Case M3 with M6 scabbard

[Keith]

Picked this up recently 'cause I thought it was the best one I have had a chance to buy and I paid a premium for it. I would like the members to critique this knife as I have a couple of questions. I have not cleaned the blade yet and it has old grease on it but should clean up well. My questions are:

1. It is a bent guard blade marked type and it does not fit all the way in the M6 on account of the bent guard; is this the way they were matched and carried?

2. There is no ordnance bomb on the pommel. In Coles book I see the ordnance bomb on the blade marked knives but no ordnance bomb on the guard marked knives; should this blade marked Case have the ordnance bomb?

3. Is there anything else I should know about?

Thanks.

 

[Keith]

More pictures:

 

[Keith]

Last photo:

[doyler]

Looks fine to me.The scabbard is a harder to find maker.Some dont fit well.Could be the way it was manufactured or just shrinkage over the years.Set looks like its been together for years.The ball may have been removed post war.I have ones where the name and ball were ground off and sold commercially after the war.

[SKIPH]

Looks good to me. M3s tend to not fit completely snug into an M6 scabbard. CASE ordinance bombs tend to be small, and lightly stamped. Sometimes they can be found stamped on the side of the pommel, on the top, or not stamped at all. You have a early dated version so check all over the pommel. The scabbard is a prize! Like Ron Doyler stated SBL is a hard one to find. Looks like you did just fine with the set! Thanks for showing! SKIP

[Keith]

Thanks men for the feedback. Here is another photo after I cleaned the blade. I would like to clean up the scabbard a little. I don't think I want to do a leather treatment on it but would like to clean it around the staples. What do you all do with your GOOD leather? Thanks.

 

[SKIPH]

I use brown, or neutral shoe polish on my scabbards, apply it, then use a shoe brush. Have been doing that for 48 years. Haven't lost one yet. Other folks use different methods, or products. SKIP

[Keith]

I just noticed on the scabbard that the retaining strap has been moved lower. Perhaps to fit around the fat part of the handle or ? Looks to be a professional job and the strap looks like the original. I guess this will "hurt" the scabbard some?

[jw517]

The rivet must have come out long ago and the guy thought enough of it to take it to the leather Doctor. I would try not to change the color of the leather if possible. Lightly clean it and use a wax product. Rennasaunce wax is good. Keep it in a place that isn't too dry.

[jw517]

Oh,,, it cleaned up nice! Good job. You got a beauty's!

[jw517]

I use brown, or neutral shoe polish on my scabbards, apply it, then use a shoe brush. Have been doing that for 48 years. Haven't lost one yet. Other folks use different methods, or products. SKIP

Skip,I never thought of shoe polish! I bet that does a great job. It's mainly wax isn't it. Great tip!

[SKIPH]

John- Shoe polish works for me. I use it on sheaths, and leather handles. Brown, or neutral both do the trick. Generally one time will last for years. You see what it does to boots and shoes. SKIP

[jw517]

John- Shoe polish works for me. I use it on sheaths, and leather handles. Brown, or neutral both do the trick. Generally one time will last for years. You see what it does to boots and shoes. SKIP

AND,,,,, it's a lot cheeper than Rennasaunse Wax!

[SKIPH]

When I put it on say an M3, I apply it to the washers by hand, do not fill in the grooves, not necessary. Then I buff with the shoe brush, wrapping a cloth around the blade to hold it. Finally I wrap a buffing rag a turn around the handle, and pull so to buff the shoe polish in. Kinda like buffing shoes. With a sheath, again apply by hand, then use the brush on flat surfaces of the sheath(careful to not tear off retaining straps), next wrap the buffing rag around my hand, and rub it back and forth over the sheath to buff it in. Remember you're you're preserving the leather, not spit shining it. SKIP

[cgutierrez]

Looks good to me. M3s tend to not fit completely snug into an M6 scabbard. CASE ordinance bombs tend to be small, and lightly stamped. Sometimes they can be found stamped on the side of the pommel, on the top, or not stamped at all. You have a early dated version so check all over the pommel. The scabbard is a prize! Like Ron Doyler stated SBL is a hard one to find. Looks like you did just fine with the set! Thanks for showing! SKIP

Skiph,

 

I have not been collecting military knives that long but have also noticed that the great majority of M3s were ordinance ball and flame stamped; however, a few were not. Do you have any idea as to why some just didn't get stamped? It also seems to me that the very early blade and date stamped ones are the ones that tend not to be ordinance stamped. Do you also notice this or am I just making too much of what I see? TIA

 

CG

[jw517]

Looks good to me. M3s tend to not fit completely snug into an M6 scabbard. CASE ordinance bombs tend to be small, and lightly stamped. Sometimes they can be found stamped on the side of the pommel, on the top, or not stamped at all. You have a early dated version so check all over the pommel. The scabbard is a prize! Like Ron Doyler stated SBL is a hard one to find. Looks like you did just fine with the set! Thanks for showing! SKIP

I think you see the absents of ordinance marks on Case knives mainly unless they are removed for commercial sale. My observation.

[SKIPH]

CG- I'd just go with human error. I have seen more later ones not stamped than earlier versions. Again, that's just what we observed. Remember that the early ones were built when the contracts were new, so I'm sure there was more attention to detail. Later ones, M3 contracts were ending, and/or M4s were to be produced. Who knows? I'm just speculating! SKIP

[jw517]

This may not apply but look at the straight guard Case m-3. It never has a ordinance mark but was ordered by the military and carried. I doubt Case was making m-3s for the public during the war.

[SKIPH]

I have never seen in writing where the CASE straight guard was ordered for issue. I was always been led to believe that the straight guards were post war. Coniglio does not have them listed in his original book. Unmarked M3s were available in the PX systems during the war, and for post war sales, with US stamps, and ordinance bombs removed. SKIP

[jw517]

Here is a letter regarding the straight guard Case to H. Cole.

[jw517]

Here is a WWII pic of a soldier with one.

This info courtesy of Bill Walters. He and I talked about this a bit ago.

[jw517]

More from Bill Walters New Book.

The Case smooth handle M3 is confirmed by R.N. Farquharson, VP of W.R. Case. In his letter dated August 28th, 1970 (Photo #10 Case CC 001 P. 1 & 2) to Howard Cole, he states that then there were the knives identified as #33-6 ½ which was a converted M3 trench knife. These were furnished to the Naval Supply Depot in Norfolk, Virginia.

In addition, Navy Corpsman Edward T. Hicks of Columbus, Ohio was assigned to the US Naval commando unit Lion 3, Division X at Camp Allen N.O.B. Norfolk, Virginia. Hicks was issued a smooth handle Case M3 with a bright blade. Son Kelly Hicks stated that this straight-guard CASE M3 knife (Photo #535 Hicks M3) was issued to his father in February 1944 at Camp Allen Virginia. He was a member of a newly formed US Navy commando unit called "Lion 3" (for Sea Lion).

( Photo #10 Case AA)

This photo shows an officer wearing a smooth handle Case M3 in an M8 scabbard. The photo was taken in Honolulu on April, 1945 at an AAF survival training session.

[sactroop]

I too prefer wax on the leather. The whole subject of leather treatment can be a bit of a mine field. I just want to emphasis what skip touched on about being careful of (old leather). It can tear surprisingly easy. Just be deliberately gentle when buffing in the wax.

John, thanks for the info on the Case straight guard. I can't wait for Bill's new book.

[jw517]

CG- I'd just go with human error. I have seen more later ones not stamped than earlier versions. Again, that's just what we observed. Remember that the early ones were built when the contracts were new, so I'm sure there was more attention to detail. Later ones, M3 contracts were ending, and/or M4s were to be produced. Who knows? I'm just speculating! SKIP

 

I thought the same as you Skip. Bill set me straight. I don't know if you all know him but here is a pic of him and some of the company he keeps. Bill is on the left. Anybody know the other two gentlemen?

[jw517]

No takers hey! That's Bill Walters on the left,Adrian VanDyke in the middle,and Howard Cole on the right.