Mystery knife-What is it and what should I do with it?

[JTC]

I bought this knife several years ago at a gun show. It is a finished blank that looks pretty well complete except for scales.The seller at the time said he thought it might have been made by Camillus but wasn't sure. It's not marked in any way and was only $10-20 if I remember correctly. It's sit with my other knives for a long time and I decided to maybe do something with it. It's 10" overall with a 4" blade about 3/16" thick.It is a little ugly but interesting at the same time.Also the blade is ground the same on both sides. So my questions are.

1. Anybody ever see anything like it or know who made it?

2. Should I try and get a handle on it and a sheath made or does it look like it isn't worth messing with?

My thoughts are that orange G10 handles tapered down to the hole on each end of the handle with a kydex sheath would be cool but don't know if it's worth putting the money into as I don't have any idea what the steel is or even if it's heat treated. Thanks ahead of time and here are some pictures.

 

[yablanowitz]

I can't give you any information on it. If it was mine, I'd wrap it with paracord and try it out for a while to see if it was worth messing with.

 

[Bob W]

It doesn't really look like anything I'd ever use, so I probably wouldn't put much effort into handling it. Maybe keep it in the collection as a "factory artifact," assuming you can learn where it was made.

 

[Shorttime]

If you have access to a small metalworking file, there's an easy way to tell whether or not it's heat-treated.

Try to file away some of the cutting edge. Just gently, because you don't want to put a big scratch in it if it's annealed.

If the blade is heat-treated, your file will skid right off, as if you're trying to file an ice-cube. If the blade is still annealed, the file will bite in, and remove some metal. Try to go with the existing bevel, and, again, be gentle. It will only take a moment or two to tell.

Once you have that figured out, it kind of looks like a dive knife to me, which suggests "bright safety yellow", or some of that toxic green they have now. I think it would be neat to drill the slabs so that all the tang holes are exposed, and maybe end the handle scales about halfway up that big tang hole, right before the jimping and the integral guard.

Add a kydex sheath, with a drain hole of course, two straps, and one of those little rubber things that they put on jump knives.

Call it the "Scuba Pup"...

 

[JTC]

Shortime-Those are some great ideas! It does sort of look like a dive knife. It has a very sturdy tip. Thanks for the tip on the heat treat I'll give it a try.

 

[Shorttime]

Post back and let us know what you decide to do. Pics, too, if possible.

 

[Burke]

Dive or whitewater knife is what I was thinking too. You could always dip it in some Plasti-dip and see how it is to use.