Found Knife

I found this knife in my wife's great aunt's home. I thought maybe a bayonet, but not quite sure.

 

That's nive !
Maybe a small Bowie .
The leather grip and brass hardware speak to me of WW2 .....but it could be earlier....
can you lift any marks off the blade ?

 

I'm unable to get anything off of the blade!

 

Well it looks to fine to be theater made....but it's possible.

 

I know nothing about blades. Is there something I should be doing to reveal something on it?

 

Well if it was marked ....there should be some trace.....and the clip point blade shows nothing near the handle ,,,,,how about checking the cross guard ??

Don't do anything to it yet....other than wiping off any grime.

 

This one has Western , stamped on the underside of the cross guard...
it's similar.....but not exact...

 

I could be very wrong and it hard to get a picture of it, but it looks like there may actually be something on the top of the cross guard.

 

Def some kind of Bowie type knife. Its not a skinning blade, just a large,all purpose knife.

 

Bear Claw Chris Lapp: Can you skin Griz?
Jeremiah Johnson: I can skin’ em as fast as you can catch’ em.
Bear Claw Chris Lapp: Skin that one, pilgrim, and I’ll get you another!

 

I see scratches.....

 

Nope...........
Can't do it..................................

 

Looks exactly like a one-off shop-made knife to me. The proportions are a bit off from most production-made sheath knives. The handle in particular is a bit odd. Guard is not centered on the blade, but in a production knife with that type of guard, it would be centered. Condition of handle puts date in 2nd half 20th C. For me anyway.

 

So.....theater made ???
or r u thinking post war......

 

Agreed, Spring. Thanks.

 

1951 or later. I'm ignorant of "theater made" knives, maybe they exist but at least for US troops, as well-supplied as most were, if they wanted a knife, they could draw one from "supply" couldn't they? Sailors on ships would have more tools available via ship's machine shop. A motorized bench grinder is a fairly basic requirement.

 

Thanks for all the info everyone!

 

Well there does seem to be info out there suggesting soldiers of all stripes hand made their own weapons.....



Just saying......

 

Those knives in the group photos do appear to be non-production. If a knife in those groups came with credible documentation that it was made by a particular soldier in the field then there you go.

However I'm guessing the collector who made up that display had some pretty lax standards for what he accepted as items made by soldiers. For example, the fancy metal handles are made in foundries, not in trenches. But who knows for sure, really?

Technically "theater-made" could also mean something bought from a roadside or market-square vendor in a combat theater and I've personally bought usable edged weapons from local vendors when I was on duty in Southeast Asia in early 1970's.

 

Could've been made from available parts though. Correct?