Your knife pick for WWII

BoulderTroll said:
Thanks for the replies folks, keep them coming!

I asked Sabre Cat if he could provide photos of the M3 that his father used in WWII, and he was kind enough to send them to me to post. So please don't think I'm taking credit for these beauties, they are his:



M3a-X2.jpg


M3b-X2.jpg


M3c-X2.jpg
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Wow. Your right Doug, the pics turned out halfway
decent. Better than I expected. Not bad for cell phone pictures.

So, here's the back story. My father was in the Army Air Corp during WW2. He never really spoke to me much about what he did. I do know that part of the time he was stationed at Hamilton Air Field about 20 minutes north of San Francisco, CA. Never told me about his M3 and I received it after his death in 1979.
The proper scabbard for the M3 is the M8 or a leather scabbard on the early models but, I have seen them with M8A1s. The M8A1 came out as a solution against the problem of breaking scabbards.

By the time the M7 bayonet was in use, the M8A1 was standard issue with most of them marked PWH, IIRC. The one in the photo is marked VIZ and from what I can tell was made during the Viet Nam era. Not very common from the research I've done. I figured it was fitting for the pictures along with the FZR M7 bayonet. Another uncommon find.

I think it took me at least two years of serious searching before I found an FZR marked M7 for sale. A surplus dealer back east had purchased 20,000 M7s that had been USMC issue. He said that out of all of those, less than 20 were marked FZR and that he was keeping every one for himself. He offered one to me only when I had pretty much completed my collection. Appearently he was very ill at that point in his life because he died shortly after shipping me the one in the photo. I guess he felt sorry for me.

The M10 scabbard is there just to finish out the collection. Most collectors dislike the M10 but it really is very practical and fits all the bayonets, M4-M7 and the M3.
 
sabre cat said:
Wow. Your right Doug, the pics turned out halfway
decent. Better than I expected. Not bad for cell phone pictures.

So, here's the back story. My father was in the Army Air Corp during WW2. He never really spoke to me much about what he did. I do know that part of the time he was stationed at Hamilton Air Field about 20 minutes north of San Francisco, CA. Never told me about his M3 and I received it after his death in 1979.
The proper scabbard for the M3 is the M8 or a leather scabbard on the early models but, I have seen them with M8A1s. The M8A1 came out as a solution against the problem of breaking scabbards.

By the time the M7 bayonet was in use, the M8A1 was standard issue with most of them marked PWH, IIRC. The one in the photo is marked VIZ and from what I can tell was made during the Viet Nam era. Not very common from the research I've done. I figured it was fitting for the pictures along with the FZR M7 bayonet. Another uncommon find.

I think it took me at least two years of serious searching before I found an FZR marked M7 for sale. A surplus dealer back east had purchased 20,000 M7s that had been USMC issue. He said that out of all of those, less than 20 were marked FZR and that he was keeping every one for himself. He offered one to me only when I had pretty much completed my collection. Appearently he was very ill at that point in his life because he died shortly after shipping me the one in the photo. I guess he felt sorry for me.

The M10 scabbard is there just to finish out the collection. Most collectors dislike the M10 but it really is very practical and fits all the bayonets, M4-M7 and the M3.
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Thanks for the background. I noticed the M10 scabbard looks nearly identical (maybe a little longer) than the scabbard issued for the Mk3 Mod 0 USN dive knife that Ontario makes. Are they actually the same scabbard, or is one in fact longer than the other (I notice the M3 has a 7" blade and the Mk3 has a 6" blade)? They sure do look alike.
 
BoulderTroll said:
More practical, maybe. But I sure like the looks of an M3 better than a Kabar. Even though I own one, I've never really warmed to the looks of Bowie style blades. But that said, Jay, that is an awesome knife, and a very cool heirloom from your father!
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Thanks. I have my Great Grandfather’s Springfield 1905 pattern bayonet from WWI as well, he served in France throughout 1918 through the Armistice.
 
BoulderTroll said:
Thanks for the background. I noticed the M10 scabbard looks nearly identical (maybe a little longer) than the scabbard issued for the Mk3 Mod 0 USN dive knife that Ontario makes. Are they actually the same scabbard, or is one in fact longer than the other (I notice the M3 has a 7" blade and the Mk3 has a 6" blade)? They sure do look alike.
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I don't think they are the same. I think the Mk3 blade is shorter and taller but that is just a guess on my part. Call Ontario and ask. If they are the same, it would be good to know.
 
sabre cat said:
Me too. I like it better than the knife designed by the Britts.
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I think we had our version, the Marine Raider knife? Similar to the Brits cmmando knife, but had an S guard. It may just be our version of the same knife.
 
CS Trail Master or Recon Scout, or maybe their Fallkniven equivalents (Tor & Odin) due to leather handle...not sure how the Kraton would hold up.
 
jlauffer said:
CS Trail Master or Recon Scout, or maybe their Fallkniven equivalents (Tor & Odin) due to leather handle...not sure how the Kraton would hold up.
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OK, now you've got me curious. Fallkniven is my favorite knife company (I have 3 and counting). I love the design of the Northern Lights series, and have the NL5 Idun. The NL3 Njord would be my number one pick for this thread if it weren't for the stacked leather handle. I view the Kraton as being far more durable and weather resistant, which would make me lean towards the A1 or S1 for this topic. I'm definitely not saying I'm correct and you're wrong, this is just always the way I've seen it. I'd love to hear your thoughts on why stacked leather will outlast Kraton for a hard-use knife. I can always use an excuse to get another knife from the NL series. :D
 
BoulderTroll said:
OK, now you've got me curious. Fallkniven is my favorite knife company (I have 3 and counting). I love the design of the Northern Lights series, and have the NL5 Idun. The NL3 Njord would be my number one pick for this thread if it weren't for the stacked leather handle. I view the Kraton as being far more durable and weather resistant, which would make me lean towards the A1 or S1 for this topic. I'm definitely not saying I'm correct and you're wrong, this is just always the way I've seen it. I'd love to hear your thoughts on why stacked leather will outlast Kraton for a hard-use knife. I can always use an excuse to get another knife from the NL series. :D
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Agree about the weather resistance, but look at the leather handle on the knife in Icky Thump's post above...not sure how old that is, but doubt Kraton would still look that good after that long. The Kraton material itself may be more durable in general, but as a knife handle, have read about cases where it loosens up over time with use, and basically only the lanyard tube keeps it from sliding off the tang...not good. Stacked leather handles typically have a pommel, so the leather's not going anywhere. Also, the claim that Kraton never rots doesn't seem to be true either, as there have been plenty of cases where it starts to break down into a sticky mess for some reason. Another area where I think leather may do better is when subjected to physical contact with things that cause scratching, ripping, gouging, etc. Have seen Kraton-handle knives for sale on eBay for example with chunks missing...think hard leather would stand up to that better. Having said all this though, I don't know if the latest Kray-Ex version from CS fixes/improves any of these issues, and I have not experienced any of these issues myself, just passing along what I have heard/read from others. I also have never experienced war, so no idea how much a knife would actually get used, so may not really matter overall.
 
resized_IMG_0364 (1).JPG

When are too many not enough?

My dad had a Waterman when he was on the U.S.S. Dayton and although I borrowed it many times in my youth, dad eventually lost track of it. In overcompensation, I have gotten a bit carried away finding bargains.

Okinawa TBM Crews EGW Knife - B.jpg Okinawa TBM Crews EGW Knife - A.jpg
 
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jlauffer said:
Agree about the weather resistance, but look at the leather handle on the knife in Icky Thump's post above...not sure how old that is, but doubt Kraton would still look that good after that long. The Kraton material itself may be more durable in general, but as a knife handle, have read about cases where it loosens up over time with use, and basically only the lanyard tube keeps it from sliding off the tang...not good. Stacked leather handles typically have a pommel, so the leather's not going anywhere. Also, the claim that Kraton never rots doesn't seem to be true either, as there have been plenty of cases where it starts to break down into a sticky mess for some reason. Another area where I think leather may do better is when subjected to physical contact with things that cause scratching, ripping, gouging, etc. Have seen Kraton-handle knives for sale on eBay for example with chunks missing...think hard leather would stand up to that better. Having said all this though, I don't know if the latest Kray-Ex version from CS fixes/improves any of these issues, and I have not experienced any of these issues myself, just passing along what I have heard/read from others. I also have never experienced war, so no idea how much a knife would actually get used, so may not really matter overall.
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Thanks for that explanation. Several things that I hadn't considered. I'll have to do some more looking into the negative aspects of Kraton, it seems like all I've heard are the positives, and I like having an informed perspective. And you're right about many stacked leather handles looking great even after 60+ years.
 
BoulderTroll said:
Thanks for that explanation. Several things that I hadn't considered. I'll have to do some more looking into the negative aspects of Kraton, it seems like all I've heard are the positives, and I like having an informed perspective. And you're right about many stacked leather handles looking great even after 60+ years.
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Believe me, I love Cold Steel, and I know many current military personnel use their knives like the Recon Scout, SRK, and Recon Tanto with Kraton or KrayEx handles, so the issues I raised may be more theoretical than actual.
 
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