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Case V-42 Stiletto from Fort Bragg, NC


warpath
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Case V-42 Stiletto from Fort Bragg, NC picked up back in the late 1950s when a box of unissued V42 knives was found and about to be tossed out. A few were given to one man and the remainder thrown away. Before anyone calls BS on the story, this is the third one from that box that I have seen and I own two including this one obtained from the recipient that day. He did not recall how many were in the box, but only four at most were saved. Ed

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Amazing find, and you have how many? Seems you could be a hoarder, perhaps an intervention should be considered.

 

I have a well worn beaten to death number version that I cherish, but man i would sure love to own a minty version like your.

 

Congrats.

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Bill Walters

I'll have this on display at the MAX Show this week. Stop by my tables if you would like to see it. Ed

 

 

Ed, I will also have a table at the Max. I will stop by your table. Bill

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Wish I could go to this show! Jon M.,and I have to work, plus this Hurricane Matthew may mess everyone up. Sooner or later I'll meet you Bill Walters. Have fun! SKIP

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Bill Walters

Wish I could go to this show! Jon M.,and I have to work, plus this Hurricane Matthew may mess everyone up. Sooner or later I'll meet you Bill Walters. Have fun! SKIP

 

 

Skip, I wish you and Jon could make the show. We would have a great time. I did meet Jon at the last SOS. Bill

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks so much for posting these pics Warpath. I read somewhere that all real V-42's had to have the thumb grooves touch the edges of the ricasso. Yours is like mine: close but does not touch.

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I've owned several variant V-42 stilettoes including one prototype and I believe there were production runs that may account for the slight differences. These were hand finished and of the highest quality made by more than one person so variations occurred.

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Beautiful knife! I can easily buy the "found old box" story but not the 'thrown away" part. Throw away fighting knives on a military base in the 1950s? I don't think so .......unless Lt Denny Dumazz and Sgt Ralph Retardo were the supply folks. But I know stories do enlarge. Great that you have two of these super-great pieces. Bobgee

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Bob, I assume you're a veteran and I served in the 82d Airborne. Far more expensive, rare and collectble items got tossed, grew wings and legs, or even got buried so the stuff was taken out of inventory. Military accounting practices could be somewhat flexible no matter the time period. Some folks just aren't collectors or appreciate what they have or see. The horror stories are legion, but at least a few were saved in this case. The last owners held on to these for over 50 years. Ed

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I guess what got me worried was the reproduction recognition page of the well respected Frank Trzaska's site, in which he showed pics of repro and real thumb prints and wrote:

 

"Note the design and shape of the Case name stamping and the thumbprint which goes from edge to edge on the original but not on the repro."

 

But I totally agree- anything done by hand will have variations.

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