Nope, they are not our friends. We need to distance ourselves from them.I don't think China's quality has spiraled down Bob, it was never there to begin with. I do everything possible to avoid buying Chinese anything.
The Chinese are not our friends.
I would say that it was there for a very long time. The scales, which are what you grip on a knife, are long gone and only the pins that held them in place are in the handle. My guess is that it had wooden scales that long ago rotted and then burned away. If it had synthetic scales, I think there would be some melted residue on the shank and there is not.
I am a knife collector of sorts and I believe this was a Marbles Bowie-style knife because of the bumpout in the bottom of the blade and the shape of the guard. Marble's started making knives in Gladstone, MI in the late 1800's and I have two stacked leather gripped Marble's Ideals that belonged to my grandfather. I was also lucky enough to buy a new stacked leather Marble's Woodcraft before they started going Chinese.
Take a look at the center Bowie-style knife in the second photo down showing (3) Marble's Bowie knives in this link. The blade that I found is a close match for a Marble's Bowie with the bump beneath the blade and the three small scale pins.
The Story Behind America’s First Hunting Knife
How Webster Marble turned the hunting knife into a must-have piece of outdoor gear.www.fieldandstream.com
After two days of applying rust remover jelly, vigorous wire brushing and wire wheeling, I got to see some good metal. I also got all three brass scale pins moving freely. Not quite what I was hoping for because I could not find a manufacturer's name on the base of the blade. My wife thought I was insane and said she wished I put this much effort into doing things around the house. I pretended I didn't hear her.That was a great find.
With the steel being so hard it makes sense why it broke.After two days of applying rust remover jelly, vigorous wire brushing and wire wheeling, I got to see some good metal. I also got all three brass scale pins moving freely. Not quite what I was hoping for because I could not find a manufacturer's name on the base of the blade. My wife thought I was insane and said she wished I put this much effort into doing things around the house. I pretended I didn't hear her.
I used a mill bastard file and an oil stone to put an edge on it that will cut you finger off. The steel is extremely hard and the file barely did anything to it. It was reasonably sharp after just removing the rust.
I wonder if it has to do with where they are made now vs where they used to be made?......... it is obvious as everyone is saying that they are not made as well as they previously were.
I am sure it is.I wonder if it has to do with where they are made now vs where they used to be made?