The Truth About Ka-Bar Knives in WWII

[4thIDvet]

The Truth About Ka-Bar Knives in WWII (and Why the Army Didn't Want Them)

Union Pacific made K-Bar knives. So how did K-Bar gets their name? Test your knife knowledge before you peek at the video.

[mrkalashnikov]

I thought the Ka-Bar fighting knife was originally made by Camillus. Mine is stamped Ka-Bar Olean, N.Y. on one side just below the hilt, and USMC on the other. The Ka-Bar nickname came about after an illiterate mountain man wrote the company he had "Kalled-a Bar" (killed a bear) with his. Some marketing genius decided to run with that and the rest is history. I didn't watch the video btw.

[4thIDvet]

I thought the Ka-Bar fighting knife was originally made by Camillus. Mine is stamped Ka-Bar Olean, N.Y. on one side just below the hilt, and USMC on the other. The Ka-Bar nickname came about after an illiterate mountain man wrote the company he had "Kalled-a Bar" (killed a bear) with his. Some marketing genius decided to run with that and the rest is history. I didn't watch the video btw.

Good man we have a winner. Yup and its Union Cutlery that was the company K-Bar came out of. Think it was around 1 1/2 million K-Bars they made? The young feller narrating will get yer head spinning telling the history of the knives. Up until 1943 a designated knife for the Marines had still not been established. `

[4thIDvet]

"Did Camillus make KA-BAR knives?"
After extensive trials, the KA-BAR prototype was recommended for adoption, and Camillus was awarded the first contract to produce the KA-BAR for the Marine Corps. Camillus made more KA-BARs than any other knife manufacturer producing the model during World War II.

camillus k bar knife - Google Search

Other companies were making the knife besides Camillus. One of my WWII Marine bring backs just says K-Bar on one side and USMC on the other. The need for knives early in the war had U.S. citizens sending thousands of knives in for our troops. This before the MK-1 and MK-2 was adopted for the Army and the K-Bar for the Marines.

[mrkalashnikov]

Watched the viddy finally. The kid playing dress-up Marine was kind of annoying but still interesting.

On a side note I have my father's knife and leather sheath he carried during his stint in the Pacific war. It's a Marble's hunting knife he bought on his own dime, maybe in a PX. Leather handle with a brass hilt and has his name stenciled under the hilt. Saw him through the campaigns at Tulagi, Guadalcanal, Cape Gloucester, and Peleliu. If only it could speak.

[dinkydow]

My uncle James P gave me his USMC issue KBar that he carried in the Pacific during WWII. I took it to the RVN and carried it there. I still have it. The stitching on the sheath is unraveling but all in all it is razor sharp and still fully able to cut communist throats. A couple years ago I purchased a new KBar. Just for shits and grins. it also seems up to the task of ridding the world of the enemies of democracy.