Some really nice classics there. And great to see up close and personal shots for workmanship, etc.

I only have one really boring knife posted earlier which you guys helped me confirm in dating.

And it a favorite mainly because my hero owned it, legendary CIA field operative, troubleshooter, and CIA gadget guy Harry Archer, a model for "Mr Clark" operative of Clancy novel note. A gift to another gent also in govt service, in thanks for "special firearms" work he did, and one of letters of provenance from the man who field tested Harry Archer gadgets and evaluated captured enemy equipment.

Harry went from college to the Yalu River, and back to college, and then the CIA late 1950s, and served in Asia, Africa, and Central and South America.

At the time this knife was made, Harry would not have been home on long vacations and camping trips to get away from it all. And yet the knife shows prolific use fire starting with a Doan firestarter, as well as a lot more use scratches than photos let on, and Harry was all about unobtrusive gear, such as favorite sidearm a Colt 1903 in .32ACP loaded with SWC ammo, this knife perhaps displaced in late 1960s by the famous Loveless Chute Knife.

I have no photos of him wearing it, or anecdotes from Tibetan and Nepali or South Vietnamese anti-communist fighters about Harry and his knife, but I still love this knife, and can just imagine what might have been, and it was owned and used by my hero.





The original sheath lost or died, it came with a very crude unused homemade sheath with old totally green DMT sharpener, not sure if Harry made the sheath just before gifting and when DMT was new in early 70s, or if a last owner thing. Either way, pretty much shows knife not used by last owner, but only treasured, as was a heavily pitted (assumedly also from duty) Loveless Chute Knife (sold for about $9000 more than I wanted to pay). But anyhow, sheath not worth picturing until more is learned.