All About Pocket Knives

Went out today and lo and behold:one of my favorite antique stores had it's doors open and the OPEN sign prominently displayed! Went in to say hello and see if they had anything new in edged tools.
They had a couple that weren't really interesting to me but there was one in the case I had looked at before and passed on because it had looked too ground down.I decided to give it another look.
Overall shape is that of a WWII side knife such as a KA-BAR or a PAL RH-36. Blade is 6 1/2 inches long and has a very narrow fuller similar to a Waterman or a Catt 225Q and is right at 1/8th of an inch thick.
The handle is leather washers of normal thickness and lacquered. The pommel is aluminum and flat on both sides.The guard is elliptical and of steel. The sheath is left handed and very similar to the Cattaraugus sheath.It is in good shape except for several slices in the front.Not sure whether it was accidental or meant to mark it.
The blade has a good polish on it and looks like it may have been sharpened once or twice as there are minor scratches on it from a stone.What is really strange is the blade seems to be de-laminating on the bottom edge running from the guard to approximately 3 inches forward.Apparently there was a flaw in the steel when it was made.It doesn't appear to affect the performance of the edge although I don't know about the strength of the blade in rough usage.
A couple of people have theorized that it was a commercially made version of the RH-36 made during WWII and rarely stamped with a maker's name.The pommel shape should identify who actually made it and although I have seen the shape before I cannot put a name to it.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.BTW I didn't pay a whole lot of money for it($25)and I can always use the sheath for a KA-BAR MkII that I have that is missing one.

Except for the lack of a stamp, I'd call it a mid to late WW2 PAL RH-36.

The later versions did not have red spacers.

zzyzzogeton wrote: ↑Thu May 28, 2020 10:31 pm Except for the lack of a stamp, I'd call it a mid to late WW2 PAL RH-36.

The later versions did not have red spacers.

Don't think it is a PAL;the fuller isn't anywhere near as wide. Here are pics of a PAL;a Robeson;ACatt225Q;and an E.G.Waterman.Although the fuller is similar to the Waterman and the Catt the pommels are entirely different.The PAL and the Robeson have a much wider fuller.

I agree it is not a PAL product. I have one or two of them also, and have seen many more. Nobody seems to know who actually made them or where they made them. Most seem to think they were war effort knives, made here in the states, but nobody I know has any factual info. This includes Frank Trzaska and Larry Thomas who are pretty well versed in American WW2 knives. Could be early post war too, like all the Sanssouci DR knives made by Weske, many from leftover parts from military contracts. My vote is WW2, but I would sure like to know the truth about whence they came.

Things are slowly getting back to normal. We'd been doing grocery pickup exclusively. Today, my grandmother and I ventured into Dollar General. We just got what we needed; aand the Matchbox they had were a batch from early this year; that I'd already picked up what I wanted at my local Walmart in Feb. Heading to Tractor Supply to do a feed run tommorow. Think I might buy a CV Case Peanut. Of course, wearing the N-95 type masks is torture, but I gotta do what I gotta do if I wnat to get out of the house. I am going to try the lighter weight masks,. and have ordered some ($30 for 50 is pretty danged expensive!). Hopefully, those are better. N95 were originally bought for putting varnish on some boards, but never used. The masks I honestly dont' get. They're supposed to keep you from spreading germs to others, not protecting yourself. N95 can, however (which is why I wear one when in public). And when I was in Dollar General, there was a guy who was coughing a lot, and was not wearing any sort of mask.


Huh, and I thought I was the only one who bought knives for their sheaths. Recently, I found an AUS-8 SOG skinner from their Huntspoint series brand new for $12, and bought the knife just for the fact it had a leather, made-in-USA sheath that should fit my Boker USA 155 (original sheath is toast). And that sheath is left-handed! I am left-handed, but carry my Camillus MKII in a sheath made for Kabar's Marine Combat; aka the actual Kabar. It is ambidextrous; but clunky. Ontario used to sell a left-handed Marine Combat sheath, but I think after their US military contract ran out, they quit making them.

Gunsil wrote: ↑Fri May 29, 2020 1:10 am I agree it is not a PAL product. I have one or two of them also, and have seen many more. Nobody seems to know who actually made them or where they made them. Most seem to think they were war effort knives, made here in the states, but nobody I know has any factual info. This includes Frank Trzaska and Larry Thomas who are pretty well versed in American WW2 knives. Could be early post war too, like all the Sanssouci DR knives made by Weske, many from leftover parts from military contracts. My vote is WW2, but I would sure like to know the truth about whence they came.

Thanks for your input gunsil;it is always appreciated.

It’s not a match to any of the mk1 pommels but it’s closest to the Robeson