While my wife and I were in Idaho visiting the kids, I met a new friend named Richard. Richard has been working hard on our new house, even hanging ceiling sheet-rock 30 feet in the air. I knew he was interested in engines so gave him a copy of the text book I wrote on gas engines, and a Puma folder. (Yes we have also paid him wages.) He called the next day and said he had a present for me and he'd be right up. Sure enough he came bustling up the walk with a wrapped present in hand. After all these years I can tell a knife, no matter how good its wrapped! Tearing off the paper revealed this Bowie-esque knife. The massive blade is hand-forged and the spine is nearly sharp. The primary edge is very sharp and the blade is rigid. The grip is antler that looks a lot like Elk. There appears to be a collar missing which left a big gap between the grip and the guard. Richard had no idea who made it, its age or exactly where it came from. He thought maybe it was picked up by his father in a bazaar in middle Europe during their travels. To me it looks more like American or even Mexican. BUT, the scabbard is very similar to those one finds on Kukri, paper thin leather over wood with thin sheet brass throat and tip. Anyone want to hazard a guess at its parentage? Absolutely no marks of any kind on knife or scabbard.
HAVE A VERY MERRY AND SACRED CHRISTMAS!!!