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Moose M 6 Scabbard w/Pal M3 Knife 8 Staples ?


Capt.Case
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Just picked up this Pal blade dated M3 knife with this M6 Moose scabbard.  Knife has the pommel pinned on with two pins as their dated M3's were.  The sheath looks good but I did notice only 8 staples guides at the throat.  From what I've read the Moose scabbards had 10 staples.  The sheath looks fine to me and the wear matches the knife.  Any thoughts on the difference in staples?

M6 scab with knife JPg.jpg

M6 bottom Jpeg.jpg

M6 top top.jpg

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Capt. Case- Saw this one other time with a Moose M6. From what I can see. there may have been one or two more staples on that left side. It looks like there are two holes where staples could have been. Over all the M6 appears correct, has age, and shrinkage, (which could have forced out a staple or two. During wartime production, it is feasible that the occasional M6 came up short staple wise, and since Moose wanted to use 10, I don't see where a Government inspector would get bent out of shape for having only 8, like all the other makers used.  SKIP

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We should keep in mind that these are not individual staples.  They only look that way from the front.  We call them staples, but in fact it's a continuous piece of what is referred to as "Alligator lacing".

 

1274500488_milscoalig.lace2.jpg.406dc98d4c8616d5e3c9b7d3b382c098.jpg480140709_MilscoM62.jpg.e53f67ead463d9b447880196d8f599f1.jpg

 

As you can see from the first picture the individual legs are all part of a continuous strip of steel.  You can also see in the second picture how extra holes seem to appear from the legs that are mostly hidden from the back side of the sheath pocket.

Why Moose used a longer strip of Alligator lacing instead of the shorter length used by the other M6 manufactures would be a guess.  The earlier raider stiletto sheaths were wider at the throat and the wider strip has plenty of room between the rivets. I believe that's why the raider sheaths have what looks like ten staples while the M6 sheaths mostly look to have eight staples.

IMHO, your Moose sheath is most likely a one off.  Maybe the assembler had a short piece of lacing left over in their assembly process and didn't notice it was short.

 

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sactroop- WOW!  I just learned a whole lot about "Alligator Lacing". I had never looked into the throat of an M6 scabbard from the top. I always believed they were individual staples. What a great lesson, and learning experience. I've had M6s in my collection for over 32 years. Thank you for that eye opener sactroop, one can never know enough about collecting.  SKIP

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Thank you both for the help and information.  Interesting to see that they are all connected inside.  Also  I did read, ( I think in Bill Walters Book ) the Dated Pal M3's came with Moose sheaths.  This is consistent with my set.  

 

Again, thank you both !

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I have had several mooseco scabbards over the years and sometimes the larger edge rivets are placed over the 1 and 10 staples or lacing as sactroop mentions. This weakened the staples and sometimes they would break off over time.  Based upon the condition of the OP’s scabbard it easily could have happened.  I’ve also noticed that in some cases the 1or 10th staple if cover by the rivet sticks up considerably and maybe the solders cut it off as it could get snagged on stuff.  It would only take a few seconds with a set of wire cutters to remove it. The OP’s appears to have at least 9 from what I can see on my phone. 

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Looking closely it does appear as if there could have been another lace/staple on the right side.  I'm sure the scabbard is righteous and it may very well be a wartime production variation or a field modification.    

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Thanks for the compliment.  Yes, the PAL M3 is also blade dated.  Until you started this thread I just assumed that all Moose M6 scabbards had 8 staples.  Thank you for enlightening me.

 

CG

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Your welcome. I had actually found an old thread on the scabbards on google which then referred to this Forum.  I tried to find it going directly on our Forum but it did not show up on my search.  I'm sure its there but may be way back.  Your knife is in much better shape than mine as my handle has some large cracks in it.  I'm  hoping to find a way to fill them in with a glue / leather mixture.  I wonder if anyone has any good ways to repair the crack on these old leather washers. 

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Capt. Case- In the past I have used "Super Glue", in small amounts, squirted into the cracks. It won't repair them, but will stabilize the deterioration. Plus, it's clear, and does not show. SKIP

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  • 2 years later...

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