Chief and Pam, I'm not entirely sold on the "shoddy material" designation. The sword the American Pickers got on loan did not appear to be so. The use of leather rings for handles, as I mentioned before, is reflected in the Marine and Navy K-Bar knives. They are certainly not "shoddy". Perhaps "Dog River" was used to designate the elusive source, as the factory seemed to have disappeared, if it ever existed. Stan