There is probably no custom maker of military pattern knives more famous than M.H. “Howard” Cole. His fame in the collector community stems not only from his skill as a custom 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 bows, 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 knives 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 the company went out of business, Cole acquired some of the firm’s tools so that he could continue to produce sheaths as needed, which would be 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.

Offered here is Cole’s tribute to one of the most iconic fighting knives of World War II, the M3 Trench Knife. This knife was formerly in a well-known museum collection. The knife has a 6 ½” long spear point blade that is 7/8” wide at the ricasso with a 3 ½” false edge. The knife utilizes a full tang and has a 4 7/8” hilt with an overall length of 11 3/8”. The 4 7/8” hilt is same size found on many of Cole’s fighting knives, particularly his Mk2 style knives. The blade has a 2 1/8” long fuller with rounded ends along the spine. It has a 1/8” thick brass guard of traditional M3 form with the upper portion of the guard angled forward. The guard is that is 2 3/8” in length. The lower face of the guard is stamped MHC. The 3/8” thick, heavy brass pommel pinned cap is unmarked. The grip of the knife is of the classic stacked leather washer pattern but also includes some of the materials typically used for spacers and washers on WWII era theater knives, including aluminum and Bakelite insulation of both black and dark maroon colors. The knife is accompanied by an M.H. Cole produced heavy leather sheath made in the style of the long belt loop M6 sheath. The sheath includes a leather hilt retaining strap with a brass snap. The scabbard is marked M.H. COLE over ROEBUCK WORKS on the face of the steel reinforcement plate on the bottom front of the sheath. The sheath is 17 ¼” in overall length, with the body being 8 ¼” and the belt loop 9”. The two-piece sheath has a rear piece that folds over to form the belt loop and essentially dovetails between the rear part of the sheath and the piece that forms the face. The sheath is secured by stitching and reinforced with rivets. A brass grommet is installed in the bottom of the sheath as a reinforcement for a leg tie down. No doubt all of this work was done with the old Blackhorse Leather tools that Cole purchased, allowing him to recreate scabbards in the style of their work for him during WWII. As is typical of Cole’s work all of the letters are stamped independently, and no gang stamps were utilized. The collection that this knife came from had it identified as being a 1950s production Cole knife. Additional information about the provenance for this knife will be shared with the buyer.

The knife remains in FINE overall condition and may have never been used but appears to have suffered from some poor storage at some point in time. The blade has been plated, and it is not clear if this was done for museum display or by Cole himself. The brightness of the plating makes the knife very difficult to photograph, resulting in some strange reflective artifacts in the photos. The knife appears to have some lightly scattered pitting on the blade, under the plating, which appears to be bright chrome. Interestingly the knife appears to have its original edge. I have a feeling the knife was may have been stored in the scabbard and somehow some moisture resulted in the pitting in the fullers and then the blade was cleaned and polished and then plated to restored it original appearance. The heavy brass guard and pommel cap have dulled slightly and have a rich, deep golden patina, as does the brass snap of the hilt retaining strap. The knife shows no indication of use or sharpening after it was made by Cole, but the blade was certainly plated, as noted above. As mentioned, due to the reflectivity of the blade, any strange imperfections that may appear on the blade in the photos are probably reflections from the photo studio equipment or the result of the lighting. The hilt shows some light and very minor surface handling marks and minute scuffs. The scabbard shows some very light wear from handling and storage as well, but no real use or abuse. 

Overall, this is a really attractive and lovely condition example of a Cole-made fighting knife. It will be a fine addition to any serious custom knife collection, particularly one that focuses on fighting and theater knives. Adding an MH Cole knife to their collection is often the goal of many serious knife collectors and the rarity and price of the Cole-made knives often keep the acquisition of such pieces out of reach. With high condition Cole knuckle knives regularly selling in the very high four-figure price range, this knife provides an opportunity to acquire a knife from one of the most coveted makers of the modern era for about half the price of one of his knuckle knives.