Army marked WWII R-S Mark1 Knives?

[Willintheweeds]

Were some (or maybe all) of the R-S knives purchased by the Army during WWII marked U.S.A? For United States Army? I see Navy Mark 1 R-S knives marked U.S.N., and some R-S period knives marked U.S.A. (not U.S.), but have not been able to find if the Army issued these knives in large quantities or if any contract required the USA marking - sorry if this has been addressed before, I searched and could not find an answer.

[Gunsil]

I think the second knife you show was a PX knife rather than an issue knife. I could be wrong, but I think the only knives Robeson made expressly for the US Army were the beautiful M3s they made.

[Willintheweeds]

Thanks, I'm new to WWII military knives and I really don't know what to think - it seems there would be some, or at least one pristine example in original packaging surving with a stock and contract number tying these to the Army, or some sort of documentation.

[Case V42]

I've collected U.S. WW 2 knives for over 20 years and the only "utility" knives issued by the army I am aware of were the "Quartermaster" knives made by Cattaraugus and Case.

[eveled]

For what it’s worth. I agree with Gunsil and Case V42. Not issued but private purchase.

[knife7knut]

I think the second knife you show was a PX knife rather than an issue knife. I could be wrong, but I think the only knives Robeson made expressly for the US Army were the beautiful M3s they made.

I wasn't aware that these were non-military issue.I have one like the second picture with it's original sheath. Thanks for that info;I'm not really well versed in military items anyway.

[Captain O]

These were knives patterned after the hunting knives of 1929. The US Navy contracted the Mark 1 Deck Knife from a large number of manufacturers and remained in the Navy's quartermaster inventory until the closing days of the Vietnam Conflict. Their primary use on board ship were for unpacking supplies. Many members of the UDT (Underwater Demolition Team) members often carried them into battle, as the blades were 5.125" (5 1/8") long and could readily penetrate the body of the enemy.
The only problem the early UDT teams encountered with the USN Mark 1 Deck Knife was corrosion. They were made from 1095 Carbon steel. While they held and edge, they had to be kept clean and lubricated in order to keep them battle-ready. The knives had to be factory-packed in Cosmoline to prevent the Mark 1 from being damaged in transit to the ship. The knives were then dipped in boiling water to remove the heavy rust-preventing preservative. Sometimes they would leave the Cosmoline on the blades to keep them from self-destructing from the salt-laden air aboard ship.

[zzyzzogeton]

Navy contracts specified that the Mk1 and the Mk2 be identified as such with USN and MK1/MK2 as part of the stamp and that USMC contract knives be so stamped (after the initial Kabar MK2/1219C2s that were stamped with simply KABAR).

The Army contracts simply specified "six inch blade hunting knives", with no specific stamping requirements. Even the "Quartermaster" knives are only identified with the inclusion of "Q" in the stamp, with no reference to the Army.

Now these statements are a gross simplification of all the BS that went on in deliberating/generating/fulfilling/changing the various contracts, but that's the short story.

[eveled]

Some may find this interesting it’s a new old stock mk1 USN Deck knife showing how well it was wrapped and coated in gunk.

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0891574F-6A85-4490-B41E-1A83BEB8C267.jpeg (24.71 KiB) Viewed 1873 times