Auction Knife - Can find nothing similar online

[MrQwertyxsad]

I'm turning to this site because I cannot find anything either online or elsewhere that looks like this knife. I got it today at an auction because my father saw me ogling it a couple times. I was doing a check on the blade when I saw it had a stamp that reads "ATKINS MADE IN USA". I found nothing that looked like this when I searched it up. Can you help me ID this piece, as it looks like it could be either a modified trench knife or trench art. I'll add images in a bit when they finish uploading to imgur.

But some information about the blade I have gathered from observing it:
- It has a leather grip, like a standard military issue knife such as a Bugout/bail out knife

- the knife is around 14 inches long, 9 1/8 of that being the blade

- It is a fixed blade, and still very sharp. I didnt mess with it too much, just a basic test

- the pommel is a small solid metal sheet with two screws in it

- there is the stamp, of which the "a" in USA has been partially removed by the blade being sharpened

- the tip is not bent or damaged in any way, meaning either very strong metal or no improper/heavy use

Sorry for the length of this post, but at the present this is all the more information I have to offer until the images decide to work with me

[MrQwertyxsad]

http://imgur.com/gallery/ZfeY4NZ

Here is the link to the gallery with a slew of images of the knife. I tried posting them directly here and they were just TOO big, I didnt feel like making this page spend 10 years loading

[TexasJack]

Looks a bit like a copy of the KBar knife. During the world wars - and even Vietnam and the current wars, a lot of knifemakers made blades for service men. Some did a great job, some were turned out quick and cheap. The fit and finish on the posted knife is pretty poor, and someone who had no idea what they were doing sharpened the edge. (Hence the missing "A" in "USA".) That may explain why you don't find many of them posted. They got relegated to an old toolbox or tacklebox and used until the broke.

We had some guys on here that were pretty good with old knives, but I think we've lost most of them over the years.

[MrQwertyxsad]

Originally Posted by TexasJack

Looks a bit like a copy of the KBar knife. During the world wars - and even Vietnam and the current wars, a lot of knifemakers made blades for service men. Some did a great job, some were turned out quick and cheap. The fit and finish on the posted knife is pretty poor, and someone who had no idea what they were doing sharpened the edge. (Hence the missing "A" in "USA".) That may explain why you don't find many of them posted. They got relegated to an old toolbox or tacklebox and used until the broke.

We had some guys on here that were pretty good with old knives, but I think we've lost most of them over the years.

You sir are a God send. Thank you so much for your insight. So should I delegate this to a display case as a curio, or give the ol miss some TLC and put her to work? If she is a WWI, or even a II for that matter, the blade is in really decent shape. No rust or warping I can see.

[TexasJack]

In my mind, knives were made to be used. There are a few exceptions, and I have some that are relegated to display only. Your knife doesn't appear to be worth much, so whether you display it or use it is just up to your own desires. A knife is just a sharp piece of metal, unless someone has a need for it. I don't know how skilled you are at sharpening, but this would be a great knife to spend some serious time sharpening and maybe polishing out those old scratch marks. This might be the time for you to try making a sheath for it. You might be surprised at what you learn about your own capabilities.