Can anyone identify this?

[Will Aygarn]

To all,
I was recently given an old Schrade knife and would like to find out what it is before "I make it better". I wrote to Schrade but am waiting for an answer. I may as well post what I sent them:

"It is a military style knife. At first glance it looks like a Marine Combat knife but there are several differences.

The tip of the blade was broken but it appears to have been 5 1/4" long.
It has "SCHRADE-WALDEN" and "N.Y. U.S.A." stamped on it.
It is flat ground from the edge to the rear of the blade in a straight taper.
I can make out faint factory grind marks on the blade and I think it is parkerised.
I think the "false edge" was probably sharp or nearly sharp from the factory.
The handle is of stacked leather washers with brown plastic transition pieces at the guard and butt plate.
The tang is peened (like a rivet) to keep the butt plate on and the handle together.
The plastic is sort of a tortoise shell brown. It looks old to me.

There are couple of unusual features about the knife.
The handle is tight but the fit is not good. there is a gap between the tang and the face of the guard and a gap between the back of the guard and the plastic transition piece.
I think the guard is backwards too. It is asymmetrical and has a round end and a pointy end. I'm supposing the pointy end should be on the edge side, but it is not.

The knife shows some abuse but doesn't appear to have been reassembled.

I am wondering if it is a factory second or (hopefully) some kind of war production piece.

If anyone can help me I'd appreciate it. I am working on getting pictures if that would help.

 

[lt632ret]

Does it look like any of the ones in the pic? (NOTE the two the left look the same however if you look close you will find a difference in the spacer colors. as well as the leather wrap) . The two on the left are H-15 Schrade post war (civilian) models which were sold by several companies Sears, Schrade itself ect. Washer color was different due to availability of what was left over from WW-II or what the company ordering the contract requested. The parkerized one on the right is a Korean war fighting knife ( also used in NAM ). If it is something else please either post a pic or further describe LT

 

[Will Aygarn]

Thanks, I appreciate that.
My knife is the same as the one on the right; including, if I'm seeing it correctly the guard with the pointy side away from the edge.

Maybe it is purely a matter of opinion but the guard on mine looks slightly longer on the pointy end and if I were assembling the knife I'd install it towards the edge. Do you know why it may have been made this way?

Something else I am wondering, my knife isn't in anything like pristine condition. the tip was re-ground, but slopilly done, the back edge is rolled considerably, and the back of the blade is mushroomed. Unless the knife is more valuable as-is I'm inclined to rework the whole thing and make a useful knife out of it. On the other hand, I don't want to spoil a piece of history. For that matter I might rather sell it to a collector who can appreciate it more.

Any thoughts about it?

 

[lt632ret]

It is tough to discern without really seeing the piece. There were many of these made its value in pristene condition is 50 to 100. In your case virtually nothing. Mushrooming is usually from hammering on it. Yours seemed to have had a full life so who knows if it was put together several times or what. If you have the ability to turn it into a useful tool again save its life rework it. Of course that is only my opinion. I hope this helps LT

 

[Will Aygarn]

Thanks again. That's my inclination too, to rework it and keep it as a useful knife. The quality of its components was obvious to me when I first looked at it. and it's lack or rarity (is that a word?) and lack of high value as a collector's item lets me rework it without further qualms.

It reminds me of my new motorcycle, a Chang Jiang 750, which was Red Chinese Army surplus. A good bike but no museum piece.