ORIGINAL,UNIQUE, VG Cond USMC Pocket Knife w/ Bone Grips & Phillips Head Blade!

Description

ORIGINAL,UNIQUE, VG Cond USMC Pocket Knife w/ Bone Grips & Phillips Head Blade!
ORIGINAL,UNIQUE, VG Cond USMC Pocket Knife w/ Bone Grips & Phillips Head Blade!
Click images to enlarge
Description
This is an ORIGINAL and RARE WWII bone-gripped pocket knife issued to Marines in the Pacific War. According to my inventory records, I purchased this knife on August 29, 2000 from Tom Gordon, doing business as "Military Marketplace". It has remained in my collection ever since, but now the time has come to part with it.
NOTE TO "EXPERTS":  Contrary to the periodic contacts from self-appointed knife "experts", this knife isn't a Boy Scout knife with a replaced grip.  The grip has never been replaced, as is evident from the rivets. So, please cease and desist and keep your opinions to yourself!
Unlike the second MIL-K type issue Marine Knife, which had metal grips, this knife has jigged bone grips and five blades (yes, FIVE!), with steel liners. The knife is also distinguishable from the later issue by the round disk with "USMC" stamped around its circumference, rather than "U.S. Marine Corps" being cast into the metal grips. The knife has seen use and all blades are lightly worn and the main blade has been heavily sharpened (see images below). As a result, there is "play" in the main blade when closed, due to the edge of the blade not resting on the bottom of the interior of the knife.  Just above the USMC metal disc in the grip a grove has been carved which is tangential to the disk.
The FIFTH blade, if you can call it that, is a Phillips head screwdriver blade!!
Other than the mountain knives, I've never another like it and my late friend Dick Sams, an advanced edged weaponry collector, hadn't seen one either!  The maker's name, "Ulster/U.S.A." is stamped on the obverse of the main blade's ricasso.
Ulster Knife Co. was also the manufacturer of the mountain knives
.  So, perhaps this was an
experimental variant
that the Marine Corps commissioned.  The knife's rivets on the grip shows no signs of the grip having been replaced indicating alteration of the "normal" Marine or mountain pocket knife.  Lastly, unlike the normal Marine Corps knife (or the mountain knife for that matter), there is no "staple" or bale on the knife's bolsters and it shows no signs of ever having had one, unlike the normal Marine or mountain knives.
If anyone out there has knowledge of this variant of the Marine pocket knife, I would very much appreciate hearing from you!
This is rare knife that has "been there and done that" and would be a unique addition to either an advanced USMC or edged weapons collection. The buyer will have my usual unconditional guarantee of authenticity and a five-day (
not the 14-days that eBay inserts in my listings without my consent
) right of inspection and return/refund privilege, excluding postage.
Condition:
Used
Payment
Paypal
Paypal:
PayPal is gladly accepted and is accommodated through the checkout or may be made directly from PayPal's website at www.paypal.com. Your item will be mailed the next business/mailing day after your Payapl payment is received, unless I happen to be out of my office.
Payment Policy:
PayPal: PayPal is gladly accepted and is accommodated through the checkout or may be made directly from PayPal's website at www.paypal.com. Your item will be mailed the next business/mailing day after your Payapl payment is received, unless I happen to be out of my office.
Shipping
Domestic shipping: Weight based Shipping Charges.
Domestic Carriers are: Usps Priority
I will ship to:
United States
Weight:
12 oz.
Shipping and Handling:
Please check eBay's Shipping & Payment tab
Hello! I'm a militaria collector like you and I do this as a sideline to my own collecting.  Nonetheless, I'll handle your order in a business-like and professional manner.  Thanks for your business!
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