Found old "Improved Muskrat" knife

E

eagleye

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Sep 7, 2004
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On a recent backpacking trip in the high Sierra's I found an old two blade knife at a remote 10,500 ft. lake. The two blades are very rusted and won't open. One side of the handle is bleached white from the sun. The other side has good color and has a shield with "Imporved Muskrat" inscribed. The end caps appear to be brass.

I'm interested in determining the age of the knife and its manufacturer.

(Have picture but haven't figured out how to include it here)
 
Without being able to open the knife and read the tang stamp it will be difficult to date or get any more information. Are the handle scales bone, stag, or plastic?

Must be the year for finding knives in the high Sierra. A few weeks ago I was coming down the slopes of Tulare Peak, after summiting Tulare Peak and Peak 12,146 next to Tulare, above 10,300' Franklin Lake, and I found a Klein Tools knife, a single-blade lockback 110 clone. The bolsters are completely black, and the wood, which looks like Macassar ebony, is in pretty bad shape. The blade is stainless, but it has some surface rust.

Which lake were you at? Maybe I need to go there and find more knives.
 
I really can't tell what the handle is. On the side that's not bleached out it looks pretty authentic. However, I suspect it is plastic because otherwise the rodents would have chewed off bone or horn.

What's the "best case senario"? If this knife is of the earliest manufacture, does it have value worth preserving it in its current condition? Or is it of little value and I should (carefully) pry it open and clean it up?

By the way, if you want to make the search for more lost knives, this was found near Little Shot Lake just up from Devil's Punchbowl in the John Muir Wilderness east of Courtright Reservior. Heck, searching for more lost knives is reason enough for me to go back for another couple of weeks!
 
Try soaking it in penetrating oil. It should eventually loosen up enough to open.
My Schrade Improved Muskrat has a delrin handle.
Hope this helps.

Paul
 
I bought a Schrade "improved muskrat" knife back in 1977, but I don't know when it ultimately went out of production.
Jim
 
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