asking for help with identification of these RH Pal 35 and 36 military knives

[Raymond3]

Hello. These have been passed down and sitting in drawers for decades and it is time to get serious about identification. My dad and 3 of his brothers served in the Pacific, and two others served in Europe during WWII. None of them talked much about their service, unless it was simple stuff like the hazings when the newbies first crossed the equator, where they were for their stateside training, or how Bob Hope visited them in the hospital.

If anyone could give me help identifying these two knives, i would appreciate it.

The older appearing one is marked only RH Pal made in USA 36 . It has what looks like an original leather sheath that has no makers mark on it. It could have seen action, based on the unusual burn on the sheath.

The other is marked RH Pal made in USA 35 on one side and USN Mark I on the other. It appears unused and possibly even un-sharpened. It has a fiberglass sheath with the markings USN Mark I on one side, and NORD - 8114 B. M. Co. 1/5 vp on the back. Here are pictures. If anyone thinks that they are reproductions, let me know.
Thank you for your help.

 

[tltt]

They are correct. PAL bought Remington's tooling, etc.... in 1941 when it decided to concentrate on firearms production. The RH numbers are an artifact of that, RH = Remington Hunting.

The RH-35 is a Navy Mark 1 pattern. The scabbard is correct. Th RH-36 is a very common knife, and would've seen service with all branches of the military. The Parkerized versions are supposedly a bit later in the War, with earlier deliveries being finished in a bright commercial style finish. Pal also sold the bright finish RH-36 (bright pommel too) after the War for a few years as a regular production hunting knife.

 

[Raymond3]

Thank you for that info. Would you say that the RH-35 is parkerized?

 

[tltt]

Yep .

 

[eveled]

Right as rain. Nice examples of two of my favorite patterns.

 

[BladeScout]

Great knives and heirloom blades.