New To Knives - My KaBar

It appears to all be correct.
It is a later model with the thin pinned pommel.

The knife & sheath was period correct for late WWII, Korea, and later.
Although the GI fiber sheath was probably a later replacement for a rotted leather sheath at some point.

KaBar made approximately 1,000,000 of them over the years.

Nice old knife!

Clean the sheath rust with 0000 Super-Fine steel wool & oil to prevent further damage.


Rc

Very interesting fiber scabbard ,I didn't know the K bar will fit in M7 scabbard. Your has USN stamping so it is genuine Navy issue. Back in the 90's it cost $24.99 in the PX but during my service we were not allowed to carry knife on the LBE not even on guard duty. So my go to knife is Buck V110 folder.

Nice old KaBar! We used to carry ours upside down, attached/taped to the suspender strap of our light web gear-- in the leather KaBar sheath. They are heavy and well built. Aside from being a great fighting knife they can be used for danged near anything and everything. I never knew a Marine to be without one. I still have mine.

Great knive.
Still have mine from 68.

I have M8A1 scabbard for M7 bayonet and the K bar will not fit so your scabbard is pretty unique ,If memory serve the bayonet for M14, M1 Garand (cut down type Korea era) and M1 carbine look similar and the blade profile with spear point are similar to M7 bayonet so it will not fit K bar either. I suppose that if you remove the steel collar then the wider blade will fit but your scabbard has steel collar. Just another piece of our military puzzle I suppose.

Again, the sheath is correct for your WWII knife.

See this:
http://www.quanonline.com/military/military_reference/fighting_knives/marky.php

http://www.horsesoldier.com/products/world-war-i-and-world-war-ii/equipment/7350


rc

USMC - issued Ka-Bars have leather sheaths. The Navy called the knife the MK 2 and many have these plastic sheaths, more protective and rot resistant. The sheath is the correct Navy MK 2 sort, not a bayonet sheath.

Does your knife have the maker's name, like Ka-Bar, Robeson, Camillus, etc.?
I think it was first made by Camillus, who made more than Ka-Bar.
The WWII ones have slimmer handles than new ones, which I prefer, and were better fitted at the guard/handle/blade point.

You have a nice historic knife and sheath. Take care of it. Unlike a leather sheath, that plastic/fiber one won't hold moisture or tanning acids to rust the oiled blade. It's better not to store knives in leather sheaths.

I'm of the belief the 8114 marked sheaths were specific to the KaBar / Navy MK-2.

I also think they were the earliest ones.

I have seen them with all your info on the back, and U.S.N. Navy MK 2 on the front.

I have a later navy grey one marked only U.S.N. over MK 2 with no manufactures info.

And I have seen even later ones that were completely unmarked at all.

Oh, and they came in Navy grey, and OD Green like yours.

rc

None of them were ever made of wood.
The photo of the knive in the link mentioning a wood handle is very clearly wrong.

The knife shown has the normal & standard leather washer handle.

People who don't know much about knives often confuse leather handles with wood for some reason.

rc

Welcome to the world of "knife nuts" 1
Have fun!!

The source knife for the design is the Marbles Hunter from the turn of the century. Plenty of makers copied it and it was the accepted standard for woodscraft when camping outdoors. Those same skills were necessary for a lot of troops living in the field - literally setting up shelters from existing vegetation as part of their fighting positions. Infantry lived in their foxholes, moved, and set up again. Warfare is far more urbanized and mechanized today - the average soldier gets by with a Swiss Army knife at most.

Actual combat with the knife hand to hand is so rare the stories number infrequently in records, although too frequently when the provenance of the story teller won't be questioned.

Be advised nobody used them to open ammo crates or take the end off a 55 gallon drum. There is a remarkable amount of myth about combat knives largely perpetuated by some who never served and others who never served in combat. For the most part large knives are closely controlled and usually not allowed for garrison use and can be highly restricted by the unit commander as he sees fit.

Taken as a woodcrafting blade, they chop brush, cut roots, and help fashion camouflage and shelter. They can cut up small bits of wood for a fire for those allowed to do so, not in combat. Cold camps are generally the rule in hostile territory, and you train like you fight.

For the most part a soldier in the field counts every ounce of dead weight and large knives have to factor in with a high return for the individual for him to retain it. With up to 85 pounds of other gear issued to carry in the field, a one pound sheathed knife taking up space on the pistol belt is uncommon today. In warm areas far from normal shelter it's a valuable aid, but for the most part many more carried a small folder and it sufficed.

Case in point, they sell far more Navy SEAL issued knives than get issued. Thousands more. Tens of thousands in some cases. The public enjoys the myth of the fighting knife, the soldier, not so much. Things are pretty hard if they need one.

Be advised nobody used them to open ammo crates or take the end off a 55 gallon drum.

Click to expand...

Not true.
My closest friend was awarded a bronze star for his action in Vietnam.

What did he do?
He used a fighting knife I made him in 1968 to cut the steel bands off 4.2" mortar ammo crates all night while his position was being overrun.

I'm sure more then one KaBar has been called upon to do the same thing more then once.

rc

I know a Vietnam era Marine who defended himself with a kabar after he and his squad were over-run. They ran out of ammo after 2 hours of contact, and they had to wait another 3 hours to get backup. Only two men survived that encounter and no one has ever heard the entire story of what happened, but we know it was toe to toe gladiator combat. He swore by his kabar, e-tool, and m-14.