I have a question for all you serious mountain troop and knife experts. On page 114 of Henri-Paul Enjames Government Issue Collectors Guide Vol II. The author depicts a variant of the mountain knife without a bail, and the small sheepsfoot blade has been replaced with a flat head screwdriver. In a an article I found on the web ( http://ibdennis.com/Screwing%200104.pdf ) the author suspects that this version of bail-less mountain knife is a post war product Ulster may have tried to sell on the civilian market. My Question is does anybody in the militaria community have evidence that this knife is indeed military as depicted in the collectors guide? Has anybody heard of a vet carrying one, or see one with a stock number listed in a service forces catalog?

 

While I have no definitive proof either way, I believe it is a post war knife that was made for civilian use. I don't believe it was a type of knife issued to FSSF or 10th Mountain folks. The military knife collecting books all indicate that they had a bail/staple. Every vet that I have talked to that remembers seeing/having one recalls that they had a bail. It was a winter knife and had the bail/loop so it could be tied to a lanyard while working in cold conditions so it wouldn't get lost. On the knife pictured above the scales look to be of plastic made in the late 40's or 50's when Ulster was making this type of knife for the boy scouts and commercial sales. Just my opinion, which is not worth much....

 

Regards,

CC