Mystery Knives

[not2sharp]

As much as we like to talk about our favorite makers and manufacturers there is a wide range of sharp steel out there for which we have no such information. For whatever reason, these knives were never marked, and information on their origins is forever lost. There are entire ethnographic knife categories where most knives are never marked or the makers marks/information are lost to history. We often see these sold as Theater/Radar or Amateur knives, but, often enough established makers simply forget or neglect to mark some their knives; and what does it matter to the original seller and buyer who knew what they were exchanging and agreed on a fair price for it. But once they are out of the picture collectors are left with a real unknown. These are knives that have to be evaluated on their own merit without the benefit of reputation or media hype. There are some very nice knives around that can found at very resonable prices, especially for someone who wants a knife to use.

Let's share some pictures of these mystery knives.

Here we have two unmaked items. The game hatchet is cut from 3/8" stock and is very solid and comfortable to use. The knife is very well made with some well done file work.

n2s

 

[dericdesmond]

Great topic. Wish I could contribute

 

[singularity35]

A practitioner of eskrima had this hidden away. It's supposedly designed for RGEI which is not his preferred style so he gave this to me.

 

[not2sharp]

Two more knives - not a discernible mark on either of them

n2s

 

[Dave from State Farm]

Here's my contribution. Picked this up at a flea market. Very solidly built. One marking only.

Thanks for looking!

 

[JPD1998]

I posted a picture of this a while back on Bernard Levines Forum.

Long story short, my father in law brought this back after WWII. Someone's name is stamped on the handle, the knife looks home made.
The figure carved on the handle looks like a woman, but I think its an 18th century style male. The handle was painted at one time and the wood is well worn. He never used it, so it was already old in 1945.

Before he passed away , my FIL said he got it in Belgium during the war.

 

[not2sharp]

Here are two more examples. The knife on the bottom is marked "Yukon 1944 MK".

n2s