modern day brass knuckles are often used to wreak intimidation and destruction, their earlier predecessors can be referenced back to a defensive origin. Some of the earliest descendants of brass knuckles in Western civilization can be traced to the 1600’s in the form of fighting daggers and knuckle knives.  These weapons incorporated a metal knuckle guard that could protect the knuckles and hand from the opponent’s sword or knife attacks.

Main Gauche, Renaissance 1600’s

In the early 1600’s, they were the European daggers that were often referred to as “left-hand daggers” or “main gauches”, and primarily used as a companion to swords in sword fights and rapier dueling.  The duelist would hold a rapier sword in their main hand, then use the main gauche dagger in their off-hand and use it to assist in parrying incoming thrusts, and occasionally it may also be used for attacking if an opportunity arises.

Designed to defend more effectively than a normal dagger, typically incorporating a wider guard, and often had some other defensive features to better protect the hand.  This weapon is most easily recognized by the curved, usually triangular knuckle guard extending over the hilt, the wide end of which attaches to the guard while the narrow point is affixed to the pommel.  This type of knife is not the only one to incorporate a metal knuckle guard, as is later also integrated and used in the Civil War Confederate D-guard bowie knives.

Confederate D-Guard Bowie Knife, Civil War 1860’s

Colonel James Bowie’s exploits popularized the style of knife that later bore his name – the bowie knife, mostly used for defense.  The southern states became known for adopting a version of the bowie knife with a protective knuckle guard, used to help guard the hands in hand to hand combat and protective cover from swords and bayonets.  The Confederate D-guard bowie, or ’side knife’ as they were sometimes known, generally consists of a very large clip-point blade and a handle with an integral knuckle guard curving around from the pommel to the hilt forming a shape like the letter D.  Popular in the Confederacy during the Civil War for its all-purpose capabilities, the D-Guard bowie chopped branches, split logs, sliced saplings and even had its way with a Yankee or two. This predecessor to modern brass knuckle knives became a symbol of Civil War rebels and are thus commonly referred to today as Confederate D-guard bowies.  The steel guard can withstand punishment and the massive high carbon steel blade holds an edge well. A soldier on the move soon learns to travel light, so a handmade bowie was often treasured as a backup weapon when the entire cavalry were “under the guns.”

Loading rifles during the Civil War was time consuming and impossible in close combat. The Confederacy would scour battlefields for other objects that could be used as weapons, especially in close quarters. Broken swords were especially prized because of the superior steel used in the blades. Soldiers would quickly turn the broken blade into a close combat D-guard bowie knife.  General Robert E. Lee was no exception, and carried a D-guard knife he made from his own broken sword.

The knuckle knife’s association with the Confederacy is readily apparent today, as Browning’s knife division has recently debuted an impressive Living history Robert E. Lee Commemorative D-guard bowie knife. The 8-1/2 inch blade complements a solid brass knuckle guard. The handle is fashioned from wood taken directly from a black oak that still grows on the grounds of Lee’s former estate in Arlington, VA. Just as Confederate rebels cherished D-guard bowies in the past, the knives are highly sought after by collectors today.

M1917 Trench Knife, World War I, 1917

Trench raiding was a common form of combat used during World War I.  After an initial advance into Belgium and northern France, the German army was halted by the Allied forces.  Both sides “dug in” and fortified their positions with trench systems that extended for hundreds of miles.  This stalemate situation led to hand-to-hand fighting on a limited scale.  If one side mounted a full-scale assault, rushing en masse across the landmines and barbed wire of “no man’s land”, any troops who were fortunate enough to get past the enemy machine guns had to be prepared to fight at close quarters in the confined environment of the enemy trench.  Here the long-bladed bayonet was of little use, since there was no space to wield it.  Trench combat thus necessitated the military reinstatement of the dagger, or fighting knife.

Brutal and risky, this trench warfare in which the opposing sides attack, counterattack, and defend from sets of trenches dug into the ground.  This form of combat was developed by Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban in the 17th century for laying siege to fortresses.  Its defensive use was first institutionalized as a tactic during the American Civil War.  It reached its highest development in World War I.  Little used in World War II, it reappeared in the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980’s.  Because hand-to-hand combat was involved, one of the weapons commonly used for trench raiding was knuckle knives.  These small, effective weapons inflicted swift crushing pain to the victim, effectively subduing the enemy.

As America entered World War I, the knuckle knife took on a prominent role in the trenches.  American trench knuckle knives were the grandsons of the Confederate D-guard bowies.  The trench knife was a basic part of every WWI soldier’s pack.  The early M1917 models were the United State’s first attempt at a trench warfare style fighting knife.  Technically speaking, it really wasn’t a knife because the “bayonet-style” blade was a 9-3/4″ triangular “spike”.  Nevertheless, the handle was wood, and the guard was made of steel in the shape of the letter D, turned down on the edges to form a series of spiky protrusions in the shape of metal pyramids or jagged triangles, depending on the model.  There were two scabbard styles – leather sheath or leather with steel throat and drag.  The M1917 Trench Knife was not popular with the troops because it didn’t have a cutting edge and couldn’t open rations, slice rope, or cut wood etc.  It was large and bulky and did not feel comfortable and solid in a soldier’s hand.  It simply was not versatile enough to be an effective combat knife.  This knife was replaced by the US Mark 1 “Knuckle-Duster” Trench Knife.

US Mark One Trench Knife, WWI and WWII

During the last five months of World War I, the United States made an extensive study of all the diverse forms of trench knife then in use.  It rated them on several points, including the blade’s weight, length and shape, suitability to be carried while crawling and the probability of the knife being knocked from the hand.  The results of these tests led to the development of the US Mark One trench knife, which was intended to combine all of the best aspects of the weapons included in the study.

Don’t get confused.  The US Mark One was made during Word War I in 1918, but it was still used during World War II and was more popular then.  When WW II started, the US Mark One was the only combat knife available, and it was issued to early paratroopers and Rangers.  This is the second stage trench knife in the “brass knuckles / knuckle-duster” types resulting from the close-combat requirements of the World Wars.  It is a very effective and functional close-combat weapon which gave the soldiers a choice of several carefully balanced modes of attack – stabbing, slashing, punching and pummeling.

Major Eugene McNary of the American Expeditionary Force designed and patented the US Mark One.  Markings on the grip side-panel are U.S. 1918 above the manufacturer’s name along with 1918.   So, many people call this knife the “1918″, since that date is cast into the handle, but that is not accurate.  The knife had a 6-3/4″ double cutting edged blade with a very sharp thrusting tip, and a handle made of cast brass with knuckle guards.  This allowed soldiers to punch and maim as well as stab if they were cornered in a trench.  The pommel butt end of the handle had a conical nut that held the blade in the handle and also acted as a “skull crusher”, able to fracture the skull if used with sufficient force.  The knuckles were formed into individual finger guards, which were intended to prevent the user from dropping the knife in combat.  The knuckles have small spikes on each bow, both to do damage done to an opponent and to prevent the opponent from grabbing the knife hand.  Trench knuckle knives are one the best hard core combat fighting knives designed specifically for life or death self defense and excellent for offense too. They are a fearsome-looking knife and very deadly, but looks don’t kill and no knuckle knife has ever attacked anyone by itself.

It was a common practice in WW II to modify the Mark One by cutting one or both sides of the elliptical guard back and grinding the knife guard’s level to the handles so the knife would lie flat against the side and for close-to-the-body fits.  Modified in such a manner, the knife blades slid seamlessly into leather sheaths.  Individuals also would sometimes cut the knuckles off, leaving finger grooves.  In some versions, the entire knife and iron scabbard was chemically blackened so as not to reflect light.  However, most knives found today have had this black finish removed by it’s previous owner. This is perhaps the most common Mk 1 Trench knife found on the market today.

There were a few companies during WWI and WWII that received the contracts to manufacture the trench knives including Landers, Frary & Clark (L.F. & C.) of New Britain Connecticut, the French manufacturer Au Lion also made them, and a VERY few by Henry Disston & Sons (HD&S) of Philadelphia and Oneida Community Ltd. (O.C.L.) of New York.  Besides the main manufacturers, there were custom knife makers which included Taylor Huff, W. H. Messenger, Eugene Stone, and M.H. Cole. Cole not only produced about 300 magnificent handmade knuckle knives for the war effort, but he later wrote and illustrated the bible of military knife collecting – U.S. Military Knives, Bayonets and Machetes.  Because World War knuckle knives are so desirable, there are many modern reproductions.  Accordingly, collectors should exercise care when investing in any original knuckle knife supposedly dating back to that time period.

Knuckle Knives Around the World…
The World War II allied forces had a love affair with knuckle knives. The well-known British manufacturer Robbins and Dudley produced several variations of knuckle knives during World War I. The British firms of Clements, Brown, J. Hibbert & Son, Sotherland & Rhoden, and G. Ibberson & Co. also manufactured knuckle knives.

BC-41 British Commando Knuckle Knife

Such British knuckle knife manufacturers influenced the production design of the highly collectable BC-41 commando knuckle knife of World War II, produced in limited numbers. The BC-41 was simply a set of brass knuckles with a blade protruding from the palm area.  This is a knuckle knife from early in the war and was reputedly made for the British Commandos around 1941, hence the name, prior to the introduction of the Fairbairn-Sykes.  Was also used in Norway.  Obviously based on WW1 knuckle knives, it was produced with the grip cast in either iron or brass.  A change from the standard dagger, this type of knife, often called “the throat cutter” because of its “upside down” blade, was produced by many Sheffield firms although it’s referred to as the Clements knuckle knife after a large London retailer.  With the fingers through the brass knuckle grip, the blade’s edge faces (up) the user. This was clearly for cutting the throat of a Sentry from behind when the knife was in forward grip. For those well-versed in use of reverse grip, it would still function well today in extreme close quarters combat, using it edge-in.

This is perhaps one of the nicest, most well-balanced and most elegant of the knuckle knife designs. The clip point blade is riveted to the knuckle guard to present the primary 4 inch edge of the 5-1/2 inch exposed portion of blade up when holding it conventionally.  The handle is cast steel with “BC 41″ molded into it. The tang of the knife is also stamped “B.C.41″.  The original leather sheath is unmarked.  They were a popular private purchase item particularly for officers and the design proved so effective that it was revived with a few modifications.  The BC-41 was soon replaced by the famous Fairbairn-Sykes commando knife.

US Ranger Knuckle Knife

The Australians also produced a large-bladed knuckle knife, often referred to as the US Ranger Knuckle Knife, with a jagged brass D-guard. Though it’s doubtful the U.S. Rangers employed the knives in World War II, Australian knives are frequently found marked “U.S.”.  How any one could imagine that such a crude, impractical, and clumsy design could be the product of any official organization makes one skeptical. The knives were made in some quantity like so many other crude “G.I.” knives of WW II.  When examining the knives, it is also obvious that the blade pattern is a copy of the little machetes made for the Army Air Corps which were widely worn in the South West Pacific Area Theatre in 1942 and early 1943. Also in order to fill empty emergency sustenance kits there was procurement of little machetes in Australia and New Zealand. The sheaths are direct copies of the flimsy ones for the little machetes. The conclusion is the knife pattern is a local machine shop made item originating in the S.W. Pacific Area.  One might ask what to call these knives since they are not “Ranger” knives. This is simple, just call them what they are… private purchase Australian brass-handled (or aluminum) knuckle knives.  Nevertheless, these “Ranger” knives are formidable and impressive knuckle knives of high collector value.

New Zealand Knuckle Knife

New Zealand also produced a cast aluminum handled knuckle knife that many U.S. troops purchased and carried during World War II. The New Zealand knuckle knife had a squared-off D-guard and leather sheath.

Middle East Commando Knuckle Knife

Formed from one piece of steel, the Middle East Commando Knuckle Knife is a fascinating World War Il era example, generally associated with the Middle East Commandos.  They were small, elite units raised locally and under the command of the British Army formed in mid 1940.  Then some months later, they were absorbed into a larger commando force, called “Layforce” intended to help rein-in Rommel.  This knuckle knife has a blade of high-carbon tool steel, 6″ long and sharpened along the curved edge, has the blade mounted “up-side-down”, and a brass knuckles grip made of cast brass.  Referred to as a “Death Head” pattern, the knuckle guard is in the form of the upper region of a human skull, and the finger holes in the handle form the skull’s eye sockets. The Middle East Commando combines art and function in a macabre way. The blade was available in clip-point or double-edged dagger configurations.

These knives were not maker marked at all and it is believed that several makers, including local Eastern makers would have made them. The scabbard looks good as does the knife.  The blade should be directly cast onto the hilt tang, the blade should be straight and unfullered.  This knuckle knife was even utilized for a ceremonial knife in 1950 by a Indian Prince, honoring the wedding of the Princess of Jodhpur.

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Brass knuckles definitely give you an advantage.  Ever since the dawn of fighting, there has always been those combatants who wanted an edge over their opponents, whether it is on the battlefield, on the streets or in the ring.  Brass knuckles are considered to be one of the best close-quarters melee weapons.  They have a bloody history originating from the Ancient Greek Olympic games around 2,700 years ago.

Himantes (singular himas)
Hand-wrapping for combat has been around for millennia.  Along with running, wrestling, and the use of weapons, boxing was part of a young man’s education in ancient Greece.  Boxing was first introduced as an event at the ancient Olympic games in 688 BC.  The Greeks would wrap their hands in preparation for these boxing events.  These particular wraps were called Meilichai Himantes and were made of thin soft ox-hide leather approximately 3 to 4 meters long (10 to 12 feet), which were greased or oiled in order to be soft. They were wrapped around the first knuckles of the fingers, then ran diagonally across the palm onto the back of the hand, leaving the thumb uncovered. Then, they were tied around the wrist and were also frequently laced and tied round the forearm as high as the elbow.  This helped to strengthen their wrists and steady their fingers, hold the fingers together, binding them stiffly into a round shape, like some sort of club to make them better for striking.

Because these himantes were time-consuming to wrap, by the 4th century BC, boxers no longer wrapped the straps but instead started to wear a kind of glove that was already formed from ready-wound leather straps.  These gloves, called Oxeis Himantes, which left the fingertips free, were heavier and more damaging, had reinforced harder larger thicker leather straps across the back of the hand and knuckles in order to render their blows more powerful.  The glove continued to change, they also added an inner lined layer of wool as padding inside to help protect the hand and forearm.

Originally, himantes were more to protect the wearer’s knuckles from injury than to protect their opponent.  Over time, these fastened strips of leather evolved to become sharper and harder.  They started to become more offensive then defensive.

Cestus (singular Caustus)
The Romans changed the Greek art of boxing into an inhuman and deadly competition.  By 100 BC, the Romans had invented the Cestus, the ancient world’s equivalent to brass knuckles.  In their quest for blood, the Romans altered the Oxeis Himantes from a protective device into an offensive menacing weapon designed to injure, mutilate, and even kill.  The Cestus was the first leather gauntlet that was frequently covered with knots and nails, or studded with metal spikes, iron plates, cutting blades or razor edges on the back and across the knuckles.  This allowed each punch to cut up an opponent and even a glancing blow would deal damage.  The combatants often fought until one was fatally injured.  They were also commonly used in gladiator bouts against unarmed combatants, usually slaves who fought to the death, transforming the sport of boxing into a brutal gladiatorial spectacle. Such formidable weapons in the hands of a trained boxer, must have frequently occasioned death.  This form of boxing became increasingly bloody until the Cestus was officially banned in the 1st century BC.  Hand-to-hand competition fighting in general was later banned 393 AD.

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