Were WWII M3 fighting knives slightly curved?

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Dec 9, 2022
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This is a topic that I'm having a tough time getting to the bottom of. I recently purchased an Ontario Mark III Trench Knife, and the first thing I noticed was that the blade curves slightly toward the fully sharpened edge. I, at first, thought I'd received a poorly QC'd one and was ready to send it back, but then I did some searching and found that images of the Ontario version seem to have this curve by design. My thinking that it should be absolutely straight stems from my experience with the M7 bayonet. I was issued M7s back in my military days, and I have an Imperial M7, from circa 1974, which is straight to the naked eye.

Looking at pics of original M3s, the curve might be there, but I can't be certain. Does anyone here have the definitive answer to whether the M3 should be straight or curved?

My Ontario M3 and Imperial M7...
 
Here are some very clean examples to judge against, the transition at the the ricasso is a little different, how much that bothers you is up to you -
BED17379-A502-47BD-A1EF-3AD703D6F9E1.jpeg
.

imperial_blade_marked_m3_05-17-19_9.JPG
91A07AE6-B644-409B-94CD-B4BF8114713A.jpeg
4C316B47-C387-43EF-AD52-C66DD771817E.jpeg
M1964A_eaeaeddd-d32b-4483-80ff-d6f66c74cad5__65675.1547001576.jpg
 
If you mean the handguard, the curve is correct. Ontario never made and M3 during WW-II though.
I mean the blade. My Ontario reproduction has a very slight ’recurve’ to it. The tip of the blade is a few degrees off of ‘dead straight’
 
Here are some very clean examples to judge against, the transition at the the ricasso is a little different, how much that bothers you is up to you -
BED17379-A502-47BD-A1EF-3AD703D6F9E1.jpeg
.

imperial_blade_marked_m3_05-17-19_9.JPG
91A07AE6-B644-409B-94CD-B4BF8114713A.jpeg
4C316B47-C387-43EF-AD52-C66DD771817E.jpeg
M1964A_eaeaeddd-d32b-4483-80ff-d6f66c74cad5__65675.1547001576.jpg
Thanks for these pics. There does appear to be a slight curve to most of these blades, if only an 1/8th of an inch, from the center of the ricasso to the tip.
 
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