Paratrooper Valor J-296 Knife

[eoknives]

My husband inherited a number of knives from his father. They have been in storage for 40+ years and we are now making an effort to get to know a little more about them. We have been unable to find out anything about this particular knife. If you have any insights you can share with us we would certainly appreciate it. Thanks in advance.

[kootenay joe]

It looks to be a large folding lock back knife. What is the length with blade closed ? And is there "USA" or "Japan" on the blade ?
"Valor" was a merchant name for a USA company that had knives made in Japan and sometimes USA or Germany. Decent knives and a few were actually quite high end.
I think the various markings on your knife are for marketing purposes, not a military knife as far as i know. At a guess: 1990's because other very large folders from Japan were being sold then.
kj

[eoknives]

Closed, the length of the knife is 5 3/4 ". We have the original box and there is a small "Japan" stamp inside the lid. The back side of the blade also carries the Japan marking. We know that it is at least 40 years old, and could have been longer if it was brought back from WWII. T

Thanks for helping us out by commenting. We really appreciate it.

[kootenay joe]

It is not as old as WWII. Valor Corporation did not exist until mid 1970's. And it is not a military grade or pattern. More of a 'Mall Ninja" type of knife that a true fighting knife.
kj

[orvet]

While managing a Cutlery store in the 1980s I became familiar with Valor knives, we sold a number of them. KJ is right, some were valuable, others not so much, but in general they are good knives.

The categorization of that knife as a "Mall ninja knife" is accurate I feel. The US military is rarely ever that obvious with a knife and they seem have a strong preference for knives made in the USA.

[eoknives]

Thanks so much for your comments. They give us a little more to go on.

[doglegg]

eoknives, you keep researching and your going to get hooked. Enjoy having you aboard.

[RobesonsRme.com]

Not denigrating the knife. It is what it is. It's a knife, it opens and closes and it will cut.

But, I seriously doubt we could find one in the possession of any active duty U. S. Paratrooper of any Branch.

Charlie Noyes