Description
Very interesting original WW2 era American fighting knife that looks very much like the standard-issue Mark 2 fighting knife, except that this is a hand-made specimen. This exact type (but with a fancier handle and marked guard) is illustrated on page 108 of the KNIVES OF THE UNITED STATES MILITARY WORLD WAR II book by Michael W Silvey – a well-established expert and author of many books on the subject of US military edged weapons (see page’s scan attached). In that book the knife is ID’d as made by M.H. Cole – another blade expert and author of the famous Americal edged weapon books series published in the 1970th. M.H. Cole made quite a few fighting knives himself during WW2; all are pretty hard to find now and very collectible. Except for an old sticker on the pommel with the collection inventory number the knife is completely unmarked, so I have it to list it as “likely M.H. Cole-made”. Had it been fully marked the listing price would have been a lot higher.
This MH Cole WW2 fighting knife only looks like a typical Mark 2. The difference is in the overall quality and the materials – the blades appears to be forged and tampered; large guard is a solid piece of 6.75-mm bronze. The pommel is a pinned round iron plate about 5 mm thick. Stacked extra-thick leather washers handle with a thick black fiber washer at the pommel. No usual groves; instead the handle is oval in shape with a nice semi-flat contour for an extra-positive grip. The handle is solid; all parts are tight with no play. The knife is about 12″” / 30.5 cm overall; blued clip-point blade is about 6-3/4″ /17.2 cm long. The edge has been gently re-sharpened; it is very sharp still; the tip is intact. Mark 2 NORD scabbard had its keeper removed; it keeps the blade nice and tight. The scabbard’s back side has a a small picture of a dagger scratched onto it.
This original WW2 fighting knife has not been cleaned or tampered with in any way, it’s in 100% original “as is” condition. These are the actual photos; spent brass is not included with the lot 😉 We have a few more American WW2 era combat knives and bayonets, as well as several scarce WW1 and WW2 fighting daggers and trench knives from other countries available for sale – please take a look in our Militaria section.
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International shipping for this item will be $55 and up to most countries on our “ship-to” list.
