Original U.S. WWII USMC Early Blade-Marked Mark 2 KA-BAR Fighting Knife in Leather Sheath with Replaced Pommel

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 nice service-used example of the legendary WWII Production U.S.M.C marked Mark 2 "Ka-Bar" fighting knife with leather belt sheath. 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 ricasso are as follows:

USMC

On the right, and on the left is:

KA-BAR
OLEAN, N.Y.

There is the Olean address under the "KA-BAR", and the "USMC" is large, which is correct for the mid war made USMC marked knives by Union Cutlery. This example has a replaced pommel with a rounded screw tang, and we are not sure when it was added.  It has the correct "fat" stacked polished leather handle which is now very dark. The blade has heavy wear with some oxidation and verdigris.

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, however the last pattern of the "KA-BAR" marked knives kept the blade markings, as on this example. It has the later war slightly "swept back" cross guard.

The knife features original polished leather washer grip, which is in fair condition, with heavy wear to the finish, and it has an added steel pommel with a screw tang. The grip is quite worn from field use. The blade retains some of the original blackened finish, with the original factory ground edge still visible.

The leather sheath is the standard type used with the Mark 2, and is in rough, service-used condition. It is unmarked and shows very heavy wear. The leather has a good bit of dry rot with heavy crazing across the leather. The securing strap is intact and the snap is retained, but both sides are extremely caked in verdigris. The snap still works, however.

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

Specifications:
Blade Length: 7"
Blade Style: Clip-point "Bowie" Style
Overall length: 12 1/8“
Crossguard: 2 7/16”
Scabbard Length: 7 3/4" with 5" Belt Loop