Those marvelous unloved bastards

[not2sharp]

It happens at every show. We walk up and down the isles waving at people we known, taking all of those fantastic knives we have been only reading about, and sometimes even buying a few. But, every so often something else catches the eye. An odd knife, usually on the table of one of the second hand knife dealers; which is completely unknown and unmarked. Some of these are just unmarked production knives which the more shifty eyed among us will quickly label as covert. Others are clearly crude, sometimes desperate amateur efforts, knives which fall under the general theater knife/shop knife/kit knife/soldiers knife banner. But, there are always few, that fall into their own catagory; knives which were clearly put together by somebody with real talent.

Those latter knives can really spark the imagination. Were these unmarked knives produced by well known makers at the behest of a customer? Were they special deviations from the maker's established style, perhaps made as a favor to friends and family, which the maker did not want to associate with his marked products? Perhaps these are merely defective knives unworthy of carrying the smith's name; or, are they the early unmarked works of a would be master smith?

How many of you have released unmarked knives? Perhaps you can share with us why they went out that way.

n2s

 

[Mike Hull]

I can only speak for myself, but on occasion, I would get oddball blades at thrift stores, yard sales etc. These would usually be in bad shape, and as a change of pace, I would rework these Bolo's, cleavers, knives, etc., into something that appealed to me.
This was/is not done to fool, and certainly not to cheat anyone, as they are still in my drawer.
For example, a few years ago, I happened upon an antique store that was going out of business, they had one of those USMC Bolo's that were issed to Navy Corpsman attached to Marine units, in WWII. It was about $10.00, the handle was shot, and it was rusty. I turned it into a very workable bush/camp knife, with 1/2 the weight, tapered tang, mesquite scales, sheath.
Another was a cleaver that my brother found at an abandoned camp site. There was a 1" chip out of the botton of the edge, so I stripped the handles off, and reground it into a really neat hatchet, tapered tang, Padauk scales,bead blasted(had to because of rust)finish.
This type of thing provides a welcome change of pace for me, while still allowing me to keep my skills up.
I don't know if I should even mention this, but back in the 60's, and 70's, before I became a knifemaker, I often did the same thing to old surplus bayonets. Again, with no intent to deceive. I would turn them into knives/daggers by grinding the barrel ring off, maybe regrinding the blade a little, or rehandling, etc. I would give these away, or sell them for what they cost me. Years later, I saw a couple of these in a curio store, listed as theater knives. One was listed as an NVA knife, from the Vietnam War. I told the owner what they were, and that I had modified them for practice. He didn't believe a word of it, and thought I was trying to get a "deal" on these "valuable" war trophys. I have a feeling, a lot of "theater knives" got created this way.

 

[not2sharp]

Here is a very recognizable knife. It is completely unmarked, but it is much better than what you would expect from a beginner. It was probably made during the 1970s, possibly by one of the guys here.

n2s

 

[not2sharp]

Here is another unidentified knife. This one is far better done then many others on the market. Not only is the graceful blade fullered on each side, but, the maker even fullered the spine. The Tang is marked L.B.Atkins 94., but the markings were applied a single letter at a time. Certainly, unusual for someone with these kinds of skills.

Was L.B.Atkins a knife maker, or a football player?

n2s

 

[not2sharp]

Here is another completely unmarked bowie. It looks like it was made in the 1980s, but, by whom?

n2s

 

[ddavelarsen]

Confession time. I did let one knife out that didn't measure up grind wise, so I just didn't mark it and gave it away. The guy I gave it to says the problem is invisible, so everyone is happy. But don't worry, this knife is so garrish no one else would ever want it.

Dave

 

[Lynn]

I admit that I sell my 'mistakes' through a dealer that goes to the gun shows. He takes 50% but that's better than nothing. I do mark my mistakes "Lynn" but differently than my 'real' knives and such.
I'm not sure what you mean by theatre knives but if you want to see what I call real theatre knives check out my web site.
http://www.geocities.com/theatre_weapons/index.html
Lynn

 

[not2sharp]

Lynn, a theater knife is a knife used in combat that has been made or modified by a home workshop. The "home" workshop is loosely defined and can mean modifications made by soldiers in the field (i.e. within the theater of operation), or even knives made to order by unknown local "in theater" makers. In most wars, as things heat up, the troops begin to personalize their weapons. For instance during the Second World War, especially in the Pacific, many issued knives were improved by replacing the troublesome leather handles with handles made from plexiglass washers (usually sourced from down aircraft).

There were also shortages of issued knives, and many fathers and uncles took to their garage workshops and made what they could with whatever materials were at hand. So did many talented, and not so talented, troops who simply found themselves with some extra time on their hands.

I have a few examples on my home page:

<h2><a href="http://home.bellsouth.net/p/s/community.dll?ep=87&subpageid=43371&ck=">my stuff</a></h2>

The knives we are talking about here are not necessarily theater knives. We are looking at knives that protend real commercial level talent which have for whatever reason been released without a maker's mark.

n2s

 

[ddavelarsen]

n2s, you have some nice theater knives. I've seen a few at local gun shows, typically with acrylic washer handles, aluminum or brass guards with possibly an alum pommel. They are of uniformly raw finish and I don't recall having seen any marked. Most are dagger ground. They generally "feel" like WWII to me.

Despite the description I don't have any reason to believe they're from a single maker, materials and approach are too different. It's probably more a function of my own biases.

I've looked at them long enough to begin to consider collecting them, so naturally I'm not seeing so many lately. But I came across a big batch of colored plexiglass from the 60s or 70s at a garage sale some time back, and the temptation to make one myself is nearly overwhelming... And now this.

Well, I've been looking for another project for the rotary platen, maybe I'm there! Now, I wonder whether or how I should mark it...

Dave