WWII US M3 Fighting Knife Utica Cutlery Co Combat Dagger Original No Scabbard

  

M3 Fighting Knife manufactured by Utica Cutlery Company during World War II. The ricasso is clearly tang-stamped U. Utica was the second-largest of the nine wartime contractors for the M3, producing roughly 656,500 of these knives between 1943 and 1944 - a production run of barely a year and a half, making surviving examples a genuinely limited wartime artifact rather than a later reissue.

The M3 was adopted in March 1943 to replace the WWI-pattern Mark I trench knife, conserving strategic metal for wartime production while giving infantry, paratroopers, and Ranger units a purpose-built thrusting knife. It features the classic spear-point blade with a sharpened false edge near the tip, an angular steel crossguard, and a handle built from stacked leather washers turned on a lathe - standard M3 construction throughout the contractor lineup. Condition: This example shows honest age and service wear consistent with 80+ years of history. The blade carries an even gray-brown patina with surface staining; there is a small nick/chip in the cutting edge just forward of the ricasso (see photos).

The leather grip shows light surface spotting from age/storage and a small separation at the guard where the leather has pulled back slightly, exposing its natural color beneath the black lacquer. The oval pommel retains a stamped mark that is now too worn to read with certainty.

No scabbard is included - knife only. Please review all photos closely, as they are part of the description and show the exact item you will receive.