WWII Ranger Bowie Knuckle Duster

[KleenCut61]

Hi Guys , Friend of mine Would Like Me To Post His Knife For Comments And information on its use and Origin , Okay here's the Scoop .. My Friends Granddad owned and Operated a General Store . In the Year 1942-1943 A Soldier Running Down the Street Chased ( Mine You ) By Two MP's Tossed this Behemoth into the Open Store front Door !!!! And Has been passed down thru the generations of my friends family , Okay here's the Photos , ( Have a Question About Knife Will Be Forwarded to my Friend ,, ( there does not appear any Marking , What all do you think about this One ? K.C.

[1967redrider]

Looks like it could be Australian to me. You might be able to find more info here; https://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums ... d-weapons/

https://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums ... world-war/

They "upgraded" their website recently, I found the old site easier to navigate. Try searching for "trench knife." Hope this helps!

[Gunsil]

Story is BS. US Rangers never had these knives, the old book that called them Ranger knives was mistaken. As Redrider says, these were made in Australia, at least the real ones were, there are thousands of fakes around. They were not issued to anybody and most were sold post war to US servicemen returning home from the Pacific theater through Australia as souvenirs. Forget those military forums, the best military knife site is Frank Trzaskas Military Knives. Here is a link to his page regarding these "Ranger" knives which have been faked. http://www.usmilitaryknives.com/ranger.htm Not saying the one you show is fake, the patina and sheath look good, just the story stinks. If real it is a cool knife for sure. You don't state where the store was, do you know?? The date 1942-43 would be a little early for one of these if real to show up in the US. Not that these had anything to do with the Rangers, but the Rangers weren't even formed until 1943 and fought in Europe a long way from Australia. When a story is suspect, the knife becomes suspect too.

This also has to be the third or fourth time I have heard a story about a soldier being chased by MPs and tossing away a knife. It wasn't illegal to own the knife, why would he throw it away.

[Old Folder]

"When the Legend is better than the Truth, report the Legend.
Nice knife though.

[KleenCut61]

Ty Gentleman ! Your Knowledge Never ceases to Amaze me , My First Take on it was The Lack luster non Military look !! No Blood Groove ( Fuller) And Where's the O.D. Combat Sheath If U.S.A Military Issued The Tube Rolled One it Has reminded me of Pre War Marbles , Possibly made by a country Before u.s. involvment , Gino set the record straight on that theory Tennessee Is all i got on Store Location .. I will Dig Up the Rest thanks to You gentleman as a Favor To a friend , Who Shops For Case Knives For Me Down South K.C.

[KleenCut61]

"When the Legend is better than the Truth, report the Legend.
Nice knife though.

Right Old Folder It Has More Brass Than some people i Know K.C.

[Gunsil]

The sheath Frank shows with the repros looks awfully like the one shown here.

[tongueriver]

Interesting Knife, Interesting Thread; What Is With All The Capital Letters? Must Be A Reason?

[KleenCut61]

The sheath Frank shows with the repros looks awfully like the one shown here.

I See That now Gino, before i looked i had no knowledge what so ever of Military Hardware . So my Question now seems to be the U.s. Accually made a Knife like This ? In order to Repro them is that what i am learning here, or is it just the australian made ones being repro , Sorry for my Ignorance , But why would they fake these in the first place i cannot understand ? ..K.C.

[KleenCut61]

Interesting Knife, Interesting Thread; What Is With All The Capital Letters? Must Be A Reason?

Accually Glad its not mine now

[Gunsil]

None of the originals were US made, the originals all were made in Australia. I don't know where all the fakes came from although some are from Taiwan, but there are different fakes. The originals were fairly crudely made which makes faking them easier to pull off. They were never issued to Australian or any other troops, they were privately made to be sold to soldiers, but many think most were sold at the end of the war and few ever were carried into combat. They look fearsome but are not really comfortable to actually grip or use. There also weren't a huge amount of originals made and collectors liked them so the fakers got busy. The original scabbards were leather as were the scabbards on our US "V 44" knives by Case, Kinfolks, and Western. The thing with these is that it is hard to tell some of the fakes from originals, I might not be able to do so even with two in hand, but the story is so bad it makes the knife suspicious.

[KleenCut61]

None of the originals were US made, the originals all were made in Australia. I don't know where all the fakes came from although some are from Taiwan, but there are different fakes. The originals were fairly crudely made which makes faking them easier to pull off. They were never issued to Australian or any other troops, they were privately made to be sold to soldiers, but many think most were sold at the end of the war and few ever were carried into combat. They look fearsome but are not really comfortable to actually grip or use. There also weren't a huge amount of originals made and collectors liked them so the fakers got busy. The original scabbards were leather as were the scabbards on our US "V 44" knives by Case, Kinfolks, and Western. The thing with these is that it is hard to tell some of the fakes from originals, I might not be able to do so even with two in hand, but the story is so bad it makes the knife suspicious.

Thanks Gino . My Work is done here K.C.

[Shearer]

Hi Guys , Friend of mine Would Like Me To Post His Knife For Comments And information on its use and Origin , Okay here's the Scoop .. My Friends Granddad owned and Operated a General Store . In the Year 1942-1943 A Soldier Running Down the Street Chased ( Mine You ) By Two MP's Tossed this Behemoth into the Open Store front Door !!!! And Has been passed down thru the generations of my friends family , Okay here's the Photos , ( Have a Question About Knife Will Be Forwarded to my Friend ,, ( there does not appear any Marking , What all do you think about this One ? K.C.

Here is a site with knives used by Australian and New Zealand Forces.

http://www.australianmilitaryknives.com/knuckle.html


Grant

[KleenCut61]

Here is a site with knives used by Australian and New Zealand Forces.

http://www.australianmilitaryknives.com/knuckle.html


Grant
[/quote] Most Appreciated .. K.C.