do any other branches of the american military besides the Marine Corps issue the ka-bar knife?

no it was introduced to marines in ww2 to use. I think they pretty much are the only ones that use it

Navy personnel also seemed to get a hold of the Kabar fairly consistently during WW2. While I do not know if the Army ever issued them the Kabars have been available through the PX for over half a century now.

The Navy called it the Mark II, which is identical to the Ka-Bar that I was issued in The Marine Corps in the 60's, with the exception that it's Navy grey. I have one in my collection, along with a Mark I, which is more like a regular hunting knife, but also grey.

I've talked to some Soldiers who carried the Ka-Bar, but they all said they bought their own.

Hope this helps.

Fred

My Marine son-in-law wasn't issued any knife at all - I bought him a Kershaw to take to Iraq.

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VIVERE MILITARE EST

Everybody uses Ka-Bar . My Marine brothers think a KaBar is a Marine item , they think my KaBars are the exact ones they lost 40 years ago , and they think the Navy works for them .

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Idaho , Elmer and Milt

I carried a Marine Kabar while in Vietnam in the Army in the 4th Infantry Division and I took it over with me. A lot of our guys carried the Airforce Survival knives which had a shorter blade and it had a small sharpening stone in a pocket on the sheath. The Kabar served me well and I still have one as I bought another when I got home because I left mine with a fellow soldier when I left country.

I just bought one two weeks ago to give to a good friend as they are a great survival knife.

I Souvenired my knives and Zippos when I left country too . Good tradition .

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Idaho , Elmer and Milt

I have my Father's Ka-bar. He served in WWII in the Navy, as a submariner. I remember after WWII when my Father came home. He opened his sea bag and there was this huge knife on top of everything else. I was about 10 or 11 years old then.

I have a good friend's Ka-bar who served in WWI and WWII, also Navy. His wife gave me his Ka-bar shortly after he passed away. They must have been issued to them.

I also served in the Navy on submarines...circa 1950s. We were not issued knives, although the subs carried small arms such as the Thompson sub- machine gun, MI Garand rifle, and the Service 45 pistol.

From time to time we would have Frogmen ( they call them Seals today) and UDT divers on board for training missions and they did have the knives.

Tsaxy1

Yea, I forgot I gave my zippo away to and it was a really cool one with the 4th ID emblem and an engraved saying on the back. I gave to my RTO when I left.

I also carried a Ka-Bar with the 4TH Infantry Division, I don't think I was issued it. But I remember as I was leaving Camp Enari, I gave it to the supply Sgt., & told him give it to the next FNG grunt heading out to the field.

Anyone know of a good aftermarket ambidextrous sheath? I have the same sheath as pictured, but would like a sheath for the left side of my belt rig. I tried just turning the knife around (putting it in sheath backwards), but it doesn't quite make it all the way in, which prevents the retaining snap from closing.

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NRA Life Member

when is was in we were given a straight blade buck knife that would also affix on the end of are m-16 that was in the mid 80's. i know now alot of armed froces are being issued a benchmade knife. it is a auto folder in a sheath i belive it is model # 9500. you see alot of them for sale when guys come home because they can not carry them if they are not active duty. nice topic.

Though generically called Ka-Bars , they've been made by a bunch of manufacturers. The last officially issued contract knives (80s) I saw were made by Ontario I believe.

Some KaBar history (and probably the best prices for them on the internet):

http://www.tomarskabars.com/Story_Kabar.html

http://www.tomarskabars.com/KabarHistory.html

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NRA Life Member

How's about a S&W Ka-Bar style knife?

Smith & Wesson Search & Rescue Marine Recurve Knife NEW - eBay (item 230416528354 end time Jan-01-10 17:52:50 PST)

I purchased my own UCMC combat knife in 1971 at Camp LeJune, NC at the PX for $7. it was made by Camillus instead of Ka-bar. I gave it to my friend's son who deployed to Afghanistan with the Army National Guard back in 2006. He is still in the Guard and is going to Iraq this year. I also purchased a Ka-bar combat knife for a co-worker who deployed to Iraq with the USAR, I got him the model with USA stamped on it because he is in the Army. They are great knives that can take a beating and are easy to sharpen.

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"Life is short, hunt hard"

I always call mine a tootsie roll knife. It has a green fiber glass scabbard.

Camillus designed the knife(officially the USMC 1219C2) and was always the largest supplier. From the beginning during WWII, and to this day, Ka-bar has done the best job of promoting their association with the knife even though they were only one of several other suppliers.

Bob

My FFL showed me a old KA-BAR U.S.M.C. knife that was issued to his Grandfather in WW2, then his father carried it in Korea, he carried it in Vietnam, and now it is with his son in Irac, I'd like to know just how many miles that old knife has traveled.