Any One into Ka-Bar Knifes?

[Dump1567]

I picked this up off of ebay for $40. I thought it was interesting that the handle was shortened. I'm not sure if these could ever have been custom ordered this way, or if this was done in some Navy machine shop.

Anyway, the price was right and I felt it would make a nice addition to my misc. military accessories.
Also my Grandfather who passed away in 2010, was in the Navy for 20+ years. A Pearl harbor survivor, he served on the USS Curtis. I figured he used a knife similar to this during his Navy career.

Based on my research, this was made in late WWII? Anyone have any info. on these?
Thanks.

 

[oneflycowboy]

Well, mine doesn't have the history your does, but here are a few pics anyway.

USMC short

 

[Rick_A]

There's a couple in there.

20140729_151354 by Slick_Rick77, on Flickr

One is for looks. The other was primarily used for opening MRE's.

The chow hall folks would get in a huff over it when coming in from the field...especially on Army bases.

 

[30-30remchester]

I have collected US military knives for a few decades now. It does not make me an expert though. Yes, this is a mid to late war Mark 2. It should have been issued with a hard plastic sheath. Do you have any specific questions? This is the classic war Kabar. The rub is, Kabar did not design this knife. Camillus was the designer.

 

[Dump1567]

I have collected US military knives for a few decades now. It does not make me an expert though. Yes, this is a mid to late war Mark 2. It should have been issued with a hard plastic sheath. Do you have any specific questions? This is the classic war Kabar. The rub is, Kabar did not design this knife. Camillus was the designer.

I take it that it wasn't issued with the shortened handle?

 

[30-30remchester]

I take it that it wasn't issued with the shortened handle?

I missed the shortened handle the first time. The handle must have been shortened by a previous owner. Definitely not issued as shown.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

The most unusual Kabar I ever saw was a prototype carried by Marine Raider Gordon Warner. They were sent to the Raiders for field testing while they were still in training.
It looked just like all the others except it had a brass hilt.

 

[fyimo]

I carried a Ka-Bar knife in Vietnam and it's a great all around knife. It will do anything you need it to do including being a great combat knife or even when used to pound tent stakes in. I gave mine to a fellow platoon buddy when I left Vietnam but I still own one today only my new one is the black handled newer version.

 

[30-30remchester]

The most unusual Kabar I ever saw was a prototype carried by Marine Raider Gordon Warner. They were sent to the Raiders for field testing while they were still in training.
It looked just like all the others except it had a brass hilt.

Interesting, I never heard of this knife. Can you elaborate?

 

[Marshwheeling]

Can't say that I'm into them, but I have one, a USMC, partially serrated. My wife gave it to me for Christmas a few years back. Mine hasn't seen much use, but it would serve quite well in camp.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Interesting, I never heard of this knife. Can you elaborate?

I met Dr. Gordon Warner in Okinawa while looking around for military knives. Gordon was the Command Historian at the time.
Gordon told me that during his Marine Raider training they were issued this new prototype knife. He didn't know how many were actually issued.
This was apparently before the KaBar was standardized and put into production.
The production design was changed to use the steel hilt and eliminate the brass hilt.
I need to do some more thread about Gordon.
Like one time during a battle he called for a bayonet charge. He was Company Commander at the time.
That don't sound that unusual?
He called for a Japanese bayonet charge. He spoke better Japanese than most of them.
The Japs charged, the Raiders stacked them up.

 

[eveled]

I've got a couple of Ka Bar knives, but I prefer the shorter Navy Deck knife, most commonly made by Pal, but also made by others, including Ka Bar. Pilot survival knives are nice too.

 

[Rangerpat]

My first USMC combat/utility (called a Ka-bar) knife was bought in 1971 while serving in the Marines, was made by Camillus and sold at the PX in Camp Lejeune, N.C. for $7.

I gave it to a friend's son in 2006 when he was leaving for his first deployment to Afghanistan with the U.S. Army. Happily, he still owns it today after serving three more deployments to the Middle East.

Since then I have replaced it with a Ka-bar fighting/utility knife made from D2 steel with the kraton handle; I can't seem to do without one.

 

[30-30remchester]

I've got a couple of Ka Bar knives, but I prefer the shorter Navy Deck knife, most commonly made by Pal, but also made by others, including Ka Bar. Pilot survival knives are nice too.

I as well prefer the Mark 1 deck knives. A man could make a career of finding all the variations of the knife. I am puzzled about one knife you have in your display. On the right side, 7th knife from the top, 2 knives below your Colonial, is a flat pommeled knife that looks old but appears to be in a new sheath. May I ask what this knife is? When the wife gets home I will try to post a photo of my 9 knuckle Cole dagger.

 

[eveled]

You have a good eye, you picked out my favorite knife in the whole drawer. The one with the flat pommel is a Kabar made mark I, from WWII afaik, it has the flat pommel Kabar used on the MarkII's.

The one right under it, is in an original left hand sheath. Curious if you've ever seen another?

 

[30-30remchester]

You have a good eye, you picked out my favorite knife in the whole drawer. The one with the flat pommel is a Kabar made mark I, from WWII afaik, it has the flat pommel Kabar used on the MarkII's.

The one right under it, is in an original left hand sheath. Curious if you've ever seen another?

The knife we were discussing with the flat pommel does indeed have the same round pommel of the Mark 2's. However it does not appear to be as thick as the Mark 2 pommels.
The knife directly below this one appears to be a Camillus Mark 1 in a left hand sheath. If you are asking if I have seen left hand sheaths, the answer is yes. Quite a few left hand sheaths are out there. I asked many military knife researchers as to why so many left handed sheaths, and have never got a good answer.

 

[eveled]

If you have the book "Military Knives, a reference book", it is a collection of articles originally published in Knife World Magazine. Frank Trzaska's article on page 44 discusses the Kabar Mark I, and it's odd pomel.

Yes I was asking about the left hand sheath, it is the only one I've stumbled on, but I am not a really serious collector more of an accumulator. I did notice that the fiber glass sheaths are ambidextrous, so there must have been a need for it to be. Ed

 

[BAM-BAM]

I've come to like the new shorter 5" Ka bar for a fixed bladed utility knife

 

[shouldazagged]

I've come to like the new shorter 5" Ka bar for a fixed bladed utility knife

My sister is a serious herbalist, gardener and knife nut. I gave her one of the five-inch models, and she loved it until it was stolen from her car.

 

[eveled]

I've come to like the new shorter 5" Ka bar for a fixed bladed utility knife

I agree it is a better size for most things, and most people. They hit that sweet spot not too big, not too small.