your right on the money.banana is in reference to the handle shape.
the knife pattern itself is called a hawkbill.
my guess without holding it. the type of knife it was and its case era{no where near an expert on case} but
i would say it probably had seen some use. when that specific knife was bought and at the era in time when it was sold on the shelf at a local hardware store it wasnt considered much of a collectable pattern as you see now.
it was bought as a tool ,to be used.
but then again ive seen 100yr hawks that havent been used.
you with it in hand would be the best judge.
a good portion of my collection is hawks and cottons! they can be very addictive.
i have to say though that its a knife i seem to look fro reasons to carry.
another dreaded form of knife addiction. collecting awesome patterns that have very little daily use.
now if you laid carpet all day for a livin.
this would be an awesome EDC!
i still carry hawks though. they rip through branches of an usearched path quite easily.
ANYHOO...
i love it and now adding another hawk to the wanted list.
