The Knife Thread.....

[Lo-Fidelity]

Reminiscent of the Marbles "Gladstone" series, but (appearing) to have the shorter blade (guessing length just shy of 6"?), and a typical "trainling point" blade w/ an exaggerated "swage". I like it.

Did it come w/ a sheath? And if yes, an original sheath? Sometimes lots of information imprinted @ sheathes.

The blade is 4-3/8; handle is just shy of 4 inches. 8-5/16 overall

I was reading last night that since it has the 1916 patent stamp it is probably pre-1926, but who really knows?

There was no sheath. In fact I found it on the top of a cabinet in an old shed. I had the guy from the estate sale out there to price some other junk and picked up this rust covered gem when he said “that’s a buck”.

If I hadn’t found it, I am guessing it would be in the dumpster next week.

 

[Mystic]

The blade is 4-3/8; handle is just shy of 4 inches. 8-5/16 overall

I was reading last night that since it has the 1916 patent stamp it is probably pre-1926, but who really knows?

There was no sheath. In fact I found it on the top of a cabinet in an old shed. I had the guy from the estate sale out there to price some other junk and picked up this rust covered gem when he said “that’s a buck”.

If I hadn’t found it, I am guessing it would be in the dumpster next week.

It was a good catch and that old blade will continue to live on.

 

[Lo-Fidelity]

It was a good catch and that old blade will continue to live on.

Thanks. I am not really a knife guy but these old scouting and hunting knives hit my nostalgia buttons hard. My dad and uncles all had them. Glad I was able to save it.

 

[Mystic]

Thanks. I am not really a knife guy but these old scouting and hunting knives hit my nostalgia buttons hard. My dad and uncles all had them. Glad I was able to save it.

It's a beauty in my eyes and, for its age, in pretty good nick. The blade style is very interesting, not so commonplace. Ya got a cool piece, enjoy restoring it!

 

[markd51]

These are really good knifes.
I have all three of the Western Westmark series, the 701, 702, and 703. An Alaskan Skinner, Hunting, and large Bowie. All mint, new, never sharpened, and all in their boxes. The Bowie came in a wood presentation case. All have the Rosewood Handles, Brass Hilt, and these things shave right out of the box.

And you'll field dress a dozen or more deer, and only then they might need a touch up on some crock sticks.
I paid $150 each for mine about 20 years ago. There was a time where they were a lot less money.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-We...195678?hash=item261eb8f75e:g:RtwAAOSw57Vc-pVX

 

[Lo-Fidelity]

Here’s the longest knife I’ve ever seen. Twelve inch blade. Picked it up at the same sale as the Marble’s. Probably illegal somewhere. Think about all the meat that this old knife has sliced.

 

[KrisM]

I've held back on contributing "pieces" of my collection, all of which is comprised of military-issue -- original and theatre-modifed -- survival and fighting knives. I have several dozen examples, but decided I would show y'all one of the more special examples of the collection, a circa 1943 theatre-modified KA-BAR that has been "in action" @ three theatres of activity: (1) U.S. Army Rangers, Galahad Unit / 5307th Composite / aka Merrill's Mauraders, Southeast Asian Theatre (CBI), Japan, 1943-1944; (2) U.S. Army 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Vietnam Theatre, 1965-1966; and (3) U.S. Army Rangers, [Unit Codename Classified], [Theatre Name Classified], 1980-1985. This is a beautifully preserved, WWII-era KA-BAR that served The United States admirably for some 42 years. While there are lots of theatre-modified survival and fighting blades out in the ether, you'll not see many that match the spex of this example, which I acquired at a yard sale, Ft Bragg (NC), in 1978 or 1979. [nb: picked up most of my "similar gear" @ Bragg during the late '70s and early '80s, but also in such far-flung places as Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, Lyon, Odessa, Sevastopol, and Tashkent] Like I said, I have close to one hundred of these and nuthin', but nuthin', matches this guy re: effectiveness in the field.

Description:

- Basic Spex: Circa 1943 fighting knife stamped "KA-BAR Olean, N.Y." Overall length (tip of blade to top of brass "skull crusher"): 12 1/4 inches. Length blade only: 7 1/8 inches.

- Modification Spex: "Ranger style" toothed knuckle guard composed of heavy iron; fully-Parkerized blade; custom-installed brass Skullcrusher pommel.

Pics:
1.
View attachment 1528877

2.
View attachment 1528878

3.
View attachment 1528879

4.
View attachment 1528880

Yes, my (right) hand & wrist/forearm in 3rd and 4th photos. I actually "used" this (and other) edged weapons w/ my left hand, but in order to make the 3rd and 4th photos, I needed to hold & operate the phone/camera in my left hand.

So, is it still serving @ the post-military setting? You bet: this baby has been @ my side during "personal" excursions to several places, including (among others) Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington (DC), Baltimore, Paris, Lyon, Nice, Berlin, Barcelona, London, Marrakesh, Istanbul, and Tijuana. And it has proved handy on a few occasions. That old saw "don't bring a knife to a gunfight"? It's not applicable where this blade is concerned.

I've held back on contributing "pieces" of my collection, all of which is comprised of military-issue -- original and theatre-modifed -- survival and fighting knives. I have several dozen examples, but decided I would show y'all one of the more special examples of the collection, a circa 1943 theatre-modified KA-BAR that has been "in action" @ three theatres of activity: (1) U.S. Army Rangers, Galahad Unit / 5307th Composite / aka Merrill's Mauraders, Southeast Asian Theatre (CBI), Japan, 1943-1944; (2) U.S. Army 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Vietnam Theatre, 1965-1966; and (3) U.S. Army Rangers, [Unit Codename Classified], [Theatre Name Classified], 1980-1985. This is a beautifully preserved, WWII-era KA-BAR that served The United States admirably for some 42 years. While there are lots of theatre-modified survival and fighting blades out in the ether, you'll not see many that match the spex of this example, which I acquired at a yard sale, Ft Bragg (NC), in 1978 or 1979. [nb: picked up most of my "similar gear" @ Bragg during the late '70s and early '80s, but also in such far-flung places as Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, Lyon, Odessa, Sevastopol, and Tashkent] Like I said, I have close to one hundred of these and nuthin', but nuthin', matches this guy re: effectiveness in the field.

Description:

- Basic Spex: Circa 1943 fighting knife stamped "KA-BAR Olean, N.Y." Overall length (tip of blade to top of brass "skull crusher"): 12 1/4 inches. Length blade only: 7 1/8 inches.

- Modification Spex: "Ranger style" toothed knuckle guard composed of heavy iron; fully-Parkerized blade; custom-installed brass Skullcrusher pommel.

Pics:
1.
View attachment 1528877

2.
View attachment 1528878

3.
View attachment 1528879

4.
View attachment 1528880

Yes, my (right) hand & wrist/forearm in 3rd and 4th photos. I actually "used" this (and other) edged weapons w/ my left hand, but in order to make the 3rd and 4th photos, I needed to hold & operate the phone/camera in my left hand.

So, is it still serving @ the post-military setting? You bet: this baby has been @ my side during "personal" excursions to several places, including (among others) Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington (DC), Baltimore, Paris, Lyon, Nice, Berlin, Barcelona, London, Marrakesh, Istanbul, and Tijuana. And it has proved handy on a few occasions. That old saw "don't bring a knife to a gunfight"? It's not applicable where this blade is concerned.

I forgot to mention the chuckle I had(to myself) over this post.
As you know my kid is in Scouts, and the weekend of your post she earned her knife "permit". I woke up alone on the Sunday morning and saw this thread while having a coffee. "Mystic posting in a knife thread, this will be good, he knows his stuff. Maybe there will be some info about appropriate knives for youth".
And then you post this beast!

 

[Mystic]

I forgot to mention the chuckle I had(to myself) over this post.
As you know my kid is in Scouts, and the weekend of your post she earned her knife "permit". I woke up alone on the Sunday morning and saw this thread while having a coffee. "Mystic posting in a knife thread, this will be good, he knows his stuff. Maybe there will be some info about appropriate knives for youth".
And then you post this beast!

Well, the Gerber (MK-II), the second of the two "showcased" @ Knives Thread, is an excellent companion piece for camping, hunting, etc., as it is a bonafide "survival knife"; that it happened, also, to be popular among ground (SF in particular) forces in the Southeast Asian Theater 1969-1975, is merely further testament to its, um, versatility.

OTOH, the "Ranger KA-BAR" is an interesting historical artifact associated with "real life (and death)" U.S. / Allied forces Pacific Theater experience @ WWII, re: its "presence" during Merrill's Mauraders' campaign in Burma, thus evidence that can be presented to young people (who aren't taught enough, IMO, about WWII) in the guise of "the tools of war" and/or "what works", etc., and that such a tool has been every "inch" as effective in certain theaters of the mid 1970s & mid 1980s as it was @ the CBI Theater of 1943-1944.

 

[KrisM]

Well, the Gerber (MK-II), the second of the two "showcased" @ Knives Thread, is an excellent companion piece for camping, hunting, etc., as it is a bonafide "survival knife"; that it happened, also, to be popular among ground (SF in particular) forces in the Southeast Asian Theater 1969-1975, is merely further testament to its, um, versatility.

OTOH, the "Ranger KA-BAR" is an interesting historical artifact associated with "real life (and death)" U.S. / Allied forces Pacific Theater experience @ WWII, re: its "presence" during Merrill's Mauraders' campaign in Burma, thus evidence that can be presented to young people (who aren't taught enough, IMO, about WWII) in the guise of "the tools of war" and/or "what works", etc., and that such a tool has been every "inch" as effective in certain theaters of the mid 1970s & mid 1980s as it was @ the CBI Theater of 1943-1944.

Nothing wrong with bringing some history into the discussion. Youth need it.

Any idea what the Canuck guys carried during WWII?
Now I’m wondering what happened to what my grandfather carried. Same for his dad in WWI, and the Boer War.

I could myself looking into a Gerber for her.
I dig Gerber. I don’t leave the house for work, or a Scouts outing, without my Gerber multitool on my belt.

 

[Mystic]

Nothing wrong with bringing some history into the discussion. Youth need it.

Any idea what the Canuck guys carried during WWII?
Now I’m wondering what happened to what my grandfather carried. Same for his dad in WWI, and the Boer War.

I could myself looking into a Gerber for her.
I dig Gerber. I don’t leave the house for work, or a Scouts outing, without my Gerber multitool on my belt.

Gerber has been great survival blades for a long, long time. As has Randall, though Randall knives can get a tad expensive... though few would argue their merit/value... they're excellent "work" blades.

Besides theater-modifed knives of all makes, though predominantly (USA) American, a lot of Canadians carried the same "commando" dagger as the Brits, i.e., Fairbairn-Sykes (no model names other than Type 1, Type2, and Type 3 ... for the most part).

Here's a shot of my F-S (Type 2):

1. Sheathed (note: I use a later Type 3 sheath, more dependable, than the scrawny "commando type" original sheath, although I do have the original sheath).



2. Unsheathed.



Note fully-Parkerized blade. The blade is 7 inches. Fuzziness of foto plus mucho "honest wear" make it difficult (impossible re: my sight) to see the small numeral "2" stamped on the pommel.

Anyway, lots of Canucks carried one (or more) of these @ WWII. Aussies too, though the Aussies were (quite) partial to a few rather "potent" theater-made (usually aboard carriers, by Machinist Mates) knuckle fighting knives, the "knuck" material often made of aluminum. Some nasty examples of these out in the ether ... see Silvey's book on WWII and/or 'Nam fighting knives, else/or Cole's fighting knife references I-III and/or the compilation (aka "greatest hits" of books I-III), The Best Of U.S. Military Knives, which is probably OOP, so check @ your library first 'cuz I'd guess an original -- hardback only IIRC -- would be right expen$ive in 2019. Just a hunch...

 

[Mystic]

Nothing wrong with bringing some history into the discussion. Youth need it.

Any idea what the Canuck guys carried during WWII?
Now I’m wondering what happened to what my grandfather carried. Same for his dad in WWI, and the Boer War.

I could myself looking into a Gerber for her.
I dig Gerber. I don’t leave the house for work, or a Scouts outing, without my Gerber multitool on my belt.

Here ya go Kris, some Canuck (special) forces @ WWII, known variously as The Devil's Brigade or The Black Devils, a fine body of men who were indeed known to carry the infamous Fairbairn-Sykes, among other "select" edged weaponry, most notably the V-42 Stiletto, @ their campaigns in the Aleutians, Italia, and France.

I no longer have (I used to but...) have in my possession an original (not a repro, of which there are MANY) V-42 to fotograph, so here's a pic of one from the interthing:



These bring HUGE $$$$. Hell, even the sheath alone, in decent nick, commands upwards of USD $500-600 (maybe more?).BTW, the sheath is a specially-designed thing @ which the leather was reinforced w/ a piece of steel, deemed necessary after a number of injuries @ training w/ the original, un-reinforced (ie, all-leather) version of this sheath, which has a "model name" I am @ the moment not able to recall... but take a hop into Ebay, look up (original) WWII "knife stuff", search "sheaths, and a few of these will pop up & @ big Ns re: bids and dollars.

Update: went to Ebay and one popped right up: WWII era M6, of various manufacture but one of the more popular being Milsco. Here's one, a clean Milson M6 sheath, dated 1943:

LINK: https://www.ebay.com/itm/173937891375

(maybe I just helped this feller get a better sale?)

It's obviously based on the Fairbairn-Sykes, but get a load of that pointed pommel -- actually I should have selected a better photo re: the pommel; let's see... ah, here ya go:



Get a load of that "pointed skullcrusher" pommel. Just nasty.

Anyway, the brigade, known formally as First Special Service Force (or 1st SSF), carried the F-S dagger and the V-42 stiletto, along w/ a few other "specialized" trinkets of "specialized" warfare.

 

[Mystic]

^^^ P.S. the V-42 also had a specially-ribbed ricasso, suitable for (firmly) holding one's thumb in place during one's "work" activity/ies.

 

[KrisM]

Thanks for the info, @Mystic.

I wonder what happened to my grandfather’s stuff. Who knows.
I wasn’t a ‘knife guy’, so I have no idea if he had kept his.
I do know the war stuff wasn’t really kept together properly. Heck, when my parents did the final walk through after my grandparents’ house was sold they found my great grandfather’s silver memorial cross hanging on a closet hook on a piece of string.

 

[Mystic]

Thanks for the info, @Mystic.

I wonder what happened to my grandfather’s stuff. Who knows.
I wasn’t a ‘knife guy’, so I have no idea if he had kept his.
I do know the war stuff wasn’t really kept together properly. Heck, when my parents did the final walk through after my grandparents’ house was sold they found my great grandfather’s silver memorial cross hanging on a closet hook on a piece of string.

Military vets' post-service resolve (level of interest?), or not, re: keeping together their gear/decorations/mementos varies, of course, but I've noticed o'er the past 40 years that the most comprehensive collections, i.e., retention of artifacts, tends to be among ex GIs who served in theater(s), as opposed to Stateside (or even overseas) "base/admin" posts. This "habit" as such also varies a lot re: the particular theater; for instance, I have found that a much larger proportion of WWII vets I've met, whether in person or via their descendents, held on to their "war stuff" than, say, 'Nam vets, many of which discarded -- often, I'll add, in disgust -- their "war stuff". Vets of the Korean Conflict fall somewhere between the WWII and 'Nam vets. My own father, a vet of the Korean Conflict but never stationed in an active "war theater" (he was a fuels and ordnance specialist based in Greenland), kept almost all of his gear, but then, he keeps everything, including copies of Scientific American and Science magazines --- every issue --- dating back to before my birth, circa 1955.

When I was @ Bragg, where I "found" most of the edgier items in my personal collection, it was @ yard/garage sales @ the base and/or surrounding community housing complexes, much of it the property (then) of 'Nam vets but also a few (now much older) Korean vets. I s'pose they'd hung on to their gear, forthe most part, because they were still "in the Army" circa 1977, but as they neared (or @ least pondered) retirement, many had decided to offload their "fighting-oriented" gear, clothing that no longer fit, etc., to the "next generation", i.e., kids like moi, supposing, I'd imagine, that such materials would prove "handy" in our adventures, e.g., The Cold War, Afghanistan I, and The Operations @ The Central Americas. As it turned out, their suppositions (for some of us) proved to be quite accurate.

 

[MaxxVolume]

Don`t know if anyone else has noticed this recent film trailer, but this might be right up our alley....

 

[8xlaxx]

I am looking for a gentleman's folding knife like this one pictured above.

Markings on main blade are Delstone Solingren Germany Stainless Rostfrei

Would anyone suggest a resource for finding a vintage knife as this one, besides that other auction site?

 

[MaxxVolume]

I am looking for a gentleman's folding knife like this one pictured above.

Markings on main blade are Delstone Solingren Germany Stainless Rostfrei

Would anyone suggest a resource for finding a vintage knife as this one, besides that other auction site?

This site is probably the best place to shop, other than that big auction by the Bay....
https://www.bladeforums.com/forums/for-sale-folding-knives-individual.892/

 

[8xlaxx]

This site is probably the best place to shop, other than that big auction by the Bay....
https://www.bladeforums.com/forums/for-sale-folding-knives-individual.892/

Thank you.

 

[MaxxVolume]

Somewhat of a rarity....multi-use scissors, nicely crafted by Buck Knives, tougher than a two-dollar steak. Had `em for about 25 years or so....think they`ve been out of production for almost that long.

 

[Lo-Fidelity]

Picked up this odd knife today at an estate sale. The edge is beveled from the top only. Sharpe edge is curved. Blade is 5 1/2 long.

Any ideas on what this knife was used for?