Boker Acht-Acht Flak Damast

Boker presents its first military-historical artillery project: the Eight-Eight (8-8) Flak Damascus collector's dagger. The 8.8 cm Flak, originally developed as an anti-aircraft gun, is regarded by many experts as the most versatile and outstanding artillery piece of the Second World War. Although designed for air defence, it earned its legendary reputation primarily in ground combat. While anti-tank guns of the era ranged from 3.7 cm to 7.5 cm and were often underpowered against contemporary armour, anti-aircraft guns had comparatively large calibres. The 8.8 cm gun proved capable of reliably penetrating heavy armour—such as the British Matilda II and the Soviet T-34—at ranges up to about 2,000 metres. This effectiveness was made possible by the gun’s ability to depress its barrel below the horizontal, an unusual feature for an anti-aircraft weapon, and by its 360° traverse on a column mount with four cross-shaped outriggers.\n\nThe eight-eight also stood out for its mobility and rate of fire. Its cross mount could be quickly assembled and disassembled for movement, and as a semi-automatic cannon with a decelerated barrel recoil the breech opened after each shot, cocking the firing mechanism and ejecting the spent casing. A well-trained crew of about nine men could achieve rates up to 20 rounds per minute. German anti-aircraft units are credited with shooting down roughly 9 of every 1,000 attacking aircraft—a modest-sounding figure that nevertheless represents one of the highest effective rates of fire recorded for an anti-aircraft gun in wartime. The 8.8 cm gun also contributed to the fame of other WWII weapons: it served as the main armament in the turret of the Panzer VI, better known as the Tiger, and later in the Nashorn tank destroyer. Boker previously incorporated the 8.8 into a Damascus collector’s knife and now reinterprets it in a fully fledged dagger with a medieval aesthetic.\n\nThe focal point of the piece is an elegant yet substantial 18.1 cm blade forged from parts of an 8.8 cm Flak. The handle scroll is turned from domestically stabilized hornbeam and features 16 jimpings. A discreet 5 mm-thick stainless-steel parrying piece forms the outline of a cross-guard, with side extensions hinted at as folded up for transport. The silhouette of the extended mount is subtly echoed in the base of the solid stainless-steel end knob. The dagger is supplied with a dark brown leather sheath with a belt loop and localized reinforcement, and comes in an elegant storage box with a certificate of authenticity and an individual serial number.