M.H. Cole Custom Non-Magnetic Fighting Knife & Scabbard

5.375" single edged drop point blade with saw-back spine, .9" wide at ricasso and 9.675" in overall length. 4.5" hilt with aluminum guard and pommel cap and stacked leather washer grip with aluminum and Bakelite spacers as well. Pommel cap stamped M H/COLE on one side and M/H/C on the other. Reverse ricasso stamped HC. Includes a typical Cole pattern leather sheet with stamped star decorations on the face and stamped M.H. COLE on the reverse. The blade of the knife is non-ferrous and non-magnetic and may be made from aluminum or a similar non-ferrous metal. The knife is probably a 1970s-1980s era piece, and was formerly in the collection of the late Larry Thomas, proprietor of the American Military Edged Weapons Museum in Intercourse, PA. The non-magnetic properties of this knife suggest it may have been made specially for a US Navy UDT or SEAL Team member or an EOD specialist.

According to noted knife maker, researcher and author, Michael 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 sheaths, but he did acquire some sheaths from Birmingham’s Blackhorse Leather Works at a cost of $0.75 each. According to Silvey, after that company went out of business, Cole acquired some of the firm’s tools so that he could continue to produce sheaths as needed that were of the same style as his World War II ones. 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.

ex-Larry Thomas American Military Edged Weapons Museum Collection

Very good. Blade with some light wear and a couple of nicks and dings, likely because it is not made from steel. Some scuffs and marks are present on the blade as well with some wear to the saw back spine. Grip with some lightly scattered scuffs and mars. Sheath fine with only some very lightly scattered minor marks and mars.

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Mr. Carey joined Cowan’s, a Freeman's company, in 2021 and is a 40-year veteran of the sporting arms and outdoor recreation industry. Carey joined Cowan’s from Griffin & Howe at Hudson Farms in Andover, N.J., where he was responsible for the acquisition, appraisal, and consignment of top-tier firearms consignments from important makers such as James Purdey & Sons of London, Beretta, Caesar Guerini, B. Rizzini, Bertuzzi, Renato Telo, and Anderson Wheeler.

Mr. Tim Prince

Senior Consulting Specialist, Arms, Armor & Militaria

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Tim Prince has more than 30-years of experience in the field of antique and collectible arms and is a nationally recognized expert in the area of Civil War small arms. A long-time researcher and author, Tim has been a contributing author to two major books about Civil War firearms, including The English Connection: Arms, Material and Support Furnished to the Confederate States of America by Great Britain (2014) and Confederate Shotguns and Southern Agent Marked Shotguns (2017). He was also a major contributor to the recently updated Blue Book of Antique American Firearms & Values – 2nd Edition (2019) as well as the 2010 updates to the Civil War Collector's Price Guide - 12th edition. Over the last decade Tim has authored more than 50 articles on 19th century collectible and military arms, which have been published in such varied publications as Civil War News, North-South Trader, and Military Antique Collector. Since 2016 has appeared as a featured appraiser in the field of Arms & Militaria on the popular PBS television series Antiques Roadshow. He is a member of the American Society of Arms Collectors and currently serves on the board of directors of that organization. He is also a member of and formerly served on the board of directors of the Society of American Bayonet Collectors. Tim is a life member of the Ohio Valley Military Society, the Tennessee Military Collectors Association, the Alabama Military Collectors Association, is a member of the Company of Military Historians and is a member of numerous other colleting groups and societies. He is the owner of College Hill Arsenal, a web based antique and collectible arms retail web site, specializing in the American Civil War and related military items. Tim has engaged in the business of buying, selling, researching, and appraising antique and collectible arms and associated military items for some three decades. Since 2016 he has also served as a senior Consulting Specialist in the field of Arms, Armor & Militaria for Cowan’s Auctions, a Freeman's Company.

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M.H. Cole Custom Non-Magnetic Fighting Knife & Scabbard

ex-Larry Thomas American Military Edged Weapons Museum Collection

Please email [email protected] for any additional information or questions you may have regarding this lot.

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M.H. Cole Custom Non-Magnetic Fighting Knife & Scabbard

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