I picked up a 2203 recently that at first I assumed was a re-handle. After staring at it and thinking it thru I’m now thinking I found something unusual. I think this 2203 was made towards the end of the Cut Co days. I’m calling it a 'version 2' 2203:
Right off the bat the jigging is wrong for the pattern but the bigger issue is that it’s a 3 pin knife. I searched for images all over the place and every other 2203 you can find is a 4 pin knife – that’s why it’s easy to write it off as a re-handle. But then I remembered something I had seen right here at AAPK:
This pic is of a knife that belongs to another member here. It’s a 2204 Shamburger that we’ve all seen – but this one is also a 3 pin knife. For comparison, here is a Shamburger from my collection:
The 3 pin knife above is legit. That advertising stamp on it is from the factory and there’s no hole where a missing pin was. Then I went back to my 2203 and looked inside and can see where the fourth pin ‘should’ be there are no holes in the liners. If it was a re-handle where the fourth pin was simply left out surely the liners would tell the tale.
My theory is that these knives are part of a smaller run from later in the Cut Co era and since I’m already out on a limb, I’ll take it just a little farther. This 2203 is also the only one I’ve ever seen with NS pins. Maybe it was assembled during the war using stock brass liners but at a time when brass pin stock would have been hard to get because of the war effort.
I’m curious what others think about this 2203.
"( Factory run should be consistent blade size and measurments regardless of Frame ( Covers )used , If You Micrometer the too blades and get a common denominator , I would conclude Your RIGHT ! 
::tu::K.C.
