WWI – Vietnam – The Deadliest U.S. Fighting Knife??

[rcmodel]

Well that right there is one I never have seen before.

I didn't even know they ever made a synthetic handle mess kit knife!

Wonder how well they held up in the boiling water & lye soap sterilization kettle?

That stuff would take the hair off Madonna's upper lip!

rc

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

This one's held up well. I don't know how much it got used before me and I probably only used it 70 times or so in schools and such but it still doesn't have even one tooth mark on it even though I did use it like the old man said - by never putting it down once I've started using it but rather holding it in my teeth if I needed to. Weird to note that to this day, I'm touchy about the status of my knives once I've used them in dining.

 

[kBob]

Well the camera surfaced.....

This is the no markings mess kit knife from my pencil box on my desk. I was issued it in 1973 and replaced it with one of the stamped flat ones with a hole in the handle and US on it purchased at the clothing sales store just so I could bring this one home.

The handle seems a bit heavy to be aluminium and I always asumed it was zinc.

-kBob

 

[Tirod]

Well, in terms of actual victims of being slashed in combat, the average infantryman would offer the lowly entrenching tool as the most deadly edged weapon. An E-tool you have, the niceties of a mess kit, rare.

If you are enjoying the luxury of hot food with cooks, you are in a rear area. That means logisitics, and utensils, plates, and cups readily available. It's a lot more sanitary and less problematic than dunking utensils en masse and pretending they are clean and nobody will share whatever gave them the heaves.

As for having them in a soldier's possession simply because they were issue - not much in my experience. Supply sergeants like to have things accountable, and equipment floating around for no use doesn't help them feel secure. Neither for the final hand receipt holder, his supervisor, or the Commander who has to answer for every cup, spoon, and lug nut. He's the one who gets the final bill at the change of command inventory.

Nope, my votes on the e-tool. Bayonets are kept locked up, mess kits are too pilferable, but if you're in the field, whether friend or foe, the e-tool can straighten out some attitude, edged or flat.

 

[Readyrod]

After looking at this thread I now want one of those knives. They are cool looking knives. I went to an army surplus near work and saw some pressed steel mess kit cutlery. Is it the same or similar to the aluminum handled stuff? The design looked the same but the handle was pressed steel.

 

[Bikewer]

I was in the infantry in Germany from 64-67, and we all had those. I knew a few guys who had tried to sharpen them up... But for "in garrison" weapons the lads were more likely to turn to the most readily-available item over there... The bunk adaptor.
The bunk adaptor was a tubular piece steel about 1 1/2" in diameter and a couple of feet long.... You used 'em to stack the standard army bed one atop the other to make bunks.
They were all over the place, and we had a number of fights that ended up with someone or other getting whacked with one.
A lot of the guys carried knives, but they were all switchblades back then. Cheap, Italian-made switchblades were readily purchased in town, and it seemed at times that almost everyone had one... Even though they were strictly forbidden.