Original Box of 6 Unissued Case Pig Sticker Knives
- Product Code: EWSK-1548-SOLD
- Availability: Out Of Stock
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$0.00
When the United States was drawn into World War II by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the US military did not have a general issue fighting knife in its inventory. In fact, the only fighting knife that was readily available in stores were left over, previously unissued US M1918 Mk1 brass knuckle trench knives that had been procured during WWI but had never been used due to the early cessation of hostilities. While some of these brass knuckle knives would later see use during the Second World War, the average soldier who was inducted for service during December 1941 and early 1942, and subsequently sent to a theater of war went there without a military issue knife. This situation resulted in large numbers of knives being procured on the open market by both the military and the soldiers themselves. In many cases the knives were simply current production hunting and skinning knives from the major American knife makers like Boker, Camillus, Cattaraugus, Case, Imperial, Ka-Bar, Pal, Robeson, Western, and Utica, just to name a few.
One of the popular fighting knives that found favor with US servicemen, and that was even purchased directly by the US government (although never on an official contract) was the Case 562-Sticker". The "Sticker" was introduced by Case in 1934 as the Model 162, and by 1941 was listed as the Model 562. The model remained in the Case catalog for two and half decades, finally falling from the line around 1959. While the official factory designation was simply "Sticker" the nickname "Pig Sticker" is the sobriquet that the knife is best known by to collectors. The Model 562-6 had a nominally 6" double edged spear point blade with thick walnut scales secured by brass rivets. The blade had a prominent median ridge, and the obverse ricasso was marked in capital letters CASE XX. The knives were a classic combination of fighting and utility knife and no doubt served every conceivable need for a military knife in the field. A quote from a 1970 Case factory letter, reprinted in book series US Military Knives by MH Cole read in part:
"Our No. 562 - 6" Sticking Knife was frequently ordered by the military. This was a double-edged dagger-type knife originally used for sticking cattle but apparently used by our armed forces units as a light weight stiletto. Though we never made it for any government contracts."
Offered here is a rarely encountered factory original box of six unissued Case 562 Sticker Knives. The knives are contained in their original blue cardboard factory box with pre-printed cover art consisting of at eh case logo, reading in four lines:
CASE
TESTED XX
W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co.
Bradford, Pa.
The box also has a printed, stick on end label that has the various blanks filled in with ink and reads:
“ Doz. CASE
Tested XX
No. 562-6" KNIVES
Sticker
The end label is additionally marked with a $2.00 price. All six original knives are contained in the box and are in unissued condition, rating VERY FINE to EXCELLENT. The knives all retain their original factory bright polished finish on the blades and their original factory edges. Due to the fact that the knives are many decades old, there are some scattered areas of minor surface oxidation and some spots of light pinpricking present scattered on the blade. Some of this could probably be carefully cleaned off. All are marked with the usual CASE XX trademark on the obverse ricassos. This marking was used on Case fixed blade knives from about 1940 through about 1965. The thick walnut scales are all crisp with only some light storage marks here and there. The box is in about VERY GOOD condition with some typical wear and finish loss, particularly along the edges and on ends. There is one tear in the center of one long side of the box lid and a split at one of the corners at the end of the box lid where the label is. Otherwise, the box shows only the expected wear and tear for cardboard box that is many decades old. The original packing and wrapping paper is included inside the box with the knives. The paper shows the expected creases and wear for its age.
Overall, this is a very nice set of six original, unissued Case No 562-6 Sticker Knives in their original factory box. Whether you are a fighting knife collector, a general knife collector or a collector who specializes in Case brand knives, this is a fairly unique set as full factory boxes of classic Case brand fighting knifes are rarely found for sale. With minty examples of these knives regularly selling in the $300-$400 range, this is a nice chance to obtain six of them, complete with the original box, which is a really scarce item on today's collector market.
SOLDTags: Original, Box, of, 6, Unissued, Case, Pig, Sticker, Knives