Pal RH-36 Knife?

[Elliott R]

Got this today, don’t know too much about it other than that it’s a cool knife for the collection. Info appreciated. Thanks!

 

[SKIPH]

Elliott R- You have one of the PAL 6" utility knives. Originally these knives were carry overs from the Remington Hunting designs,  thus the "RH PAL 36 .  PAL bought out Remington knives in 1939, but continued to use the "RH" stamp,  (from an article by Frank Trzaska). These knives were made w/bright , or parkerized blades.  Not sure about production figures, but they made a lot of them, probably the most common of all the 6" utility knives made in WW2.  SKIP

[sundance]

From what I understand at the start of WW2 there was a terrific shortage of military fighting knives. The Remington/Pal hunting knives were in production so were used to fill the gap until purpose built military knife production was ramped up. They are nice knives. Private individuals were encouraged to donate any suitable knives for the cause, just as was done with binoculars.

[VNAMVET70]

Here's a recent acquisition, a RH-36 PAL USA USMC USN Pilot  fighting knife.  The parkerized blade came after the polished blade, latter during WW2.  

[sactroop]

I believe Gary Cunningham researched the purchase of the Remington knife works to PAL as January 17, 1941.  I also have come across documents with a 1939 year of purchase, but for me the most compelling evidence looks to be 1941.

[lambo35]

VNAMVET70- Does your 'Pilot knife' blade have a fuller, also is it marked RH/PAL/36?

 

Chuck.

[VNAMVET70]

lambo35,    Yes, except for the forward slants.  Also under the word PAL it is stamped MADE IN U.S.A.  Hard to read because the letters are so tiny. Here's a photo of the ricasso on the left side. Right side is blank. By fuller do you mean blood groove. If so, The blade has a fuller on each side. 

[Frank Trzaska]

10 hours ago, sactroop said:

I believe Gary Cunningham researched the purchase of the Remington knife works to PAL as January 17, 1941.  I also have come across documents with a 1939 year of purchase, but for me the most compelling evidence looks to be 1941.

January 17, 1941 is the correct date, I have a copy of the contract. 

[byf41]

Nice knife . The parkerized version doesnt seem to come up for sale as often as the bright from my experience . 

[Elliott R]

Thanks for all the comments guys, now when someone asks me about it I will sound like I have more than 3 iQ!

 

-Elliott R

[Mikeym_us]

On 7/10/2022 at 3:34 PM, Elliott R said:

Got this today, don’t know too much about it other than that it’s a cool knife for the collection. Info appreciated. Thanks!

 

I also picked up a RH-36 today at a estate sale for cheap. Blade is in pretty good shape and the scabbard is in decent shape with some major wear at the end.

[sactroop]

Here's that thread that Gary wrote regarding PAL.

 

 

[Frank Trzaska]

Thanks for posting that SACTROOP, forgot all about it. Gary and I discussed it in detail many years ago after I purchased the PAL contract for the sale of Remington. PAL had full use of all the old Remington made blades and partial finished knives along with the machinery. They made many knives marked Remington and in fact had permission to make more Remington marked blades to finish partially made knives BEFORE switching to the PAL branding. They also fixed knives under the Remington name that were warranty issues. Tooling was expensive so they used what they had and pushed the dates to allow them to make many Remington marked knives until told they had to stop by a lawyer. Finally after switching to the PAL brand they continued to make knives that looked like the Remington's to aid in sales. Hence the RH designations on the fixed blades. 

PAL had many contracts for the US military, the RH 36 was a prime example known as knife, Hunting 6 inch along with the many others and the TL29. Yes they were issue knives. 

[Elliott R]

Wow. I feel so honored that my post was revived one day away from the 1 year anniversary of it. Nice knife man!

 

[Flightpath]

Anyone know when production stopped for the PAL RH36?

[John Parker Jr.]

On 7/11/2022 at 3:18 AM, VNAMVET70 said:

Here's a recent acquisition, a RH-36 PAL USA USMC USN Pilot  fighting knife.  The parkerized blade came after the polished blade, latter during WW2.  

 

Gang, is there any ''official'' statement regarding the bright / parkerized blades, who came first? 😁

I also read this info but nothing official found... 🤨

 

[VNAMVET70]

10 hours ago, John Parker Jr. said:

 

This information was posted on the forum Feb. 26, 2008, by quotable and notable "bayonetman"

 

"Most PAL RH-36 knives procured by the us military during WW2 were finished commercial-that is, the blades were polished bright. Later in the war, PAL began delivery of the RH-36 in a Parkerized finish. In my experience, the polished blade is far more common and seems to have been used more during the war. I don't think this was a choice of the user, just that the Parkerized version did not come out until  so late that it did not see as much service."