Overview
The letter accompanying this knife reads as follows:"In December, 2016, the 75th Anniversary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor will be observed with the issue of the 24 specimens of a special 2nd Pattern EW Stone, Sr. fighting knife. Specific to this 75th Anniversary issue of the Stone Skull Knife are the setting of two pearls in the eye sockets of the skull to remember Pearl, and the placement of two diamonds in the eyes of the cobra for the 75th Anniversary. On December 7, 1941, my father was on duty aboard a submarine in the Pacific. Imperial Japanese forces attacked his ship in the harbor. "A day that will live in infamy", should not be forgotten and will not be forgotten by him or me. Only 24 of these particular knives will be made and no more. This pattern is examined in the May 2002 issue of "Knife World" in an article titled "The EW Stone, Sr. Fighting Knife". A set of knuckles was given to my father by a chief Petty Officer who had served in the Yangtze Campaign and it had a skull on it but was quite crude. At this time the knucks were used on.y for fighting and Dad began to modify and refine the pattern when he made them for other sailors before WWII. Before long he had come up with his own design as we know it today and these knives are cast with that pattern. The blades on these knives are made from three sections of an original US Model 1913 Cavalry Sword or Patton Saber blade and each blade measures approximately eight inches in length. The middle section blade is unmarked. The casting was done in sand with the original hilt pattern in the same manner as was done during WWII. Hilt length is five and one half inches in length. The knife is stamped at the base of the skull as with all other postwar production pieces: we used the same letter and number sequence, in this case "S02". This knife is marked "S02" and is the second specimen made of this series. All these features make this knife readily identifiable as a Stone 75th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor knuckle knife. After casting the knives are inspected, detailed and polished. Accepted and finished knives are then shipped. Sincerely, Eugene W. Stone, Jr."
Excellent condition.