All About Pocket Knives

Is this knife actually from the UMC period or has it been altered? I think the latter.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-USA-REM ... SwgmJXybdk

It looks like it is made from old genuine Remington parts.

First off the pattern number appears to be R1775, that would indicate a celluloid handled knife, this one appears to be wood. On the other hand, the R1775 IS a 3 1/2" easy opener which is correct. You can actually still see part of the etch on the master blade which is correct.

Second, you can clearly see that some work has been done by looking at the pins.

Third, my book (Stewart and Ritchie) shows this pattern with a shield. Of course, Remington might have produced this pattern with and without a shield, however, it is troubling.

Finally, the master blade has obviously been altered to form a sort of ad hoc gut hook, which is clearly not original.

All in all, it appears to be made of Remington parts (with the possible exception of the handles) and possibly from only one knife in my opinion.

I've zoomed the picture of the pattern number and although it is heavily worn, I believe its R1778, which would be correct. The knife has been used , abused, and worked on by someone who shouldn't be working on knives, but is a pre 1940 Remington knife.

Looks like a previous owner had a nice old Remington but wanted a gut hook. Now it's just a gut hook.