Dozier 1943 Fighter

NEW Series of World War II Fighting Knives

In 1943, a young knifemaker with no idea of the future value of his brand, designed a fighter and licensed a firm in Springfield, Mass. to produce the knife. Of the 1,200-1,500 knives from that design produced, about 500 were produced in Springfield. Those knives now sell for $2,000 to $5000, or even more for those in very fine condition. This licensing turned out to be pretty wise. Most of those knives went to men in the service, and they spread knowledge of the knife far and wide. Bob Dozier has used this classic knife as inspiration for the Dozier 1943 Fighter. Even though Bob made his first knife about 1963, he was not aware of this rare WWII knife for many years.

The Dozier 1943 Fighter is the first in what Bob plans to be a series of limited run replicas of the great WWII fighting knives. The 8-1/2" blade is A-2 at 59-61 Rc., a much better steel than that used in 1943. The size of the blade is true to the original, 1-3/8" wide and 3/16" thick, with a satin finish. The brass guard is true to the original as well, while the dural butt has been replaced with 6061 aircraft alloy. The stacked leather used for the handle is the finest (densest) sole leather available and will last many years longer than the original.

While the sheath is the same left hand model intended for pistol wearing service men and officers of WWII, it is of the finest shoulder hides available and that leather is nearly 50% thicker than the original. The snaps are the same as the original. The stone pouch is exactly the same, but the stone in that pouch is soft Arkansas stone rather than the original man made stone of the 1940s wartime quality. The knife measures 13-3/4" knife tip to the end of the pommel and weighs 12.4 oz. I do not know exactly how many Bob intends to make, but I seriously doubt that it will exceed 300 pieces. The plan is to make 50 pieces in 2007. Entirely made in Springdale, Arkansas.

Dozier 1943 Fighter

DKWW-RS1: $895.00