Description

Custom Fighting Trench Knife by M. H. Cole

Blade Length: 7.125"
Overall Length: 11.75"

There is probably no custom maker of military pattern knives more famous than MH “Howard” Cole. His fame in the collector community stems not only from his skill as a knife maker but also by his exhaustive efforts to document the edged weapons that he loved through his drawings and writings. No serious collector of US military knives does not have Cole’s famous four volume set US Military Knives, Bayonets & Machetes in their arms library, or at the very least a copy of the compellation of these books, published as The Best of US Military Knives: Bayonets & Machetes which took most of the important information from the original four volumes and put it all under one cover, with the assistance of edged weapons authority and author Michael Silvey. Cole followed up his original works on military knives with The Skinning Knife Book, which he published in 1996.

According to Silvey, Marion Howard Cole (1911-1999) was a Birmingham, AL police officer during World War II and produced custom knives in his spare time for men serving in the armed forces. His premier knife was a large knuckle knife with blades made of spring steel and brass knuckle guards cast by a local foundry. Initially these knives were produced with nine-point knuckle bow, but after fifty to seventy-five knives were produced, he redesigned the knife with an eight-point guard. Most of Cole’s WWII era production were made without scabbards, but he did acquire some scabbards from Birmingham’s Blackhorse Leather Works at a cost of $0.75 each. According to Silvey, after the company went out of business, Cole acquired some of the firm’s tools so that he could continue to produce scabbards as needed that were of the same style as his World War II scabbards. Cole was more than just a police officer, detective, custom knife maker and author, he was devotee to historical arms of all types and was one of the founding members of the Alabama Gun Collectors Association and served as their president at the end of the 1950s. Cole continued making knives through the early 1990s and died in June of 1999 at the age of 87.

Photography by Mitchell D. Cohen

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For layaway, all knives and/or collectibles must be purchased, in full, within 90 days. Thereafter, we will put the knife back up for sale. Our gallery offers a few payment plan options including KLARNA (US only at this time). If you wish to pay using Zelle, mailing a check or sending a wire transfer, more information is available during check out. If you wish to use your credit card, there is a 4% fee for using a credit card.

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Shipping & Returns

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RETURNS:

Please contact us within three days of receipt for a refund of the cost of the knife: studio@farinafinearts.com. Shipping and insurance charges are not refundable. You are required to ship the knife back using FedEx and it must be fully insured. Returns are subject to a 10% restocking fee and processing fees. All items must be returned in the same exact condition as it was received. Most custom knives are guaranteed by the makers we represent and most factory knives carry the manufacturer's warranty. We do not guarantee the durability of natural handle materials (such as bone, wood, pearl, etc...) or the reaction of any material to water and air (rust, oxidation, etc.) If an item needs to be returned due to our error, we may offer a full refund at our discretion. Any condition visible in our product pictures is considered to be disclosed and does not constitute an error or omission on our part.