Original Item: Only One Available. The originator of the KA-BAR trademark, Union Cutlery Co, began using the name in 1923, having received a letter from a fur trapper who had used the knife to kill a wounded bear which attacked him when his rifle jammed. According to company records, the letter was only partially legible; "ka bar" could be read, as fragments of the phrase "kill a bear". In 1923, the company adopted the name Ka-Bar from the "bear story" as its trademark. From 1923, the KA-BAR trademark was used as a ricasso stamp by Union Cutlery Co. on its line of automatic switchblade pocket knives, including the KA-BAR Grizzly, KA-BAR Baby Grizzly, and KA-BAR Model 6110 Lever Release knives. The company produced about 1 million knives with the trademark on the ricasso.

This is a great, unissued example of the legendary WWII Production USN Mark 2 "Ka-Bar" fighting knife with a USN MK2 Scabbard. Overall length of this Mk2 is 12 inches, with a 7 inch clip-point blade. The markings on the blade ricasso are as follows:

U.S.N.
MARK 2

The reverse is marked:

CAMILLUS N.Y.

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 before that change. The cross guard is slightly curved back, as on the mid war issue knives. It features original leather washer grip, which is in great shape with no cracks or splitting. It also does not have much wear, just a bit of rounding, indicating this knife did not see much use. Over 80% of the original blade finish is still present, with just in and out wear from the scabbard and some edge wear. It has a heavy steel pommel with cross pinned tang. The blade is in very good to excellent condition, and is still somewhat sharp, with just a bit of post factory sharpening. Just a few small edge dents, which would easily sharpen out.

The scabbard is the Navy Mk2 version, very similar in construction to the M8 scabbard for the M3 fighting knife, with a thermoplastic impregnated cotton fabric body, metal throat, and canvas frog and securing strap. There is some oxidation but nothing terrible. The back of the scabbard reads:

NORD-4723
B.M. CO. VP

An exceptional example of the hard to find USN-marked "KA-BAR" knife, in excellent condition. No knife collection is complete without an example of a "Ka-bar".

Specifications:
Blade Length: 7"
Blade Style: Clip-point "Bowie" Style
Overall length: 12“
Crossguard: 2 3/8”
Scabbard Length: 8" with Belt Loop