I have had this for years, it was Dad's and I never ID'd it, so looked into it this week.
It was my Dad's carried as a Navy fighter pilot, he also had one made from a Spanish saber from the Spanish American War.
Found t a WWII Cattaraugus 225Q
There were a lot of these made and it will probably never have tremendous collector value. They are one of the best combat/survival knives ever made. Contrary to the common story they were not made for opening crates. There were crowbars for that. They were bought by the quartermaster corp as a secondary standard. They bought a lot of "hunting" knives to meet wartime demands. Sometimes this was even called a commando knife. It is beefier than either the MKII/Kabar or the M3 fighting knife. The large textured pommel could be used for hammering in a pinch. The handle is better than either the MKII or the M3.
For strictly as a user. Do a little work on the handle with saddle soap. Get it wet and sort of hammered on the leather washers to get them to swell. That will tightened it up. The handles were always somewhat rough. The "left hand" sheath was not particularly for a left-handed user. It was designed to be carried on your left so that you could carry something more critical (like your pistol) on your right side.
It was my Dad's carried as a Navy fighter pilot, he also had one made from a Spanish saber from the Spanish American War.
Found t a WWII Cattaraugus 225Q
There were a lot of these made and it will probably never have tremendous collector value. They are one of the best combat/survival knives ever made. Contrary to the common story they were not made for opening crates. There were crowbars for that. They were bought by the quartermaster corp as a secondary standard. They bought a lot of "hunting" knives to meet wartime demands. Sometimes this was even called a commando knife. It is beefier than either the MKII/Kabar or the M3 fighting knife. The large textured pommel could be used for hammering in a pinch. The handle is better than either the MKII or the M3.
For strictly as a user. Do a little work on the handle with saddle soap. Get it wet and sort of hammered on the leather washers to get them to swell. That will tightened it up. The handles were always somewhat rough. The "left hand" sheath was not particularly for a left-handed user. It was designed to be carried on your left so that you could carry something more critical (like your pistol) on your right side.
