Barteaux Carving Knife Cast Aluminum Handle 1940's - 1950's

Description

Unmarked,
but its almost certainly a Barteaux with its various features.
It has a cast aluminum handle similar to a Dave Murphy or a very early Gerber knife
.
Murphy was
famous for his WWII "Murphy Combat" knife, but had actually been making knives for many years before that, mainly for himself and Joe Gerber of Gerber Legendary Blades.
After years of making knives for Gerber in the late 30's and early 40's, Murphy sued Gerber for stealing his designs and won that lawsuit in 1951, forcing Gerber to change its handle design and no longer use the Murphy style handle.  Unfortunately, the lawsuit crippled Murphy and he went bankrupt in 1954.
Frank Barteaux was a neighbor & friend of Dave Murphy and copied Murphys methods for casting aluminum handles and even used leftover blanks from Murphy himself.  And now you know why early Gerber, Murphy and Barteaux handles have such similarities.  Its a very popular, durable design and at times you'll see
similar aluminum cast handles from the likes of Ole Moore, Richtig, EK & others.
History lesson aside, this is a very well made knife in good condition.
Using High Speed Tool steel,
they created a blade that is rarely matched for durability and sharpness, even by custom knives costing hundreds of dollars.
They are super durable, and damn sharp!           I have done nothing to this edge and as it is, its rather sharp already.  With a proper sharpening, it will get wickedly sharp, the kind of blade you wish all your knives could attain (but can't because the steel they use can't even begin to come close!)
The handle and blade are solidly attached with no wobble or play anywhere; it's rock solid. Light signs of use (the blade edge is slightly out of true, but you have to look close to see it and it certainly doesn't affect performance).  There are two light marks near the heel of the blade, one from sharpening, one from a scratch. The tip is lightly chipped, maybe 1 mm.  Overall, a very solid knife in good condition.
This is an extremely hard to find knife.  The majority of Barteaux knives you'll see are hunting and WWII era fighting knives, but the kitchen knives are a bit of a unicorn!  After 70 years, these knives are not easy to find in any condition, let alone one like this.  I'd give it an easy 7.5 out of 10 and you might even rate it higher than that, but I like to judge things low.  Either way, I can definitely say this - you won't be disappointed in this knife!
10 3/4" blade and 15 1/8" overall length
Please review all of the photos as they are part of the description.
Photos will supersede any written descriptions in case I missed noting anything or made an error in what I did write, so please look closely and ask questions if in doubt.