Original Item: This is a great example of the legendary WWII Production U.S.M.C marked Mark 2 "Ka-Bar" fighting knife fighting knife with an original leather belt scabbard. Marine Corps issue knives are much harder to find on the market than the U.S.N. marked variety. Overall length of this Mark 2 knife is 12 inches, with a 7 inch clip-point blade. The markings on the hand guard are as follows:

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 WWII. 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. Knife features original leather washer grip, which is in good used condition with minimal cracks and splitting, and it has a heavy steel pommel with cross pinned tang. The grip does show wear, and is now a very dark brown color, with rounding of the grip panels. The blade still does have a good amount of the original blacked, with the main wear areas being near the edge of the blade, which is still quite sharp. It has not been sharpened very much, so there is minimal material missing from the edge. There is some wear on the top of the "clip point", and the spine of the blade overall has some dents indicating it was tapped with something, probably to help split something.

The leather scabbard is the standard type used with the Mark 2, and is in very good used condition. The leather has faded to a lovely chestnut brown, but it is still supple and without cracks. All of the stitching and brass staples are still intact, and it is structurally very sound. The securing strap is intact, and the snap is still functional, though it has lost the original "blacked" brass finish.

A great example of an exceptionally hard to find USMC-marked "KA-BAR" knife, field used with a very nice original scabbard. No collection is complete without one! Ready to display!