VO-7 with Wooden Handle

The VO-7 is the first officially introduced assault knife in Czechoslovakia, introduced around 1952. After World War II, Czechoslovak paratroopers used captured German weapons and also had Soviet NR-40 knives in service. These knives inspired the development of a new assault knife, originally called the OV-7, which was slightly different from the version we know today. It was later renamed VO-7. The knives were manufactured by the national enterprise SANDRIK in Slovakia.

The knife was very popular among soldiers — thanks to its tang construction it was very lightweight. The weakness was the wooden handle, which suffered over time and with use, especially when soldiers decided to throw the knives — then it would crack. This is why today we encounter multiple variants of wooden handles that differ slightly in shape. The advantage of wood was its availability, cost and ease of machining.

Sheaths for the knives are photographed in detail on the VO-7 Sheaths page.

Warning — these knives are frequently copied, mostly in Poland, and various sellers pass copies off as originals.

Identifying an original is difficult for a layman. If you want to be sure, you need a modified screwdriver — file a groove into it so it can slide into the knife's nut without the knife's screw getting in the way. After disassembling the knife, look at the section under the handle on the tang.

Original blades were die-cut (stamped) and have a characteristic burr around the perimeter of the tang in the middle. Copies do not have this burr — their blades are laser-cut or ground on a grinder, making them smooth and impossible to replicate. The tangs, as you can see in the photographs, were coated with primer paint (usually red) to make them more durable and rust-resistant under the handle.

Replicas of VO-7 knives are also made by Czech knifemakers. For example, Jaromír Kotěra makes them very beautifully — as well as other knives from his range. He sells them clearly marked as replicas, stamps each knife with his maker's mark and numbers them. You can immediately see it cannot be an original but a beautiful replica — this is not deceiving collectors like the unmarked copies from Poland. You can view his knives at nozekotera.cz.