Barracks wood used to make knife to benefit Patton Museum
Article by Dennis George, Paxton Media Group
The 1,000-plus barracks that once adorned the Fort Knox military base are a part of the rich history of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who have resided in them since the early 1940s.
It was in 2011 when the commander of Fort Knox wanted to move one of the remaining barracks to the campus of the General George Patton Museum of Leadership so it could be preserved.
“The museum was going to repurpose all the wood that was on the floor,” said Mike Weaver, a U.S. Army retiree who was helping with the project. “I had to take it all up because it was warped, and then it was too warped to repair and put back down.”
As he worked with the wood in an effort to reuse it, Weaver soon realized it was more than just a floor in a living quarter.
“It is the footprints of soldiers from World War II, Korea and Vietnam and they left an impression on that wood,” he said. “I’m talking about a physical impression because that’s where their combat boots went across. But I also think that it has double meaning. They left an impression in the wood, and they left an impression in the heart and minds of those who are patriotic enough to really feel the sacrifice that was made.”
Weaver found another way to preserve the wood and to raise money for the renovation of the barrack with business owners at Red Hill Cutlery in Radcliff.
“I was telling Josh Basham about the warped wood and he suggested that we use the wood to make knives with handles and use them as a fundraiser,” Weaver said.
The two designed a knife with a picture of the barracks on the handle and 1941 Fort Knox Barracks, FORT KNOX, KY on one of the blades.
Basham, whose family owns and operates Red Hill Cutlery, had worked with Weaver on eight knives in the past that helped raise $20,000 to help with the renovation costs. He thinks this new knife could be the most popular.
“The new pattern is still made from the original floor boards of the WWII barracks at Fort Knox, but the pattern is now the Barlow,” Basham said. “The Barlow is an old pattern, created in England over 250 years ago and was one of the first ‘jack-knives’, a knife with two blades at the same end.”
It gained its popularity with the release of Mark Twain’s stories of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.
“It became the most cherished possession of men and boys across American and has been famous ever since,” Basham said.
The knives, made by Bear and Son Cutlery in Alabama now are on sale on the Red Hill Cutlery website. There will be 100 available in the first run at a cost of $100.
Later this year, the Patton Museum will have them on their website to attract a national audience.
Weaver was complimentary of the Basham family for their contribution to the project.
“I supply the wood and they order it for me,” he said. “The Bashams don’t charge a penny for orchestrating all that nor for selling any of them out of the shop. It’s all a donation because of their strong attachment to the community. They are a very patriotic family.”
Weaver’s attachment to the Army and Fort Knox has fueled his passion for the barracks on the museum site. He has heard comment after comment from soldiers who stopped by to watch him restore the barracks.
“They would say that is where my bunk was, and I was on the top bunk, I was on the bottom bunk,” Weaver said. “They would reminisce about what they knew about it.”
The sale of the knives is one way to bring attention to the Patton Museum, but for Weaver, it is much more than that.
“We want to bring attention to people what this knife means and what the wood on the knife means,” he said. “We want that to connect to the patriotic fervor that some people have. It is in the hearts and minds of people who still have deep feelings about what sacrifices were made in those three wars.”
Dennis George can be reached at dgeorge@lebanonenterprise.com or at 270-402-3777.
We want two of these but do not see a way to buy on line. Danny Witten. 270-312-8613
We have forwarded your info to the Patton Museum Foundation, and they will be in contact this week.
I’m interested in buying one
We have forwarded your info to the Patton Museum Foundation, and they will be in contact this week.
I’d like to purchase one, Lillian Necessary @270-872-7579
We have forwarded your info to the Patton Museum Foundation, and they will be in contact this week.
How do I purchase one?
We have forwarded your info to the Patton Museum Foundation, and they will be in contact this week.
We are interested in purchasing one
Thanks, we have forward the Patton Foundation with your request and someone will be in touch soon.
I’d like to purchase one as well.
Yes sir, we are out right now but more are coming, the Patton Foundation will email you when they become available.
I would like one.
We are out now, but have given your info to the Patton Foundation and they will contact you when they become available
I would like one as well