All About Pocket Knives

Would the Flaming Bomb Stamp Make this a Military Used tool? Maybe WWII or before?

My guess is no, because 1) that “flaming bomb” may really be something else and 2) that would be an unusually cryptic and subtle mark for the military. The other stamp is shorthand for “The Smith & Egge Mfg. Co” of Bridgeport, CT, which goes back to 1874. I suggest you research the company and see if you can turn up an explanation for the bomb stamp.

Dennis

My comments above might be wrong. I found a “flaming bomb” stamp (with more details in the flame) used on the M1 carbine at the Springfield Arsenal. Maybe your leather punch was a military tool used on rifle slings. I better shut up because I’m not an expert here and likely to make a fool of myself.

Dennis

Back in the day, EVERYTHING had to be approved by the Ordnance Department if the item had anything to do with weapons.

As horse cavalry was a thing all the way up to WW2, and mules were used during WW2 as pack animals, saddles, harnesses, etc., needed to be repaired and replaced. Since cavalry horses and mules were "ordnance related", all leather repair tools had to go through Ordnance Dept testing and approval.

One thing I do know, that leather punch is very well made compared to most that are available nowadays!
Treefarmer

treefarmer wrote: ↑Sat Jun 10, 2023 5:26 pm One thing I do know, that leather punch is very well made compared to most that are available nowadays!
Treefarmer

Right you are, the new ones are stamped steel from "oh-two-thin" gauge metal. Lucky for me I have an old Osborne.

deo-pa wrote: ↑Sat Jun 10, 2023 12:14 pm My comments above might be wrong. I found a “flaming bomb” stamp (with more details in the flame) used on the M1 carbine at the Springfield Arsenal. Maybe your leather punch was a military tool used on rifle slings. I better shut up because I’m not an expert here and likely to make a fool of myself.

Dennis

"Maybe your leather punch was a military tool used on rifle slings." ... ....I think that is actually a pretty insightful guess... ... Thanks!

zzyzzogeton wrote: ↑Sat Jun 10, 2023 4:43 pm Back in the day, EVERYTHING had to be approved by the Ordnance Department if the item had anything to do with weapons.

As horse cavalry was a thing all the way up to WW2, and mules were used during WW2 as pack animals, saddles, harnesses, etc., needed to be repaired and replaced. Since cavalry horses and mules were "ordnance related", all leather repair tools had to go through Ordnance Dept testing and approval.

I thought as well that the cavalry would have use for it, or quartermasters pulling carts and maybe artillery as well. People think of the outstanding WWII German tanks and assault vehicles, however In WWII Germany relied on a HUGE amount of "horsepower" to move artillery etc. Over the course of the war, Germany used 2.75 million horses and the Soviet Union 3.5 million horses. Together both countries employed more than six million horses.

I also posted photos of the punch in the "Cool Old Tools" thread of the Off-topic section and member Unk came up with this; The Smith and Egge Manufacturing Co., - founded in 1874 - went out of business in 1932, so that would have to be WW1 or earlier.

There were 52,137 draft mules and 9,240 pack mules used by the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe during WW1, but not all of them came from the U.S. Nine thousand were from France, 16,600 came from Spain, and 6,800 came from England. Between 1914 and 1918, the US sent almost one million horses overseas, and another 182,000 were taken overseas with American troops.

Here are some very well-done books on the U.S. Cavalry and they show the patches/badges for soldiers working as a farrier, a wagoner and a saddler. So, the saddler must have had a punch for leather... ... This section of the book is to 1916, so just before the US entered into WWI, on April 6, 1917. Makes on wonder if this punch was used overseas and brought back, was it used for leather rifle slings as well? Did it stay state-side in a saddler's shop? If only old tools could talk...

Yes, that is a WWII-era ordnance proof. Military issue / use.

Arisaka99 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 08, 2023 4:17 pm Yes, that is a WWII-era ordnance proof. Military issue / use.

Thanks Arisaka99