Well... I messed up. I only wanted to edit my original post & managed to delete the the whole thread. That qualifies me for management, right?
So here we go again....
I took a 20 dollar chance this was a real fighting knife, and I now believe it is for real. Whoever shortened the blade took real pains to keep the lines right & that's not easy. Looks like it was roughed on a grinder - like the old treadle-type - and finished by file. The person who shortened the scabbard was no slouch, either. Very good work. You just can't tell where it was shortened except that the arsenal & date are missing. Which means it was shortened from the top.
I am very tempted to replace the plexiglass scales with beech but am concerned they might have been made from some of that taken from a downed aircraft. I'll wait a while before I do anything that way.
Still, a very good item for my Pvt Guido display!
SW
-nicely "bubba'd" back then....you could always put the beech ones on and switch back when the mood hits you,but I like it the way it is...I remember you were telling me about this just before the power went out... 
