Favorite WWII Knife

BAM-BAM · Mar 24, 2015

My Dad's.......He carried it in the Coast Guard in the Philippines....... it has a 6.5" long (x 1.25" at the "belly") bowie style blade , brass hilt and a smooth one piece bone "commando" shaped handle (the first inch behind the hilt is wire wrapped).....

It looks handmade; there is a 2 line inscription on the left side of the blade but I can't make any sense of it.; every "letter" ?? is rounded and distorted. The blade is pitted (salt water) and the handle is chipped and cracked.

First saw it when I was 5 or 6 and not again for almost 50 years.......all he said at the time was it was the knife he carried in the Pacific.

Overall it looks more like something from before the Civil War... than WWII.

Wish I knew the story behind this knife..... my Dad was 25/26 and had been a police officer for 4-5 years before enlisting. This wasn't/isn't a flashy "toy" .......all his stuff was first rate..... his duty gun from 1938/9 was a Colt New Service in .357 magnum that had sights and action job by Kings Gun Works in Calf.

JohnRippert · Mar 24, 2015

jlrhiner said:
You realize thats a cutdown, right?

Cutdown of a very early M1905 bayo, yes. All the bowie points were cutdowns. The 16 inchers are not quite as handy.

I prefer the cutdowns to the purpose made 10inch Garand bayos.

30-30remchester · Mar 24, 2015

Like Texas Star, Mark 3's draw a lot of interest from me. I just acquired a gut wrenching Mark 3. The holy grail of Mark 3's. A blade marked and dated Imperial with a superb blade. Then UUUUGGGGG. Some person that should never be allowed to breed, replaced the leather handles with riveted on black plastic.

As far as quartermasters knives being used by combat personnel, I have no doubt MANY were. I as well saw the photo of the photographer wearing a 225Q.

Another post on this site got me to looking at my Mark 2's again. The OP of the post had a Roberson USMC marked Mark 2. Hoping to have the same, alas my Roberson was a guard marked Navy model. But while re-examining my Mark 2"s I found one I had forgotten about. A blade marked, straight guard, US UTICA CUT CO Mark 2. It has been too many years to remember when these were issued. Back to the books I guess.

THE PILGRIM · Mar 24, 2015

BubbaBlades said:
This is a Randall Knife that was made in Springfield MS during WWII. It is my favorite WWII knife but it would become even more of a favorite if I knew its history.

Mark

That's maybe the oldest Randall that I ever saw!
What does it say on the blade?
What do you know about its history?

Dump1567 · Mar 24, 2015

I don't have a favorite yet. I just started to get into these knifes and am just learning.
I did go a little crazy last weekend on eBay with a few purchases. In honor of my grandpa that served in the Navy during WWII (and was at Pearl during the attack), I wanted a couple of knifes he may have used during his service. I picked-up a Mark 1 and Mark 2. They should be here by the weekend.

30-30remchester · Mar 24, 2015

Dump1567 said:
I don't have a favorite yet. I just started to get into these knifes and am just learning.
I did go a little crazy last weekend on eBay with a few purchases. In honor of my grandpa that served in the Navy during WWII (and was at Pearl during the attack), I wanted a couple of knifes he may have used during his service. I picked-up a Mark 1 and Mark 2. They should be here by the weekend.

Welcome to an addictive hobby. Say goodbye to any spare money. If I can offer some unsolicited advise, I would tell you to appreciate the condition of the knives as they are and don't "shine them up". In my zeal to have nice looking knives, I ruined well over 100 knives by over cleaning. Cleaning is necessary, but polishing is not.

Dump1567 · Mar 24, 2015

30-30remchester said:
Welcome to an addictive hobby. Say goodbye to any spare money. If I can offer some unsolicited advise, I would tell you to appreciate the condition of the knives as they are and don't "shine them up". In my zeal to have nice looking knives, I ruined well over 100 knives by over cleaning. Cleaning is necessary, but polishing is not.

Thanks for the info. Knives (at least the ones I'm looking at), seem to be cheaper than guns. And I can get them shipped straight to my door without restrictions (at least for now).

gmborkovic · Mar 24, 2015

By far, the CASE V42 Stilleto used by the First Special Service Force (FSSF). It is far from unused. Bent blade, ground edge and dulled tip.
Sheath is well used. Mike S&WCA 2796

Rustyt1953 · Mar 24, 2015

My dad brought a Fairbairn-Sykes back from the ETO. It didn't have a lot of practical uses but dad kept it in the glove box of every vehicle he ever owned.

BigBill · Mar 24, 2015

I have a USMC kabar knife somewhere. I use it for opening letters.
I purchased a Swiss bayonet to rework someday.

BigBill · Mar 24, 2015

I have a USMC kabar knife somewhere. I use it for opening letters.
I purchased a Swiss bayonet to rework someday.

emptypockets · Mar 24, 2015

This was my dads from his time in the navy. It is stamped USN on one side and CAMILLUS N.Y. on the other. The sheath is missing the strap that kept the knife in it. He quit high school after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and enlisted. He was discharged in November of 1945.

Scuttlebutt · Mar 24, 2015

I have a quartermaster knife purchased at a flea market no sheaf , USMC Kabar with sheaf and a 1915 saw back bayonet made by Imperial Germany with metal sheaf and frog. All are old and in very good condition. I wish I knew how to send photos.

kenv1950 · Mar 26, 2015

BubbaBlades said:
This is a Randall Knife that was made in Springfield MS during WWII. It is my favorite WWII knife but it would become even more of a favorite if I knew its history.

Mark

23red · Mar 26, 2015

I came across these two WWII knives about a year ago. They belonged to a US Navy Pilot that flew a Torpedo Bomber off the Intrepid with Torpedo Squadron Ten in 1945. The top knife is a Williams Cutlery and the bottom is a Blued Western Shark Knife. While the Western knife handle and pommel show signs of carry wear, the blade maintains its original blued mirror like finish.

jag312 · Mar 27, 2015

Here are pictures of my WW2 Randall made in Springfield, Mass. I was told these are fairly rare.

Dump1567 · Mar 27, 2015

Here's my two (Ka-Bar and Camillius). Still waiting on my Mark 1. The Shortened handled Ka-Bar is about the size of the handle on the Mark 1.

Here's some modern mark 1 - mark 3.

gmiller0737 · Mar 27, 2015

Is there much monetary value on WWII Knifes? I Have a Larger Sheath Knife that was My Uncles Navy Knife in WWII it's marked USN & Robsen Shur Edge

THE PILGRIM · Mar 27, 2015

gmiller0737 said:
Is there much monetary value on WWII Knifes? I Have a Larger Sheath Knife that was My Uncles Navy Knife in WWII it's marked USN & Robsen Shur Edge

Like everything else, lately they gave gone up in market value.
How bout a picture?

PALADIN85020 · Mar 30, 2015

I have a fairly large collection of U.S. military knives and bayonets; some of them are extremely rare today. I only exhibited them completely once about 30 years ago when we lived in El Paso; the display won a special award at a large gun show there.

Since then, I've locked them up - never photographed the entire collection, but here are a few very rare ones.

The first is an OSS stiletto - originated during WWII, and used by the CIA during the abortive Cuban invasion in the '60s. The "pancake flipper" scabbard was unique. It only lacks the rubber o-ring that retains the handle in the scabbard. That's easily found at any hardware store, but it wouldn't be original.

The next is the elusive Krag Bowie-bladed bayonet. A limited number were made in 1900; most were shipped to Cuba and the Philippines, and almost all were forever lost. This one survived and is complete with its original scabbard.

This is another rare one I no longer have. It's a very scarce and valuable Special Forces Bowie. I traded it back to a friend of mine who was the original owner. I discovered it at a gun show about 30 years ago, and retained it for years. In more recent years, my friend realized it was the one he obtained in Vietnam, but let go many years ago - he recognized it from the unique way he braided the lanyard. I made sure he got it back when I was willing to part with it. That was a great closed-loop story for him.

Someday I'll have to pull all those blades and scabbards out of the safety deposit box and photograph them. However, the time and effort that would take deter me now in my advancing years.

John

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