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Unknown WW2 fighting knife


Pbaczuk
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I have this knife that was in a grouping of a U.S. Army officer. The knife is 11.75” long but unmarked. The thick leather scabbard is serialized and there is a stamping beneath that I cannot make out. The blade is really well made and razor-sharp. 

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That's a beauty. I love knives like that. Below the number on the sheath it could be "patented by" - the by looks pretty clear. You can also see what looks like an "S" under the word patented

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Correction: Minnesota, not necessarily Minneapolis. There still is a small operation still in business but they are leatherwork.

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Source:  http://www.angelfire.com/mn/thursdaynighthikes/fairoak2hike.html

 

Simeon R. Sikes (1849-1926) was born in Erie County, New York, married Ella M. Lathrop of St. Louis, Missouri, moved to Minnesota in 1882, settled in Minneapolis, and was a leather belting manufacturer and merchant. In 1909, according to the city directory, Simeon R. Sikes was the president of the S. R. Sikes Company, a manufacturer of leather belting for sawmills and flour mills, and resided at 317 Clifton Avenue. From 1876 to 1882, Simeon R. Sikes was the partner of Felix Raniville in a leather belt manufacturing enterprise in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and then Sikes moved to Minneapolis and founded a similar firm. The S. R. Sikes Company still is in existence, at 3715 Oregon Avenue South, and still makes belting for mills and machinery.

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Yes, that is all we know. This is such a “purpose built” knife with high quality. It may be a one-off or part of a small production batch. Thank you for your great research.

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You're welcome.  I believe the CW81800 stamping was added to the sheath, and not by the S. R. Sikes Company.  Are you absolutely sure there are no other markings on the blade or leather handle of the knife or anywhere else?  You might have to get out a magnifier if you haven't already.  Also, do you have a pic of the back of the sheath to show what's attached to the screws?  Also, you state the knife was in a grouping of a U.S. Army officer.  What else was with the grouping and do you have pics of those items?  Where did you get the grouping?  Was it an estate sale and what city/state, or was it off Ebay?  Thanks...

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If the knife was made with that scabbard it was never used as that scabbard probably made out of an old belt strap only indicates wear from the brass verdigris. The knife looks like it could have been made from an old western double tang knife. Without a knife to compare side by side it looks like it could possibly be a reshaped blade. At first I thought maybe a reshaped bolo knife but then I noticed the double tang. Nice looking knife but it doesn’t look 75 years old to me. 

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I'm not sure that it's a bifurcated tang knife.  If it is a Western we should see the steel edges of the tang pieces at both the top and the bottom of the grip as the leather discs are shaped more like an H that an oval with a slot punched thru the middle.  Also I'm not sure if Western ever finished the ends of their tangs round.  The few I've seen have been flat like the rest of the tang.

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Yes. This came came from an estate sale that had a October 1941 platter for the officers of a Coastal Artillery Battalion, a panoramic, dog tags and a green metal tool box for a rifle club. In that box are a PJ O'Hare micrometer and rifle stand, M1903 sight hood cover, aftermarket ladder sight and 1938 qual / match range book.

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6 hours ago, Pbaczuk said:

The officer was Herman Tint. He was a Portland Police officer after the war.

 

Here's what I found on Herman Tint.

 

 

t1.jpg

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Note:  CAC stands for Coastal Artillery Corps.  In 1941 when he married his wife, he was stationed at Camp Callan, California.  It was a replacement training center for coastal artillery units.

 

 

t7a.jpg

t7b.jpg

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