Item Description
Original Item: Only One Available. This is a wonderful U.S. WWII "Theater Made" fighting knife, 9 1/2 inches in length, with a 5 inch steel clip point blade. These knives were made by the armorers and engineers, usually in the Pacific theater. The large capital ships needed to have skilled fabricators on board to make repairs and modifications to weapons and gear. Usually the blades were made from existing weapons or from steel components, and the hilts were cast from metals such as aluminum or zinc. This knife however, was made from a USN MkI Fighting Knife by Robeson ShurEdge. Both USN and Robeson ShurEdge can be found stamped on the left and right side of the ricasso.
The handle of this knife is made from layers of stacked plastic, mostly clear, with a few black layers as decoration as well as aluminum spacers. Both the pommel and crossguard are made from machined aluminum pieces. Condition is quite good, though the blade definitely suffered minor corrosion at some point, which was then cleaned away, probably before it was made into a custom knife.
The original leather scabbard from when the MkI was issued to this sailor is still with the knife and offered in excellent condition, free of damage.
Definitely an interesting piece of WWII Militaria. Ready to research and display!
Dimensions:
Blade length: 5”
Blade style: Single Edged Clip Point
Overall length: 9 1/2”
Crossguard: 1 1/2”
Scabbard length: 10" with belt loop
The Navy MK1 knife was used as both a utility knife and a fighting weapon. While some undoubtedly saw combat, particularly with Naval Aviators, these blades were mostly used for everyday functions aboard ship and ashore. The Mark I knives were Navy issue throughout WW2 and remained in inventory through the Vietnam war. They were purchased in huge quantities so replacements were not needed for many years.
From a collecting standpoint the beauty of the Mark I knives is in the wide variety of makers and blades that can be found. As for values, like most things USGI blades are evaluated based on scarcity and condition.
- This product is available for international shipping.
- Eligible for all payments - Visa, Mastercard, Discover, AMEX, Paypal & Sezzle
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