Original U.S. WWII USMC Rare “Red Spacer” Mark 2 KA-BAR Fighting Knife by PAL with Matching PAL Leather Scabbard - Loose

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 very good example of the legendary WWII Production USMC "Ka-Bar" fighting knife with a leather belt scabbard. Overall length of this Mk2 is 12 inches, with a 7 inch clip-point blade. This example is by PAL, one of the rarest makers for the USMC KA-BAR. Their manufacture is notable due to the red spacers used at both ends of the stacked leather grip. The markings on the blade ricasso are as follows:

USMC

The other side is marked:

PAL

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.

This PAL-produced version of the Mark 2 "KA-BAR" combat knife is in very good condition, and looks to have seen moderate use during service, though most of the wear is on the blade, not the handle. Unfortunately, there is very heavy looseness to the knife, with the pommel cap and every piece of the stacked leather grip showing looseness, along with the crossguard and blade itself. We are unsure why this example is so loose.

The PAL version does differ a bit from the knives produced by Camillus and Union Cutlery, mainly in the style of grip, as well as the attachment of the pommel. The grip has the standard stacked leather with "ribs", but also has the trademark PAL black and red hard plastic layers next to the crossguard and pommel. 

The blade has about 50% of the original phosphate finish, with most of the wear being near the edge and tip where it was used, cleaned, as well as sharpened. The edge is still relatively sharp, and definitely looks to have been possibly field sharpened with a whetstone. The Peened pommel and markings on the blade would usually indicate early production, however PAL knives do not strictly conform to the pattern. As mentioned, the entire knife is loose. 

The leather sheath is the correct matching PAL BLADE CO. marked example with a myriad of initials and names scratched into the finish.

The leather has faded to a lovely chestnut brown, but it is still supple with heavy wear and verdigris on all metal fittings. All of the stitching and rivets are still intact, and it is structurally very sound. The securing strap is intact, and the snap is still functional, with a faded finish.

A very nice example of the hard to find USMC-marked "KA-BAR" knife by PAL, in very good 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 7/16”
Scabbard Length: 7 3/4" with Belt Loop

According to The Official Price Guide of Collector Knives by C Houston Price & Mark D Zaleysky, PAL was originally used as a trademark by the Utica Knife & Razor Company of Utica, NY from about 1924-1939. PAL marked knives of that era used blades imported from Germany, and the blades typically bore the word “Germany” as well. Another company using the name PAL was established in Chicago in 1934. This company was known as the Pal Blade Company of Chicago, and was started by Otto Kraus. In 1935 the two “PAL” companies merged into one, known simply as the PAL Blade Company, and opened a manufacturing facility in Plattsburg, NY. Around 1940 PAL purchased the cutlery division of the Remington Arms Company, including of their existing stock of completed knives and knife parts.

While PAL was originally a manufacturer of pocketknives, but after the Remington acquisition they expanded their range of products to include a variety of fixed blade knives as well. PAL received a number of US government knife contracts during World War II and produced thousands of combat knives during the war years. Pal went out of business in 1953.The USN Mark 1 combat knife was produced by a variety of manufactures during World War II and was issued to Navy personnel by the thousands. It had a 5 ¼” long blade and was patterned after typical hunting and sideknives of the era. The subsequent Mark 2 knife had a longer 7” blade.