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Wade and Butcher Sheffield Fixed Blade

Hello everyone! I’m a very new member and I’m having a very difficult time trying to date & identify this Wade & Butcher knife.

What do we know:

It has the Wade & Butcher marking.

It is clearly identified as: “Guide”. (Can not find this at all)

Overall length: 8 3/4”.

Blade length: 4 1/2”. (No blood grove)

Blade width: 15/16th’s at widest point.

Sheath: Leather, 9 1/2” long x 2” wide, riveted with no stitching.

Guard: Appears to be equally geometric in shape.

Handle: This does not appear to be equally geometric.

General Observations & Comments:

The best guess is that at some point the handle was replaced or modified. It was obviously painted red with yellow lightning bolts and white SS on a blue diamond. We believe the SS stood for my dad’s initials.

The belt loop doesn’t seem as worn as I would expect. The knife was kept in his footlocker and possibly packed in his bailout equipment. He served in the Army Air Corp. in WW2 Pacific, Okinawa. We believe the knife was given to him by his father and possibly passed down by his grandfather. His grandfather was a Brigadier General that graduated West Point in 1873 and his father, (a Lieutenant Colonel) was also a 1910 graduate of West Point. There is a good possibility the knife was obtained in any three of their military careers. The Smith family had resided in New York City and state for many years and are also identified as original New York settlers.

I believe the knife is somewhere between the 1830 and 1940’s. Robert Wade was the New York agent.

Blade possibly from the Army & Navy Supply Co., N.Y.C..

I have no experience with removing the handle to look for additional markings and fear I might destroy the handle in the process.

Any assistance in identifying this knife is greatly appreciated!

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703E3C4C-D8BB-45D3-8446-DDF7FB52735E.jpeg, 4.3 MB
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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on August 16, 2021 at 11:16

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Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on August 16, 2021 at 11:16

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Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on August 16, 2021 at 12:04

I saw in the chat that you had found a "pioneer" W&B but this would actually be closer to the "hunter" based on the blade style and the writing style of GUIDE matches them

However the finger grip handle was not an option at the time of this ad. I wonder if this was an SFO for someone like Abercrombie & Fitch for guides. If you look at the bluefish in this next photo May 15-Oct 15 A&B was making custom rods for guides

I am still on the hunt !!

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Permalink Reply by Ron on August 16, 2021 at 16:52

Hi Jan, I don’t think I said it was a Pioneer but if I implied that, sorry. No blood groove. Maybe someone in the group might know of something or have seen something like this particular blade. Possibly even Overseas!

Jan Carter said:

I saw in the chat that you had found a "pioneer" W&B but this would actually be closer to the "hunter" based on the blade style and the writing style of GUIDE matches them

However the finger grip handle was not an option at the time of this ad. I wonder if this was an SFO for someone like Abercrombie & Fitch for guides. If you look at the bluefish in this next photo May 15-Oct 15 A&B was making custom rods for guides

I am still on the hunt !!