Item Description
Original Item: This is a very rare 1944-1945 KA-Bar USN (U.S. Navy) marked fighting knife with scabbard. Overall length of this Mk2 is 12 inches, with a 7 inch clip-point blade. This example was made by the Union Cutlery Company of Olean NY, whose trademark "KA-BAR" is on on the knife. The markings on the hand guard are as follows
and on the opposite side:
This knife features original leather washer grip, which is in good shape with minimal cracks and splitting. However it is definitely worn and has shrunk a bit. About 40% of the original blade bluing is still present, and it has a heavy steel pommel with peened over tang. The blade does have some areas of light corrosion, and has also been sharpened, and still has a good edge. There are some chips on the spine of the blade, apparently made long ago. It is possible that they are from original machining, or from combat.
The scabbard is the later MK 2 version, very similar in construction to the M8 scabbard for the M3 fighting knife, with a fiberglass body, metal throat, and canvas frog and securing strap. The front of the throat is marked U S N MK 2, and the rear is marked NORD - 4723 B.M. Co. with a stylized V P logo. The NORD number is for the US Navy contract it was produced under, which was delivered between November 1943 and July 1944. It was manufactured by Beckwith Mfg Co. a division of Victory Plastics.
History of the Mk2 "KA-BAR" Knife:
The Mk2 Knife was developed as an improvement over the Mk1 design, which had issues with blade snapping due to the thinner design. Working with Union Cutlery, USMC Colonel John M. Davis and Major Howard E. America contributed several important changes, including a longer, stronger blade, the introduction of a small fuller to lighten the blade, a peened pommel (later replaced by a pinned pommel), a straight (later, slightly curved) steel crossguard, and a stacked leather handle for better grip. The knife was officially known as the 1219C2, but it was commonly called the "Ka-Bar" after the trademark of Union Cutlery that was on the blades of early examples. The first production order went out to Camillus Cutlery Company, who produced the largest number of knives during WW2. The design was subsequently adopted by the Navy as the US Navy Utility Knife, Mark 2, and the USMC adopted it as the USMC Mark 2 Combat Knife, or simply the Knife, Fighting Utility.
In 1944, the US Navy put through a change order to have the markings moved from the blade to the cross guard, so this knife was produced after that change. An excellent example for any WW2 Collection.
- This product is available for international shipping.
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