Vintage Ontario Knife Co.question

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carolinahillbilly
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Vintage Ontario Knife Co.question

Post by carolinahillbilly »

I inherited this knife from my dad. After some family research and online sleuthing, I concluded this knife was given to my Dad from his brother who had served during WWII in the USMC and was stationed Iceland. On the blade you can barely make out Ontario Knife Company. However, I can not find any other markings relating to a model. Best I can determine, these were called USMC Fighting Knife. If anyone can help in providing additional infomraiton that is great as I am trying to generate some documentation to help preserve family history.

Jim
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Gunsil
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Re: Vintage Ontario Knife Co.question

Post by Gunsil »

Interesting knife. Ontario did not have any government contracts for fighting knives during WW2 and the USMC did not get any MK2 fighting knives until 1943 after the marines left Iceland. Your knife looks like it has a six inch blade? The government issued USMC fighting knives all had seven inch blades and were only made by KA-BAR, Camillus, Robeson, and PAL. If this knife is indeed WW2 era it would have been a "PX" knife which is one that was available for private purchase by soldiers at the PX stores on base. 6" blade fighting utility knives made by Case, KA-BAR, Queen and a plethora of other makers were available in PX stores and through catalogs. It cannot be truly called a USMC fighting knife. Regarding how your father acquired the knife seems to be speculation and if it did come from your uncle (which seems to be speculation) he could have gotten it in any number of ways, but he was not issued it by the marines. Soldiers from all branches traded knives back and forth, some were sold at PX stores, and many were available from catalogs. I certainly has the look of a fighting/utility knife, and possibly of WW2 vintage, perhaps some other members will have more info on Ontario knives of the era. Can you post a clear photo of the Ontario markings? Quite possibly your father could have bought it in a surplus store or had it given to him from a friend. Was your father also in the service during WW2? If so he could have bought it at a PX store or traded for it himself. Handsome knife!!
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zzyzzogeton
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Re: Vintage Ontario Knife Co.question

Post by zzyzzogeton »

If it's a WW2-era knife, it is a private purchase via a PX or stateside hardware/drygoods store as a hunting knife.

To MY knowledge, the only official WW2 contract purchases from Ontario Knife Company was the M1942 Machete and possibly a 3 blade stockman.

They have or did have contracts for the M7 bayonet (1988-1989), the JPSK (1969 - present), the ASEK (2005 - present), the USN MK3 Mod 0/1/2/3 dive knife (1970s - present), the 20227 Fighting/Utility knife (1984 - present), the M9 bayonet (2005 - present), and the OKC-3S bayonet (2003 - present).

They also provided the 3 blade stockman at some point, possibly WW2, maybe later, but I haven't been able to determine when the military bought them.
carolinahillbilly
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Re: Vintage Ontario Knife Co.question

Post by carolinahillbilly »

Per request, here is a pic of the blade with the OKC stamp. I am working with my cousins to verify my uncles military service / station dates to see if they match up with what is written on the sheath. I do believe you are right as this is not a "military" issued knife but would have been one purchased at a PX / private store. I am just trying to find out more about the knife since there is very little to try to id the knife like tang stamps and markings. Thanks for all the help.

Jim
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Gunsil
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Re: Vintage Ontario Knife Co.question

Post by Gunsil »

There is another possibility. Unusual for a knife company to lightly etch the mark out on the blade rather than a deep stamp on the ricasso of a fighting/utility knife. It is possible that this knife was made from an Ontario butcher knife on base, on a ship, or in a US home shop. Lots of these conversions were done during the war, especially early on before the government contracted for issue knives. What are the dates and any other markings on the sheath? Little details like that help. The marines were not stationed in Iceland very long and then some were sent back to the US and on to the Pacific theater and some stayed stateside to train later troops. This knife looks very professionally done, the handle assembly looks factory quality while the blade looks a little amateurish. You could also go to Frank Trzaska's Military knife site and ask him about it, he is one of the leading experts on US military knives. He is a member here but I don't know how often he reads the posts.
carolinahillbilly
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Re: Vintage Ontario Knife Co.question

Post by carolinahillbilly »

Thanks for the info. The writing on the sheath was written by hand and was "To Bob From Bill 44 Iceland" It was in Uncle Bill's style as we compared it to his letters. I will check with the other person you mentioned. I am just trying to document this knife so we have it. Too bad I have to do this work after both Dad and Uncle Bill are gone. Best to get a lot of this information while they are still around. Thanks for the help, Jim
Gunsil
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Re: Vintage Ontario Knife Co.question

Post by Gunsil »

It seems what I read on the marines in Iceland is that they were only there for less than a year in 1941-42 then they were replaced by Army personnel. If 44 is a date it likely belonged to an army soldier at one point. I know what you mean by talking to them before they pass, there are many questions my sisters and I wish we had asked our parents before they died.
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terryl308
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Re: Vintage Ontario Knife Co.question

Post by terryl308 »

carolinahillbilly wrote: Sat Jan 30, 2021 4:57 pm Thanks for the info. The writing on the sheath was written by hand and was "To Bob From Bill 44 Iceland" It was in Uncle Bill's style as we compared it to his letters. I will check with the other person you mentioned. I am just trying to document this knife so we have it. Too bad I have to do this work after both Dad and Uncle Bill are gone. Best to get a lot of this information while they are still around. Thanks for the help, Jim
It is nice you are trying to obtain info on your knife. family history is important. I have several of my cousins military things that I value, he too is gone, was a "lifer" from WW2 to Viet Nam. Good luck with your search and welcome to AAPK Terry ::handshake::
If it ain't broke, don't fix it!
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zzyzzogeton
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Re: Vintage Ontario Knife Co.question

Post by zzyzzogeton »

Gunsil wrote: Sat Jan 30, 2021 11:58 pm It seems what I read on the marines in Iceland is that they were only there for less than a year in 1941-42 then they were replaced by Army personnel. If 44 is a date it likely belonged to an army soldier at one point. I know what you mean by talking to them before they pass, there are many questions my sisters and I wish we had asked our parents before they died.
The US Marines that went to Iceland left San Diego, CA on 31 May 1941 on 3 large transports and 3 destroyer transports.

The typical rumor mill amongst the troops had the troops being assigned to Guantanamo Cuba or Martinique for further transport to the Azores or Gibraltar (i.e., somewhere warm).

After transiting the Panama Canal, they arrived in Charleston, S.C. on 15 June 1941. Much to the troops dismay, they were issued cold weather gear on 16 June 1941. Loading supplies took a week.

The 1st Marine Brigade (Provisional) was stood up on 16 June 1941. On 22 June 1941, they set sail for Argentia, Newfoundland, arriving on 27 June 1941. On 02 July 1941, they sailed out of Argentia heading east, arriving at Reykjavik Iceland on 07 July 1941.

On 08 March 1942, the Marines started loading back up on transports. I couldn't find the exact date they left, but they arrived back in New York City, NY on 25 March 1942 and the 1st Marines was disbanded and the various units of which the 1st Marines (Provisional) had been comprised were shipped off to various bases.

So they actually on Iceland only from 07 July 1941 to 08 March 1942, the date the CO officially shut down his base CP and moved aboard a US Navy ship - the USS McCawley (APA 4).
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