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Post by j122068 on Jan 13, 2014 2:24:37 GMT
I am inheriting my dads old WW2 marine corp bolo. On my dad and step moms anniversary they would go out of town to flea-markets and yard sales. when my dad would find an unbelievable deal he would call it the deal of the day, this bolo was just that. I am not sure what he paid but he would not have gotten it if it had not been a fraction of the price. Now that I am settled down with my own family I am allowed to have this great knife. I pick it up this evening and I can not wait to post pics. If any one has any advice on how to take care of this knife or any other tid-bits of knowledge please let me know.
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Post by randomnobody on Jan 13, 2014 3:20:36 GMT
Looking forward to seeing pictures, those'll tell us loads about what it is and how to best care for it.
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Post by j122068 on Jan 13, 2014 7:58:03 GMT
Ok i am having some troubles with my phone but I managed to get one pic to my pc. the handle and build looks similar to a USMC WW2 bolo and i know the sheath goes to one (USMC boyt 45)but the blade moves side to side in the sheeth and the blade is about an inch and a half shorter than the sheath. The blade is also a different shape than the most common WW2 bolo. the tip is double edged. one side of the edge is wider than the other side and has a roundness to it. the blade looks like it was blued some how (it is black). one side says Plumb with letters underneath i cant make out and the other side says U.S. MOD 1917. you can see the full tang with wood riveted to either side, and the blade is about 10in with file marks all over it and there are tiny spots of rust in some of the pock marks. I thought there would be way more rust but it has held up well for having no up keep. Attachments:
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Post by j122068 on Jan 13, 2014 8:47:59 GMT
google is telling me I have a ww1 bolo inside of a ww2 sheath. man i wish i had the original scabbard but it is still a very cool keep sake
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Post by Valandur on Jan 13, 2014 12:34:10 GMT
I bet if you look around you can find the correct sheath. I'll keep my eye open for one as I hit sites that have that kind of stuff regularly. Pretty cool knife though, lots of history behind it. Can't imagine what all its seen and where its been. Congrats!
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Post by jlwilliams on Jan 13, 2014 21:58:06 GMT
It's plausible, even likely that the knife has been in that sheath since WWII. They put a ton (probably literally tons) of left over weapons and equipment that had been in storage into service at the beginning of WWII. For example, while there were new 1903a3 rifles built for WWII, there were also a great many 1903 rifles in service. This is particularly true of Marine Corps gear. They were the red headed stepchild of the Navy when it came to budgeting. Left over knives in new sheaths (that went with the newer style web gear) were not uncommon, and yours is likely enough just as it was when it went to the South Pacific.
If I had that knife in that sheath, I'd leave it be. I'd throw the finger at the internet for casting aspersion on a knife and sheath that has been kicking ass since before the internet was born.
All that knife really wants is to be clean, dry and lightly oiled (or lightly waxed).
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Post by j122068 on Jan 14, 2014 5:27:29 GMT
It would be amazing to know what this knife has been through. so much history. soon as I can get the right oil I will be cleaning this thing up. I did not even think about the knife being paired with this sheath in WW2 but that is very likely. the only thing is the sheath has rubbed off some of the black. The edge of this blade is different than im used to its rounded on one side and im not sure how to sharpen it.
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