Watch: Double Barrel Norwegian 1846 Postførerverge Knife-Pistol

Going postal in the 1840s?
Posted August 4, 2016 in Shooting, Videos by Russ Chastain

(Image: Rock Island Auction Company)
“It seems to be actually a pretty decent knife, and not that bad of a gun, either.” Those are the words of praise used by Ian of Forgotten Weapons to describe this old shootin’ iron, which he calls a double barrel Norwegian 1846 Postførerverge knife-pistol.

This is a remarkably decent gun and knife combo, really, and the story goes that it was created as a result of attacks on postal workers in Norway. Bad guys were robbing mail carriers and sometimes killing them, so good guys with guns were needed. And what’s better than a good guy with a gun? A good guy with a gun that’s also a pretty dang good defensive knife.

The two muzzleloading smoothbore barrels lie alongside the long and bayonet-like blade.

The top portion of the guard is actually made up of the two hammers, which conceal the percussion nipples when they’re down. Unfortunately, when uncocked they also lie directly against the cap when the gun is primed, so it’s not the safest popper ever made.

Cocking the right hammer lowers a hidden trigger, and when both hammers are cocked, the two barrels fire simultaneously!

In its sheath, it looks remarkably like a bayonet, and the pommel at the end of the curved grip could certainly bust a bad guy’s noggin.

This nifty old cutter and shooter sold at auction for $4,600.