Colonial Mark 1 USN Modification

Mark 1 knives manufactured for the U.S.Navy vary considerably.  The one you see here is a Colonial brand to which the handle is fitted with a double cross-guard.
This necessary field modification greatly improved this war period favorite.  The photo below is a current model made in Warwick, Rhode Island from 1075 high carbon steel.   The  hard polymer handle
is prone to breakage around the half guard with regular use.

Warwick, Rhode Island

Here's a step by step tutorial showing how to fit a brass alloy crossguard to one of these:



Step 1-
Remove the hilt using a hack saw blade.

Step 2-
The cross-guard are the type that are able to be attached with rivet pins.

Step 3-
Using a small bench grinder the brass alloy guards are machined carefully to accommodate the tang.

                   




Step 4-
See the slot where the tang will fit?

Step 5-  Heads are clipped off solid brass
rivets and then peened in holes in the guard.  The holes needed to be enlarged with a step bit in a drill to do this.  Drum sander and wire cup brush on bench machine to finish.