KNEWSLETTTER IN A KNUTSHELL 4 Mess Kit Knives 4 Order your club knife 4 Sheffield Ephemera 4 Knife Sharpness Test 4 Military Knotes Ourinternational membership is happily involved with “Anything that goes ‘cut’!” February 2002 Mess Kit Knives of WWI Taking a look at what By Mike Wiedemann knives the three of us had, After finding and obtaining all of the common US military knives, revealed that all the you may find that, to expand your collection, you must spend more L.F.&C. knives are dated than your budget allows. One solution I've found is trying to obtain 1917, the A.C.C. knives different US Government-issued mess kit knives. They are fairly are dated 1917 and 1918, common and often quite inexpensive, but I have seen very little and the ISC knives are information about them other than the single page devoted to the dated 1918. Additionally, subject inLevine's Guide to Knives and their Values, 4th edition . The A.C.C. 1917 knives show official designation of the WWI mess kit knife with a 3 5/8 inch long three handle castings (see blade is “Model of 1910”. photo #2). One of the A.C.C. knives and the I recently found a WWI mess kit knife marked HMCo 1918. I had R.I.A. knife were produced not seen the marking before, and I consulted Frank Trzaska about it. using the same handle Frank identified the maker as the Hinckley Manufacturing Company castings that were used on and gave me the source of his information, America's Munitions earlier 5 1/2-inch long 1917-1918 by Benedict Crowell, printed by the Government Printing mess kit knives (Model of Office, 1919. A short search on the Internet yielded a copy, which I 1903) (see photo #3). The purchased at a favorable price. official change from the Model of 1903 to the Crowell lists five suppliers as making mess kit knives for US forces Model of 1910 was 1910. in WWI. The five manufacturers are American Cutlery Company of It is also reasonable to believe that A.C.C., located in Chicago, IL, Chicago (A.C.C.), Landers Frary & Clark (L.F.&C.), Hinckley would have fairly easy access to the handle casting molds from Manufacturing Company (HMCo), International Silverware Co. R.I.A., which is located about 130 miles west of Chicago. LF&C (ISC), and Rock Island Arsenal (R.I.A.). The manufacturers and was located in New Britain, CT, and ISC was located in Meridan, numbers of knives delivered are listed in Table I below. I checked CT. The location of HMCO is presently unknown. my accumulation of mess kit knives and found that I had examples of all but R.I.A. (see photo #1). A couple of e-mails to Frank Trzaska and Dennis Ellingsen netted photos of an R.I.A. knife dated knife and an A.C.C. knife dated 1918. Table 1 Years Reported 1917 1918 Quantity Company Marketing Delivered Old Mold New Mold New Mold American Cutlery Company A.C.C. Yes Yes Yes 2,865,910 Chicago Landers Frary & Clark L.F.&C. Yes 7,286,550 The evidence so far shows that the earlier handle casting molds, which required a separate manufacturing step to stamp in the U.S. Hinckley Manufacturing HMCo Yes 130,000 Company and manufacturer's initials and date, were superseded by a new style that had the same information as part of the casting mold. If International ISC Yes 473,000 A.C.C. was the first non-governmental contractor to build the Silverware Co. mess kit knives, it follows that A.C.C. would be the place where 527,000 improvements to the manufacturing process would be tried out. Rock Island Arsenal R.I.A. Yes Continued on page 4 page, but it runs here every month with my learned to live with it, and that turned out to Knotes on latest wandering essay. be the better decision in the end. United States After several years in print, Dennis decided to Another thing about the net is that I can be Military Edged put all the past chatter I had written on the brutally honest or, for that matter, be a loud- Internet, posted to the OKCA site. This was an mouthed liar. I paid for the space, I can put Cutlery experiment for the both of us. I liked what I anything out there I want. I want to stick to by Frank Trzaska saw and really liked the way it extended my the topic of knives, but I occasionally get reach. I started to receive e-mail from folks not side tracked into politics, yes I can proudly only in the country but from folks around the wave my flag and thumb my nose at the Knife Knotes 2002, A look back globe. It seems that many "search engines" world when I want to. And I still love my Having written this column for something would locate keywords for you in a fast search quotes, so you will find them there. You see, over six years now, I thought it time to take throughout the planet and, for all I know, the it is like my house and my rules; but it is out a look back at the assorted ramblings of a entire universe? I really couldn't explain the over the entire world, way cool! Now if we knife collector. It started out as short articles Internet to you, but I assure you it is out there, could just get the Internet to outweigh the on a common topic per issue. That was hell, maybe Mars has a connection. Anyway I Idiot box in popularity, we just might get O.K., but not what I really wanted to do. It digress; with this new extended reach and some even handed reporting, not the trash was for awhile. It did work to gather my power to put out whatever I wanted, I was they spew on the major Networks. Watching thoughts and place them all in one easy to tempted to reach farther and with more. the so called "News" is a complete waste of find repository for future use. Granted, it Knowing little of the Internet and nothing at all time, they actually report rumors, the only kept me organized; but it was more of running a web site, hell, even where to start, thing they are accurate on are sports scores a restrictive then I wanted to be. I sort of like I called my local Internet e-mail provider and day or so after the event. Big Deal. rambling to those of you who have followed pleaded stupidness and asked for me all these years, as if you haven't noticed! enlightenment. His answer to me was the same The column itself is of no great importance answer I give to most coming to me... I in the big picture of this ever changing purchased a book. A book on writing in world, but none the less it is here for all to another language ( it is still English but it see, finally, that place to record my thoughts looks like Greek to me, HTML, the Internet on the knife. language that is) learned how the World Wide Web worked just enough to enter it (curiously enough it works like anything else, you put in enough money and energy, it sort of responds) and joined the world of the Web Sites. Yes, I am the Web Site Owner, regardless Frank & Bernard at the 2000 Show of what the paperwork might say, another stupid mistake on my part, not the first Last, but not least, is the money. With all the and certainly not the last. So where does "Dot Com" billionaires out there I wanted that leave me now? It is impossible to my part of it. The way it is supposed to work say. I can't tell you how many masses is that you advertise on your site and get read the site, how many stumble there by paid for those commercials. Well, to get accident, or how many return monthly. I advertisers you have to get high traffic to can tell you my e-mail is up dramatically your site. In fact if every knife collector in Frank in his library so it is an indication it is reaching some. I the world visited my site daily, it would only have also searched the web to find my attract moderate attention from advertisers. writing on other folks web sites, with and To put it bluntly, forget it, "that dog don't without my permission I might add. Copyright hunt"and there ain't no money for a small It all started with the urging of our good means little or nothing on the web. I find items time web site that doesn't have pictures of friend, Dennis Ellingsen, who wanted to fill all over the place copied. I might also add that naked girls on it. So how about charging to space in the Oregon Knife Collectors I don't mind, in fact it makes me feel good enter the site and read this, yeah right, Knewslettter. For a kid who failed high when I see something I had written used on Hemingway I ain't and 90% of the current school English Composition, it was a some other site. I get e-mail from folks who readers would probably leave. So much for challenge! Curiosity had bitten me, I copy my writing and send it to friends, again being a Dot Com billionaire.