Some WWII "theater knives" (with pics)

[the possum]

An advanced collector friend of mine asked me to work on a couple of knives made by servicemen during world war 2. Before he picked them up today, I just thought I’d take a couple pictures to share. These are just a few of the ones I’ve reworked for him; he has some that are truly outstanding. He would much rather have them 100% original, but at some point later owners (?) messed them up by breaking off fittings, points, grinding the edges, etc. I don’t “restore” them to original condition, nor do I try to make them perfect, as that would be a waste of time in many cases. I strive to return them to a condition where they’d be acceptable & functional tools to the person who made/carried them, while retaining as much of the original character and finish as practical.

This first one was my friend’s favorite. Someone had broken/lost the original pommel, so he asked me to make a new one. He wanted the knife to be dangerous in all directions, hence the little spur sticking down from the rear handguard, and skull crusher pommel. The handle material looks black, but when held against the light, you can see it’s actually a deep translucent purple. The man who made this knife may not have been an experienced metal worker, but he had a good idea of what he wanted his knife to do.

Next is a reworked Ka-Bar, with cast aluminum guard and pommel, and stacked Lucite, micarta, and aluminum. The edge was reground, so it’s a continuous convex grind from ridge to edge, with no secondary bevel. I bet it cuts! Even though the knife looks like it was used, the leather sheath didn’t rot away as popular opinion suggests. My friend also has two more Ka bars that were redone in similar fashion; I believe the guard and pommel were cast from the same mold as this one. One of these others is quite fancy, with engraved fittings and a tooled sheath; the other was a dressed issue Ka-Bar for use. Both had the original owner’s name stamped in the sheath.

The pommel of this knife was cut out to accept some kind of inlay that had gone missing some time in the last 50 years. So, my friend asked me to put in a picture under Plexiglas, like other knives he’s seen.

 

[the possum]

This dagger was very well made for the type. The blade appears to have been ground from a file, and the aluminum handle has micarta spacers. Notice the cutout on the scabbard for the guard. When you insert the knife, the guard actually “clicks” (yes, you can hear it) into this groove, and secures it quite well. A bit of the point had been broken off, so I just reshaped it.

This knuckle knife was made from a cut-down bayonet. Though I’m sure it made its owner happy, I think this example proves that just because someone carried it in battle, doesn’t mean it was good. (actually, this one could have been made after WWII; not sure.) All the openings in the pommel were filled with lead solder, and the knuckle bow was brazed on. In the hand, it feels like a kitchen knife with a brick glued to the butt. Very awkward balance, as far as I’m concerned.

And, whoever made it, centered the point in the fuller. It looked like almost a half inch was missing from the point, so I had to regrind it. What did they expect to happen when they made the point so paper thin?

One interesting feature is that all the steel parts were plated. It looks like tin. ??? You can see some of it wore off the spine.

 

[gorlank]

Very cool knives possum, thanks for posting them. The handle on that Kabar looks great but looks slick as heck.

 

[the possum]

The knife on the left has a commercial blade marked “Navy Boy”, and a left handed sheath. I have no idea what the middle knife was supposed to be used for, and my friend is clueless as well. It is sharpened on the inside of the curve, with a blunt point. Maybe for cutting parachute lines if ya get hung up in a tree? The handle is perfectly round with no pommel to secure the hand, though. The knife on the right looks like the blade was made from an old saw blade or something, and was brazed to the guard and a bolt for a tang.

The two smaller knives have exceptionally thin blades. No thicker than your average cheapo steak knife. I’m surprised they didn’t break more than the points…

 

[the possum]

Before he left, he handed me this dagger to work on. Someone buggered up the blade pretty good on a grinder, so he wants me to clean it up a bit. I think it was pretty well made to start with. My friend also owns a totally different knife, that has this exact same guard. Perhaps they were made by the same guy, from a ready-bought casting. Anyone recognize it?

Look how thin its handle is. Not much thicker than the blade!

Again, these are just a few of the theater knives he’s shown me. He has a few of such high quality, I can’t believe the makers weren’t remembered right along with guys like Scagel or Randall. Here’s a grouping of the handle types that define this genre. Aluminum, Lucite, micarta, bakelite,- all the latest technology of the time. Though all these knives are different, the all have “the look”. It makes me wonder how future generations will view our latest “tactical” knife craze. Will collectors be able to recognize knives from the “Iraqi Theater” at a glance?