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My dad had a Ka-Bar given to him in Vietnam in 1966 when his Army artillery battery was attached to a Marine infantry battalion of the 3rd Marines. When my dad went back to Vietnam in 1968 and was wounded in 1969, some a*shole stole his Ka-Bar from his foot locker when he was in the hospital. Probably some POS who never saw a minute of combat or heard a shot fired in anger.

I bought an Ontario mk2 back in the 80's for $12.00 and it has been my hunting knife ever since . I have knives from cold steel / marbles / blackjack etc but none of them ride on my belt when it comes time to head out in the woods . I love the rugged simplicity of my generic "Kabar" .It's not for sale at any price .

Glad to be of assistance.

Look on ebay, there's a few on there.

@@WildBlueYonderDay I bought a very sturdy Ka-Bar style knife at a car boot sale , it's written "Japan" at the base of the blade . Could you please tell me if this are good knives , and about when it was made . I've read somewhere that during the Vietnam war they've made a lot of knock off of these knives .. Greetings from France

Glad it was helpful!

you're most welcome sir

Much appreciated

you're welcome

You're welcome.

Very welcome!

I like the western WW2 fighting knife better than kabar but kabars are great knives I like Randall mod 1 better than western .

The Western's are in a league of their own.

Well said!

You bet!

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@@WildBlueYonderDay I went to your Facebook and was astounded to see so many KA-BARs all at once. Thanks.

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Glad you enjoyed it

This UDT knife issue is still a source of heated debate but for me and many other collectors the Jury is in. I just feel sorry for the folk who have shelled out major cash for a fantasy knife.

CAMILLUS knives are government contract made knives like KA-BAR. So are not clone knives, CAMILLUS made more Mark2 knives for WW2 than KABAR. Other makers of the same knife for WW2 were ROBESON and PAL.

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You're most welcome, thanks for watching.

Thanks for watching!

Just keep in mind that the Mark2 knife was only made during WW2, and the distinction between between the makers is clear, Camillus knives are so marked and KA-BAR knives are so marked. People have come to call everything that looks like a Mark2 knife, a KA-BAR, which is incorrect. After WW2 all similar looking knives were designated as combat knives in their makers order and issue thereof.

If Camillus start producing the Mk2 like Kabar, they would make a killing, instead of these dinky, cheap little knives they sell. They would probably outsell Kabar because Kabar was only one of four combat knife makers. The four are Camillus, Kabar, Robeson, and Case.

According to the contract numbers I have seen in US Military documents, Camillus had contracts for 806,600 knives (150K USMC / USN combined), but it is unknown how many of the last order of 175,00 USN knives were ever made/delivered prior to the government canceling all procurement contracts after Japan surrendered. Union Cutlery (aka KABAR) had combined delivered contracts for 460,000 knives (110K USN - 350K USMC). PAL Cutlery had a single 75,000 knife contract and Robeson Cutlery had 2 contracts totaling 190,000 knives. The name Kabar became synonymous with the knife within the Marine Corps for 2 reasons - 1) Union Cutlery made more than double the number of knives for the USMC (350K to 150K). 2) While Camillus made the first delivery of USN-MK2s in February 1943, Kabar made the first delivery of 1219C2s in early April 1943. The Marines received Kabar branded knives before they ever received Camillus stamped knives and so they referred to the 1219Cs as Kabars for all versions they received. Case never made any USN-MK2s or 1219C2s under contract. They submitted 2 prototypes for examination, but their knives were rejected.

kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qceeg6yQ1KzQZ3U.html&ab_channel=TallManInTheMountains.

Just a quick side note for you. KABAR is a knife manufacturer and not a model type. Your knife is a CAMILLUS combat knife. KABAR and CAMILLUS made the Mark2 knife during WW2, despite CAMILLUS making many more than KABAR, any Mark2 knife got called a KABAR by the troops. After WW2, CAMILLUS, got contracts for the Vietnam war era to make knives, the Mark2 designation was dropped, and although looking the same, the new knives were simply called combat knives. KABAR has not made knives for the military, since WW2, and any KABAR knives that have been in the military since, are WW2 old stock issue, or private purchases/heirloom pieces.

all of those are available on my channel.

The 3rd pommel change was the reduction of the pommel thickness from 3/8" to 1/4" and to being pinned all the way through rather than being peened or welded. The first change was from the original screw-on pommel with split-nut fastener to screw-on pommel w/ peening/welding. Kabar, PAL and Robeson never made any of the split-nut versions - Camillus made 50K of them for their first delivery in Feb 1943. Kabar, Robeson and PAL peened and later welded/flat ground their round tangs. The second change was to eliminate the rounding/threading/screwing on of the pommel. The pommel hole was punched rectangular and the blade tang end was left unthreaded and peened tight. The third overall change was to shift stamping from the ricassos to the guards. We know this because of the existence of "transition" knives - thick pommels with stamped guards, occasionally versions with stamped ricassos AND guards. Then came the pommel thickness reduction change. All post-WW2 production, which first occurred around 1960 with a contract to Utica, followed the 1957ish changes which moved the stamps back to the ricasso and dropped branch of service from the ricasso stamps - 1/4" thick through pinned. The VN era and post-VN era military contract knives - (VN era) Utica, Camillus and Connetta versions, post-VN - Camillus, MSI and Ontario still follow the 1957 specs. When Kabar started making commemorative versions in 1976, they did so using the original pommel thickness of 3/8" BUT utilized the 3/4 through blind pin construction where the pin is only visible from 1 side of the pommel. They also made the stamps deeper with a larger font size and thicker lines so one could readily separate their new versions from the real WW2 vearsions.

I have no experience in trying to change the colour of the leather. I would just keep an eye on ebay, there are always knives of that colour there.

Time !!!

Neatsfoot oil will darken and provide some moisture resistance to the handle. Worked well on mine .

you're good to go, they are a well made knife.

The spacers actually have a purpose, they separate the guard from the handle, thus preventing moisture on the blade and guard from directly touching on the leather and vice versa. Leather touching metal is a great rust starter, when wet. The early WW2 KA-BAR 1219C2 knives had red and black spacers at the pommel and hilt, but to speed up production and to lessen cost, the MARK2 knives had no spacers, so the lack of spacers on the later WW2 production knives was purely based on economics. Regarding knives been broken, only muppets break knives, these torture tests where you see knives getting broken, are been done by folk who have no knowledge about steel types and tolerances, so all that gets proved is that they are idiots, abusing a tool in the wrong set of circumstances that it was never intended to be used in. So, the modern KA-BAR has a heat treat equal to, if not better than the WW2 knives. Hope this was helpful in clearing up those misconceptions

I agree. It kills me to see people baton wood with a Kabar, I think it's stupid. I have only 2 Kabars, the 1217 and the Ontario 498 which looks like a Camillus MKII and I use them both but I never abuse my knives.

I regularly see these knives up for sale, going for hundres, the poor buyers are being duped, they are post WW2 parts knives, the great knife guru who started this whole UDT nonsense, should really correct his book that espouses this nonsense.

put up some pics here facebook.com/groups/1705174333045018/

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To the best of my knowledge the Marines Corp had access to the NORD knives and issued them to men in the field. It may have been that whatever was in available stock, irrespective of Navy designation, was needed in the field, so out it went. Whether this happened officially or was just a gentleman's agreement between the two branches in the field is unknown. I also have no idea how many of the NORD knives the Marines received.

There are a number of official USMC pictures from WW2 that clearly show Marines carrying Mk2s in these sheaths.

Can you please help me to identify my KA bar. It has CAMILLUS. N.Y and U.S.M.C written on the blade. In small shallow letters. The leather on the handle goes all the way up to the top and bottom. It looks very old. My girlfriends step dad gave it to me.

@@Loawks it's not a ka bar but a mk2 fighting/utility knife. Camillus knife co made the largest # of them. Case knives and ontario knife co. Also made mk2's

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possibly the 90's

@@WildBlueYonderDay Thanks👍

Also, what about Camillus? The letters on the blade can not be bold? There are plenty for sale with the letters bold.

the Mark2 knife was produced by Camillus, KA-BAR, Robeson cutlery company(RCC), PAL and Remington hardware. Join us here and all your questions can be answered. facebook.com/groups/1705174333045018/

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My father has one as well, he acquired in the marine corpse in 1948, which he took to Korea, then two terms in Vietnam. So while everyone knows the name now, I'm sure that he received either a brand new new one, or my guess would be he got left over WW2 equipment like the tank he had, the tommy gun, the colt 1911 45 cal. Pistol. And even the working clothes that the military loves to use up every last one of an old style before issuing the new stuff. Even my experiences in the Navy were the same. What do they do when the war is over and they have a couple million brand new ( because you always keep making stuff till the treaty is signed), pieces of equipment, like a combat knife, then what? Scrap them ? Of course not. They are warehoused until the nest confrontation and issued out in boot camp. The military is extremely frugal. They have a limited budget to work with and you have to turn in something in pieces to get another, plus a damn good story to go with it. We even duct taped our flight deck boots together, mainly because they were basically a combat style boot with a zipper on the side. Everyone else had to wear boondockers a 3/4 boot that sucked and no one liked them. Can't blame them, but since everyone liked them they tried to acquire them, but didn't rate them so they couldn't get them. I can imagine before I came along someone was selling them under the table ? Ka-bar is the same I'd imagine.?

Joe Bright According to Ka-Bar’s authorized biography, no new knives were made until the early ‘70s because so many were made.

Camillus we 100% used in ww2 also

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I have a Camillus USN MK 2 that my uncle was issued in WW II

The WW2 stampings can be with or without OLEAN NY, It's the depth they are struck at, and the thinner lettering that differentiate them from the modern knives.

the sheath is an issued original.

Thank you. I pretty much retired that sheath. The snap is about to break off and got a modern knock off sheath to carry it in.

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Without seeing it, it's impossible to say what it is.

If it has an original sheath in equal condition, then it's a $100+ knife, value is subjective and really comes down to what someone is willing to pay.

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correct, it's not a KA-BAR unless it's marked as such, this is the common error made by folk, everything that looks like a Mark2, gets called a KA-BAR, despite them being marked as from other manufacturers, like UTICA, CONETTA, ROBESON, PAL, RH-PAL, CAMILLUS, MSI

indeed they did, and as I stated in the video, only the 1/4 inch pommels were pinned, never the 3/8 inch types.

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It sounds like a post war parts or surplus knife, KA-BAR never made a smooth handled knife. You do see parts knives that have not been sterilised. I always advise to buy the knife not the story. I cannot account for the veracity of the claims of the guy you spoke to, but it sounds more like someone trying to create a story for the knife. Bright blades refer to chromed blades and not polished steel ones. The vietnam era UDT guys also had a specially issued knife which they used and it was not a KA-BAR. There are two factions when it comes to these supposed, UDT smooth handle knives, those that accept them as parts knives-which is the most likely scenario and the guys clinging to the UDT story because they have seen pictures of them in 'experts' books calling them UDT, when in fact there is zero evidence to support their claims, As you saw in my video, I have a genuine bright blade, which has nothing to do with this UDT myth, That may or may not have started with this very knife, KA-BAR still has records for making two small runs of the bright blades, which were just standard production knives with chromed steel. They know nothing of the smooth handle knives either. I'm not sure how much you've invested in this knife that you have but the only thing that gives it any value beyond being an interesting parts knife, is a very shaky story that somehow has become fact to some 'experts' and the folk that follow them. These parts knives can be found with nearly all the MARK 2 knife makers markings, they are not unique to the KA-BAR brand. Another thing you will notice is that with a lot of the 'UDT' knives is that the leather on the handle has been reduced to remove the standard 6 segments ridges and the handles can be very thin, which also raises the question, if these were production knives, why do they not have a full size, smooth handle, so the reduction of the leather on the handle is in itself an indicator of post manufacturing fiddling going on.Hope this was helpful.

its weird everything down to patina looks all original....looks like original pins in pommel as well...so who made smooth leather handles?

Whatever the history of your knife may be, at some point it stopped being a stock item at the KA-BAR factory and became surplus for others to modify or it's a knife assembled with surplus parts by another party. These knives were not assembled years later after the war's end, they were purchased to flip for a quick buck and so they will have a patina consistent with a knife of 70+ years old.

I was able to find where the KABAR was, which was the scratched area

Kabar is a manufacturer/brand as is Camillus, your knife is an authentic Mark 2 or post WW2 combat knife as the later Mark2 patterns were called.

@@WildBlueYonderDay Thank you very much!!

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Great point!

Your knife would have been made in the 70's or 80's in Japan, there are plenty of them around. OMOR, PIC and VALOR, all had these style knives made in Japan. The Mark2 style knife was never produced by the Japanese during WW2, further more all Japanese knives have Japanese lettering and symbols on them, if they don't, they are modern and made for the European and American market.

google kabar commando ww2 knife, and see if that is what you have.

@@WildBlueYonderDay tried every site I could find, been looking for along time. But doesn't matter now was stolen with 2 metal detectors out my garage, hey love your shoe thanks for the reply.

clean all the rust off, very carefully and then use Birchwood gun blue on all the steel parts, don't mess with the leather handle, other than to put a preservative like beeswax onto it. That should give the knife a new lease on life. That is a pretty fool proof quick fix.

Tall Man In The Mountains. Theres actually a surprisingly little amount of rust on it, just a little near the guard and a bit on it. Its missing the pommel and the blade has quite a few nicks and dings in it. I dont know what my great grandfather did with it after ww2 but it certainly wasn't nice to it. I planned on buying a handle replacement kit from the ka-bar website to get a new pommel and handle, then keeping the old handle just in case.

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I am well aware of the theatre modified knives, the information I have given will still allow you to date a knife correctly, with or without the original handle. Theatre knives are typically authentic, as few people are willing to pull a modern knife apart to try and fake a theatre knife, theatre knives are a niche collector item and are not as valuable as intact period knives. Theatre knives and any knife with genuine provenance, are always going to be more valuable than those without.

@@WildBlueYonderDay Noted, however my K bar is invaluable to me since it was my Fathers...