USN Mk.I Knife, Reproduction of WWII production.

T

TomcatPC

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Dec 30, 2005
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Just wanted to fire off a photo of my Reproduction of Colonial's Version of the USN Mk.I Knife from WWII. Being a US Navy Veteran and having my Dad also a USN Veteran (WWII), I just had to have this one. [vendor info removed]I'm happy with it. It will serve as a decent backpacking, etc. knife that I can use without feeling bad of messing up an original. From what I have seen, this knife is close to the originals that Colonial made during the War. It seems there were many variations in the Mk.I knife from different makers and Colonial had this style of grip. I do think that the grind on the blade is a bit different from the few originals I have seen? I think there were many styles of sheaths as well? My Dad was issued a sheath knife as USN Aircrew and he recognised this knife when I showed him. Until I can find a real Mk.I with the limited budget I have now, this reproduction will be fine with me.
Mark

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Hey, that's cool! I've seen that piece before on Colonial's website. Let us know how the steel fares. Dunno why but I have a liking for the size and style of that Mk. 1 with the stacked leather handles. Kabar recently re-released a slightly updated version in both kraton and stacked leather that is a very nice piece by all accounts.
 
The W II Colonial Mk. I was pretty close to yours in terms of the handle - perhaps a little less center swell. The vets would recognize it if they carried one. The WWII blade was flat ground, not saber ground.
 
Yes, I have seen the Ka-Bar version of the Mk.I Reproduction. I know the version with the serrated blade and synthetic grip is nothing like the Mk.I they made during the War, but how close is the version with the leather grip and non-serrated blade to one that they made during the War? I'd love to have a Ka-Bar repro. as well, but they are a bit more than I can afford right now.
The steel on the Colonial I have...I'm know expert by any means, but if it makes any sense, I can get this knife fairly sharp and I'd say I'm a novice with a sharpening stone.
I think that Boker also makes a Mk.I Repro?
Mark
 
Boker does too, yep. Haven't seen that one in person. I think it has a Bakelite pommel and SK-5 steel.
 
There were many versions of the MK I - almost 50, and not a single one exactly matched the specifications. Some had saber-grinds and some flat. Some had fullers, and most did not. Large cross-guards and small -- double, single, and integral to the handle. It would make a good field for a military collection.
 
1/2 grind or full grind? I decided the 1/2 grind in order to make the blade thicker/stronger-the first thousand or so we re-produced had the full grind to meet the needs of the collectors market-once I felt that all those that collect the Mark 1 Colonial knives had theirs-over 15 years of production-I had the grinding department do a 1/2 grind, again, in order to make the blade stronger since many were being used a pry bars-
Steve Paolantonio
Colonial
 
Update on this topic. Today I just got an original USN Mark I knife. This one is also a Colonial produced version. Once I get a decent photo, I'll post it. I'm very grateful to have finally found one of the real things...now I need to find a sheath/scabbard LOL.
Mark
 
Thomas Linton said:
and not a single one exactly matched the specifications.
Click to expand...

They didn't follow the spec? Shocking. Shocking I say.
(Pirates of the Caribbean on the Pirate Laws, "We figured they were more like...guidelines.")
 
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