Original Item: Only One Available. This is an excellent condition example of the U.S. Navy Mark 1 fighting knife, manufactured by the PAL Cutlery Company, complete with a U.S. Navy Issue leather scabbard.

According to The Official Price Guide of Collector Knives by C Houston Price & Mark D Zaleysky, PAL was originally used as a trademark by the Utica Knife & Razor Company of Utica, NY from about 1924-1939. PAL marked knives of that era used blades imported from Germany, and the blades typically bore the word "Germany" as well. Another company using the name PAL was established in Chicago in 1934. This company was known as the Pal Blade Company of Chicago, and was started by Otto Kraus. In 1935 the two "PAL" companies merged into one, known simply as the PAL Blade Company, and opened a manufacturing facility in Plattsburg, NY. Around 1940 PAL purchased the cutlery division of the Remington Arms Company, including of their existing stock of completed knives and knife parts.

While PAL was originally a manufacturer of pocketknives, after the Remington acquisition they expanded their range of products to include a variety of fixed blade knives as well. PAL received a number of US government knife contracts during World War II and produced thousands of combat knives during the war years. Pal went out of business in 1953.The USN Mark 1 combat knife was produced by a variety of manufactures during World War II and was issued to Navy personnel by the thousands. It had a 5 ¼" clip point long blade and was patterned after typical hunting and sideknives of the era. The subsequent Mark 2 knife had a longer 7" blade.

This particular example was manufactured by the PAL Cutlery Company and is clearly marked on one side of the blade: RH - (PAL) - 35 / MADE IN USA and U.S.N. on the other side. The knife is in excellent gently used condition, with the blade looking to have been reparkerized during service. It is still relatively sharp, but was refinished over the edge, so it definitely could use a sharpening. It also has a small chip missing from the very tip. The hilt is composed of multiple thin leather washers, which still show the original "polished" finish very well, and the pommel is wood, showing some damage from service.

The scabbard is the earliest leather MK1 version which is nicely marked U.S.N. on the front side, and is in very good used condition. The leather is solid, and the snap functional, with most of the finish still on the rivets on the body.

Overall this is a great example of a PAL 35 USN Mark 1 combat knife with a nice matured scabbard. No collection of World War II US military knives is complete without a Mark 1, and this is the perfect opportunity to acquire one that is in great shape.

Dimensions:
Blade length: 5 1/8”
Blade Style: Clip-point "Bowie"
Overall length: 9 7/8”
Crossguard: 1 3/8”
Scabbard Length: 5 3/4" + 4" Belt Frog