Original Item: Only One Available. This is an excellent example of the U.S. PAL RH 36 fighting knife, manufactured by the PAL Cutlery Company, complete with original leather scabbard.

According to The Official Price Guide of Collector Knives by C Houston Price & Mark D Zaleysky, PAL was originally used as a trademark by the Utica Knife & Razor Company of Utica, NY from about 1924-1939. PAL marked knives of that era used blades imported from Germany, and the blades typically bore the word “Germany” as well. Another company using the name PAL was established in Chicago in 1934. This company was known as the Pal Blade Company of Chicago, and was started by Otto Kraus. In 1935 the two “PAL” companies merged into one, known simply as the PAL Blade Company, and opened a manufacturing facility in Plattsburg, NY. Around 1940 PAL purchased the cutlery division of the Remington Arms Company, including of their existing stock of completed knives and knife parts.

While PAL was originally a manufacturer of pocketknives, but after the Remington acquisition they expanded their range of products to include a variety of fixed blade knives as well. PAL received a number of US government knife contracts during World War II and produced thousands of combat knives during the war years. Pal went out of business in 1953.The USN Mark 1 combat knife was produced by a variety of manufactures during World War II and was issued to Navy personnel by the thousands. It had a 5 ¼” long blade and was patterned after typical hunting and sideknives of the era. The subsequent Mark 2 knife had a longer 7” blade.

This particular example was manufactured by the PAL Cutlery Company, and is in excellent condition, complete with the matching leather scabbard. It has a substantial 6 1/4 inch long wide clip-point blade, patterned after the USN MkII. The ricasso is clearly marked on one side of the blade: RH – PAL / MADE IN USA – 36. These were generally private purchase knives, and were available to anyone, as well as the public. They were similar to the "Q" series "Quartermaster Knives" manufactured by Case and Cattaraugus. The blade is in excellent condition, with virtually all of the original phosphate finish intact. It even looks to have the original factory grind still on the edge.

The hilt is composed of multiple thin leather washers, with the ones closest to the cross guard being of dark red and black plastic. This same dark red washer pattern occurs near the cast aluminum pommel cap as well. The leather doesn't show any real wear or age, so this knife did not see a lot of use in the field. The pommel and cross guard are slightly loose, as the leather has shrunk a bit over time.

The scabbard is the earliest leather version and is in very good condition. The leather has aged to a nice red brown, and is still supple, with no cracking that we can see. There is a crease on the front, which is original to the leather. The snap is still functional, with much of the original finish, and there is some verdigris build up. All of the stitching and rivets are intact.

Overall this is a great chance to own an excellent condition PAL 36 knife. No collection of World War II US military knives is complete without a PAL knife. Ready to display!