At the beginning of World War II, the United States military did not have an issue fighting and utility knife. The only combat knives in storage for potential issue on 7 December 1941 were some of the brass-knuckle US Model 1918 Mark I fighting knives that had been ordered for use in the trenches of World War I but were delivered too late to see issue or use, as well as some US Model 1917 triangular blade knuckle trench knives. Many of those 1918 MkI knives, as well as 1917 knives, were actually sold off as surplus in the decades between the wars. The military realized that the standard issue Model 1905 bayonet with its 16” blade was not an option for use as a fighting and utility knife and undertook a concerted effort to design, contract for and issue fighting knives to the men heading off to war. While these projects would result in such classic knives as the US Navy’s Mark 1 and Mark 2 knives, the Marine Corps’ 1219C2 knife (better known simply as the KaBar) and the classic M3 Trench Knife, it would be nearly a year before any of those knives would be available for delivery and issue to the men. In the meantime, the soldiers heading off to war acquired factory made hunting knives from such well-known American knife makers as the Union Cutlery Company, the Pal Blade Company, EGW and many others. Smaller American knife makers, craftsmen and machinists also sprang into action. Today names that are famous in the world of World War II combat and custom knife makers include Walter “Bo” Randall, MH “Howard” Cole, John Ek, Frank Richtig, Floyd Nichols. These men and others would become some of the most renowned knife makers in the world due to the knives that they produced for American soldiers. Companies like San Antonio Iron Works, Knife Crafters and numerous other small shops converted and altered old sword and bayonet blades to create fighting knives as well, and with such alterations the modern concept of the “Theater Knife” was born.

As the American military mobilized and went off to war, the making of real Theater Knives, produced in theater, began with abandon. Most of these newly minted ersatz knife makers were US Navy machinists with access to a well-stocked machine shop and US Navy Sea-Bees who were similarly skilled and again had access to the necessary machinery. It was these makers who took the concept of using reclaimed and recycled materials in the construction of the knives to its pinnacle. Materials such Plexiglas from downed aircraft canopies, various types of plastics from insulation materials like Bakelite, scrap brass and scrap aluminum all found their ways into the knives that were being made, the hilts in particular. Some aircraft parts like Japanese propellers, struts and landing gear were particularly prized by the knife makers as this proprietary aluminum alloys were particularly strong, light, and resilient. While some makers forged their own blades, many relied upon the repurposing of blades that already existed. American and Japanese bayonets were often used as blade stock, and issue knives like the Marine Corps “Ka-Bar” or the USN Mk2 were regularly customized and modified by these knife makers.

One of the most famous of these custom Theater Knife makers was US Navy molder turned knife maker, Machinists Mate Eugene W. “Bill” Stone Sr, who served aboard the USS Holland. The Holland (AS-3) was a submarine tender that was launched in 1926 and saw service through WWII in the Pacific Theater and remained in service until being decommissioned in 1952. During the war Holland refitted submarines fifty-five times, performed repairs on surface vessels twenty times and also did repair and building work for some surface installations. Holland was in Manila Bay in the Philippines when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and almost immediately headed south to Borneo to escape the Japanese attack on that island chain. She moved to Port Darwin in Australia and for the next year provided support and repair services to submarines and surface ships at that location and also built docks and floats while on that station. In February of 1943 she entered Mare Island Navy Yard off the California coast for a refit and then moved to Pearl Harbor in June of 1943 to continue providing repair and support to Pacific fleet submarines and ships. She moved to Midway Atoll in June of 1944 and then moved to join the task force that would invade the Mariana Islands and support those submarines. This campaign included the invasions of Saipan, Tinian, and Guam. In November of 1944 the Holland returned to Pearl Harbor where she was refitted to serve as the headquarters for Vice Admiral Charles A Lockwood Jr who was the commander of the US Submarine Forces in the Pacific. The Holland served in that capacity as well as continuing her mission to support and repair US Navy vessels through the end of the war.

Eugene William “Rocky” Stone Sr was born on 12 November 1920 in Springfield, OH. He was the son of Stephen Stone and Dedo E Borregaard. According to the 1920 Census, his parents were both emigrants with his father having been born in Austria and his mother in Bohemia. His father born circa 1886 and emigrated in 1895. He was employed as a tailor according to the census report. Both parents were able to read and write English and they rented a home on South Greenmount Ave in Springfield, OH. By the 1930 Census Steven had been divorced from Dedo and was listed as a “roomer” in Columbus, OH in the home of Mary E Fritz, who was also an Austrian emigrant. By 1930 Steven was listed as being the father of seven children with Eugene being right in the middle at 9 years old and having two older brothers (ages 11 and 13), one older sister (age 15), as well as two younger sisters (ages 3 and 7) and a younger brother (age 5). There was also a 16-year-old stepbrother in the home, the son of Mary Fritz. Eugene’s father was still working as a tailor, but as the country was entering the Great Depression a family of this size was likely a difficult one to support. The family apparently moved around to some degree during this period and for at least a period of time lived in Toledo, OH where Eugene attended Thomas A DeVilbiss High School. According to his son Eugene W Stone Jr, his father also attended Springfield High School in Springfield, OH. EW Jr. notes in his May 2002 article in Knife Magazine about his father’s work that his dad developed a love for knives of all kinds as a youngster who worked on the family farm in the 1930s to help support the family. EW Jr. also noted that his father took a number of shop classes in high school, including foundry, pattern making and machine shop.

Eugene joined the US Navy on 19 June 1940 with “Cincinnati” listed as his home city and was entered into the rolls of the crew of the USS Holland on 27 April 1941 with the service number 279-6715. His initial rating was F3C (Fireman 3^rd Class) and over next few months he worked his way up to Fireman 2^nd Class and eventually Fireman 1^st Class. Learning a trade in the Navy was (and still is) quite common and soon Stone was made a Molder 2^nd Class. It was in this capacity that that he certainly honed the necessary skills that would make him famous in the world of military knife collectors. By the end of the war, he had been made a Molder 1^st Class and reached the rank of Chief Petty Officer, who was also the Chief Molder and ran the foundry of the Holland. According to EW Stone Sr.’s June 1946 dated Draft Registration Card, he was living in Toledo, OH immediately following the war and was an “unemployed veteran” who was married to Georgianna Stone. The draft card description lists Stone as 5’ 10 ¼” tall, 151 pounds with a light complexion, brown hair, and blue eyes.

EW Jr.’s reminisces of his father in the May 2002 article note that it was while the Holland was on station in the Philippines, Java, Sumatra and eventually Australia that he had the opportunity to see and handle the numerous styles of ethnographic and indigenous knives in use in the Pacific. It was at this time that he saw the knife that would inspire his iconic “Skull & Cobra” pattern knuckle knife hilt. Using his molding and pattern making skills, Stone worked on his refinement of the design that he would be forever remembered for. After a number of early castings fell short both due to lack of quality alloy and simply not meeting Stone’s own exacting standards, he finally came up with the pattern that would be the basis for the 250 to 300 knives he would produce during World War II. These knives were produced either in the foundry aboard the Holland or in an old foundry in Darwin, Australia. Stone charged $15 per knife and the buyer would also have to provide a knife from which Stone would repurpose the blade. As the pressed leather washers of the USN Mk2 and USMC “Ka-Bar” were not well suited to long term use in the hot and moist environment of the Pacific Theater, the Stone cast aluminum alloy knuckle hilt was a very practical modification. Stone had solved the durability and strength issue with the duraluminum alloy salvaged from the propellers of Japanese aircraft to which he added a little nickel during the smelting process. He also experimented with the chrome molybdenum used in the wing struts of the planes. The earliest knives were primarily produced with blades from USMC or USN issue knives, with the article noting most were Ka-Bar or Pal marked. However, since Pal contract USMC knives were produced in smaller numbers than Camillus contract knives, it seems likely that at least a few of them were used as well.

Production apparently really ramped up with Holland joining the naval task force off the Mariana Islands chain. Marines in particular wanted to obtain his very special “Skull & Cobra” knives and it was noted that during this time the overall casting quality and finishing was of lower quality than most of Stone’s earlier and later knives, as getting them into the field was the highest priority. As the war progressed and the M3 Trench Knife started to appear in the Pacific Theater, Stone started to apply his hilts to those knives, as well as other less common or conventional knives like the V44. The popularity of Stone’s knuckle knife was such that other Navy molders started to produce period theater-made copies of the knives. It appears likely that more knives were produced by his contemporary imitators than by the originator of the design himself. To this day it can sometimes be difficult to separate the original Stone-made knives from those who flattered him in the highest way, by copying his work. Letters of authentication from EW “Bill” Stone Jr, particularly from the time when his father was still alive, can be invaluable to the authentication of these knives. Bill knows his father’s work intimately and was also involved with a limited production anniversary issue of the knives. Eugene Stone Sr passed away in Arizona on June 9, 2003, at the age of 82.

Offered here is a World War II Period Copy of an EW Stone “Skull & Cobra” Knife. The hilt of this knife appears to have been copied from one of Stone’ s “Pig Nose” variant. Those knives had the reputation of having been primarily made for Marines and were typically made out of their issue knives, either the USMC 1219C2 or sometimes USN Mk2 knives. The “pig nose” refers to the shape of the flattened and flared nostrils on the skull and was a period nickname sometimes applied to Marine veterans in the Pacific. The hilts of these famous Stone knives have a guard is in the form of a cobra’s head with the neck hood spread open, the knuckle guard forming the snake’s body, and the pommel in the form of a skull. The grip had a scale texture which was not only attractive but also provided a firm grip with wet or slippery hands. The knife was functional, very attractive and quite menacing to look at. These is little wonder that Marines and soldiers in the Pacific who could not obtain a genuine Stone Skull & Cobra Knife would approach other machinists to make one form them.

As noted, this knife is a World War II Period Copy of a Stone Skull & Cobra Knife. The quality of the casting is substantially lower than of Stone’s actual work. The level of detail in the casting is much lower as well, since the molds that knives like this were made in were made from an original Stone knife, so they were second, or in some cases third generation molds. The back of the grip shows less detail than a real Stone knife and the knuckles have lost nearly all of the snake body detail. The guard does not even incorporate the spread-hood cobra form, and is simply a forward swept, somewhat crude quillon. It is not clear if the elimination of the cobra’s hood was at the request of the man who had the knife made, or if it was due to the lack of skill of the knife maker. The skull motif pommel cap is the best cast part of the hilt, but even it shows a lower level of detail and some significant casting flaws and roughness on the left side of the skull. While modern day fakers to produce copies of EW Stone knives both as commemorative items and as out and out fakes to try to deceive a potential buyer, this knife is clearly not one of those. It was made during the period as an honest copy of a real Stone knife for use by a Marine or soldier who served in the Pacific.

The knife measures nominally 12” in overall length with a 6 ¾” long single-edged clip point blade that is 1 13/64” wide at the widest point. The dimensions are nearly identical to the one original Stone knife that I have had the honor to be able to sell. The blade has a single median fuller that 2 ¾” in length. The cast aluminum hilt measures 5 ¼” in length and has Stone’s trademark skull motif pommel. As noted, the knife lacks the detail of the cobra motif knuckles does not have the cobra’s head and hood forming the guard of the knife. The skull pommel is nominally 2 3/8” tall and 13/8” wide, which is actually slightly larger than on a real Stone knife. The blade of the knife is from a USN Mk2 knife made by the Pal Blade Company. The reverse ricasso of the blade is clearly stamped US NAVY, with the obverse ricasso stamped with the Pal model RH 37 and with the PAL logo in an oval between the letters and numbers, over the legend MADE IN U.S.A. It is worth noting that the PAL contract USN Mk2 knives were the only ones marked “US NAVY”, and the only knives marked “Made in the U.S.A.”

The knife remains in VERY GOOD condition but does not appear to retain any of the original blade finish. Rather the blade was either cleaned to bright or used to bright during the period. Now the blade has a medium pewter gray patina with moderate amounts of scattered surface oxidation and freckled discoloration. The darkest areas are around the ricasso on both sides. There are splotches of additional discoloration and minor surface roughness scattered along the blade, as well as with some light dustings of minor surface rust. The blade shows some very light sharpening, numerous minor surface scratches and minor rounding to the tip of the clip point blade. The blade shows moderate wear and oxidation but is essentially free of any real pitting. Like the real Stone knives, the hilt was cast onto the blade and some traces of aluminum have run down onto the ricasso as part of that process. The aluminum hilt was painted during the period of use as some tiny traces of what appears to be “Battleship Gray” paint are still present in the recesses and protected areas of the skull shaped pommel cap. This was likely done to both help protect the hilt and to reduce reflections. The original Stone knife that I had showed traces of black paint on the hilt, likely for the same reasons. The aluminum shows some scattered bumps, dings and mars as would be expected of a combat knife that was carried and used. The leather sheath rates about GOOD+ to NEAR VERY GOOD and is complete and solid. All of the reinforcing rivets and stitching remain intact and in place. The hilt retaining strap and blackened brass snap closure are intact as well. The sheath shows moderate amounts of wear and staining but is in overall very decent condition for a combat used scabbard. The sheath has a great period modification, with the addition of aluminum reinforcement plates at the tip on both the front and rear. The same basic style of metal plates were used on the USMC Raider Stiletto scabbards and the leather M6 scabbards for the M3 Trench Knife. It is a very practical modification for a combat knife being carried in such rough condition as a tropical jungle.

Overall, this is a really wonderful example of an extremely rare and desirable World War II period copy of a known maker fighting knife. A real EW Stone Skull & Cobra knife that can be authenticated is a very rare and expensive piece to obtain for a World War II fighting knife collection, with most legitimate examples that have sold in the last few years bringing in the high four-figure price range, nearly approaching five figures! While not a real Stone, this period copy has the same look, feel and appearance and is every bit as legitimate a World War II Pacific Theater fighting knife. It is priced much lower than an actual Stone, but well within the range of what high quality World War II knuckle theater knives are selling in today. You may never have the opportunity to acquire an actual EW Stone knife, this wonderful World War II Period Copy of an EW Stone “Skull & Cobra” Knife will be an outstanding addition to your fighting knife collection and for a much more reasonable price than a real Stone.