Original U.S. WWII USN Mark 2 KA-BAR Blade Marked Fighting Knife with Heavily Worn Leather Scabbard by Boyt - Dated 1943 - Replaced Securing Strap

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 good early war example of the legendary WWII Production USN Mark 2 KA-BAR fighting knife with a heavily worn leather scabbard. Overall length of this Mk2 is 12 ⅛”, with a 6 ⅞” clip-point blade. The markings on the blade ricasso are as follows:

KA-BAR
OLEAN, N.Y.

The reverse is marked:

U S N

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 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.

Camillus Cutlery Co., the first manufacturer to supply the Ka-Bar Combat Knife under contract, also produced the largest number of such knives, producing over one million examples marked "Camillus.N.Y." on the knife's crossguard before the war ended. Besides Camillus, the Union Cutlery Co., Robeson (ShurEdge) Cutlery Co., and the PAL Cutlery Co. all produced the Ka-Bar knife under military contract during World War II.

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 the change. The cross guard is slightly curved, and it has a heavy steel pommel with a peened tang, typical of early production knives. It features original leather washer grip, which is in good condition with wear to the finished and some rawness. It does have some wear on the finish, so it did see some use. Very much of the blade is missing the finish due to heavy sharpening. This example appears to have been abused post-war. 

The scabbard is in rough shape with the securing strap having been replaced with a reproduction. The sheath is marked U.S.N. on the front with BOYT 43 on the loop. The leather is heavily cracked and crazed with the belt loop dry-rotted.

A fair example of the early hard to find Blade-marked "KA-BAR" knife, in fair condition. No knife collection is complete without an example of a "Ka-bar".

Specifications:

Blade Length: 6 ⅞”
Blade Style: Clip-point "Bowie" Style
Overall length: 12 ¾”
Crossguard: 2 3/8”
Scabbard Length: 7 5/8" with Belt Loop