Aldo Raine's knife

Aldo with his knife, after he scarred Butz.

“How about my knife?”

―Aldo Raine

Aldo Raine's knife is a variation of Smith & Wesson Bowie knife wielded by Lt. Aldo Raine during his time in WWII Nazi-occupied France, while fighting Nazis. He used it mainly to carve up swastikas on their forehead.

Overview

The knife appears to be a Smith & Wesson Bowie variant with the logo polished off and a different guard and stag handle. The knife blade is made of hardened steel and it's very sharp.

In Inglourious Basterds

Lt. Aldo Raine uses his knife to carve swastikas on captured German soldiers' forehead, like he did on Butz. He carries the knife with him when he, Bridget, Donny and Omar go undercover to blow up the cinema during Operation Kino. When Aldo is captured, the knife is confiscated by Hans Landa's men and handed over to the colonel, who keeps it while he holds Raine and Utivich hostage. On the way to the Allied lines, Landa is seen admiring the knife. At the end of the film, Aldo gets his knife back from Landa and, after killing his driver, carves a swastika on Landa's forehead with his knife.

Trivia

• Despite being his iconic weapon, Aldo never kills anyone with his knife in the film and uses it only twice, both times to carve a swastika on a German's forehead.
  • Though not touched upon in the film, it's possible that he used his knife to carve "Inglourious Basterds" on the butt of a captured Kar98k rifle, given Aldo's love of carving into stuff.

Behind the scenes

Aldo's knife was designed by Leif Hendel and made by Berlin prop maker Alex Friedrich. Two hero knifes were made, one had a resin copy of the antler handle. One had a blunt tip and one a pointy one. Actually the blunt one was used in the final closeup, for which the pointy one was made.

The knife is designed like a Smith & Wesson Bowie, but without the logo, a prop guard and stag handle are added instead, while the blade tip curve is more steep.

Gallery

Aldo wearing his knife

Aldo with his knife

Aldo's knife is confiscated

Landa's man confiscate Aldo's knife

Landa admires Aldo's knife

Landa returns Aldo's knife

Aldo pushing Landa's hat with his knife

Aldo carves a swastika on Landa's forehead with his knife

Aldo admires his masterpiece