So, having finished the M3 and M4, it’s on to the next project.
This is a PAL RH36 knife that was in the group of GI knives I got from my Dad a few years back. I have no idea when it was made, except it does not have a parkerized finish.
(From the ‘net): "Pal Blade and Tool bought the Remington cutlery tooling and machines in early 1941… and were able to begin production of knives by June of 1941. So the RH-36 (Remington Hunting Blade Style 3 Blade Length 6 inches) was in production prior to the beginning of the war… Production did continue post war into the early 1950s. PAL was to some extent a victim of their wartime production, as there were so many knives that came home with servicemen and the flooding of the market with surplus knives disposed of by the Quartermaster Corps after the war. When the machines and tooling began to wear out about 1953, Pal decided to close the knife works and concentrate on razor blades. I don't know how many RH-36s were sold post war, but there was certainly some quantity and as far as I know, there is no way to tell post war from wartime." I've read PAL also made RH35s for the Navy and RH37s (KaBar equivalents) for combat units.
The electrical tape on the handle told me it would need a new handle some day.
Once I removed the electrical tape, I found the leather washers were so rotten they crumbled and were easily removed. The top and bottom red spacers seem solid so I left them on the tang, The guard was really loose, so I secured it with a bit of JB weld.
This will get a new handle made from hardwood, as I am just not a fan of stacked washer handles.
