In the early 1920s, Rudy Ruana served as a blacksmith in the US Army’s 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, and during that time, he purportedly made his first two knives out of an old Ford leaf spring. He moved to Montana with his wife in 1937, and continued to make knives out of a garage in Bonner, where he worked as a welder and mechanic, for the next several years. During WW2, Ruana crafted fighting knives for sale to US servicemen, and these are distinguished from later models by the square cut ends of the stag handle scales. Ruana knives made from 1938-1943 were left unmarked, but in 1944, he added a “R.H. RUANA / BONNER / MONTANA” maker’s stamp to the right side of the guard. Any Ruana WW2 “Square Cut Fighter” remains scarce and desirable today. This US Army USMC Marine WW2 R.H. Rudy Ruana Custom Handmade “Square Cut Fighter” Fighting Knife is in Fair Condition, with heavy sharpening to the blade edge, heavy grinding, cleaning, and scratching at each side of the blade, some pitting at each side of the blade, moderate grinding at the upper right side of the guard, which has removed the end of each line of the maker’s stamp, such that it now reads “R.H. RUA / BONN / MONTAN”, some nicking to the guard, tang, and pommel, a scratch to the inner middle right handle scale, and with moderate overall age wear evident. Otherwise, the knife is in fair shape, with no other damage. Most interestingly, it features a 5 7/8” trailing point blade that was left “in the white”, sports the classic native Montana elk horn stag handle scales secured by three aluminum rivets, and is stamped with a good sized remnant of the original “R.H. RUANA / BONNER / MONTANA” maker’s mark at the right side of the cast aluminum full guard. The squared off ends of the handle scales and presence of the maker’s mark distinguish this piece as a classic Ruana WW2 “Square Cut Fighter” made in ca. 1944. It boasts a matching cast aluminum pommel, and is an honest example of a very rare, original US Army USMC Marine WW2 R.H. Rudy Ruana Custom Handmade “Square Cut Fighter” Fighting Knife. No scabbard included.