Help -Need info about knife

G

Graham88

Joined
Dec 8, 2003
Messages
11
I am tryiing to try get info on a knife made in the 80's
Phorbis MFK ?????
If anyone knows what the heck I am talking about please fill me in.
 
Name was PHROBIS MKF what history is out there >>
Is it a good knife , and in demand??
Please help.
 
If I recall correctly it was a bayonette/utility knife.
It had a clip point blade with serrations on the spine.
The handle had large grooves which gave a sort of pineapple
look to it. The blade had a hole through it which fit over a stud
on the sheath to form a wire cutter.

I haven't seen one in years. I don't know if there is much demand.
 
Here's a picture of the only Phrobis knife I own, but I don't recall the model #. Is this the model in question by any chance? :)

phrobis.jpg
 
I'm trying to remember where I got it. Maybe the Cutlery Shoppe catalog? It was somet time ago. At this point I don't even know what kind of steel it is made from. I can tell you the handle can be removed. For what purpose, I'm not sure. The knife is held into the sheath by a lock that snaps over a section of the knife's guard. Once taken apart the tang is only about 1 1/4" long. Here, I'll just take a picture as I can't really explain it. :)

phrobis2.jpg


Because of the short tang I question the durability of this knife. I believe the handle and sheath are both made from Zytel. Maybe someone here could take a look at the image and tell us what they think of the potential strength of this set up. The thinner black tube slides through the handle and threads onto the threaded tang of the blade. The sheath has a plastic belt clip which can be reversed so the knife can be carried upside down or right side up.

I have a feeling this knife was designed to be light weight, and maybe resistent to harsh environments.
 
I have a Phrobis lll made by buck (#188). It is and was used by US Army as a bayonet. I saw a picture of it in the paper during Iraqi war on a rifle a GI was holding. I use it as a camp knife. Got rid of the original hard sheath and made a nice leather one for it. It is a good, large knife. I purchsaed it at least 10 years ago.
 
The Phrobis Modular Field Knife or aka the Workhorse Knife
http://www.primoknives.com/phrobis004.html
was a commercial product and NOT military.
IMHO, it was probably made up from left over CUK's :-)
http://www.specwargear.com/images/museum-knife 4.jpg
Which the SEAL's reportedly complaining of stress failure around the guard tang area.

In answer to your original question, I hope this thread will be some sort of help to you
http://64.177.53.248/ubb/Forum9/HTML/000030.html

Phrobis had contracted Marto to manufacture some M9's, after the fall-out with Buck Knives.
There are some vey strange Phrobis variants of the CUK and M9
These are marked M9 & CUK. But no fittings for a bayonet!
http://www.ohyasuya.co.jp/edge/sale1/sub2/phrobis-m9.htm
http://www.rakuten.co.jp/sekinohamonoya/430654/447043/470730/
This however has all the fittings of an M9, but the length of a CUK!
http://www.rakuten.co.jp/sekinohamonoya/430654/447043/447044/
Enough for one to mistake current Lan Cay M11 EOD Knife
http://www.militaryknives.org/eod-1.html

WadeF: Nice pictures :-)

Hope you fellas got a wider picture from all this.
A very interesting company, Phrobis :-)


Krizzard, out
"...Whoever kills with the sword must be killed by the sword... "
- The New Testament, Revelation 13:10
 
Krizzard - Thanks for the additional info. :) You know, I think I have the additional guards back at my folks. I remember seeing these plastic guards in my old night table drawer and not knowing what they were for, now I remember! :)

I wonder how good the 420 steel is, or how bad. :)
 
The following is an excerpt of a web page: http://www.google.com/search?q=buck+m9&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&start=10&sa=N
Then click on M9 bayonet link (may have to back up one page). This is the Phrobis knife I own. It wasn't rated very highly but I think it does a pretty good job. I guess Uncle Sam thought so too.

M9 Multipurpose Bayonet System

The M-9 multipurpose bayonet system is used as a bayonet on the M-16- series rifle and the M-4-series carbine, as a hand weapon, as a general field and utility knife, as a wire cutter together with its scabbard, and as a saw.

Buck made about 325,000 bayonets in the late 80’s and early 90's for the Army with only the first 1200 having any reference to Buck on the stamp. The earliest bayonets were marked with the date code for 1987 ">" on those until they were directed to stop doing so. During the Army contract, there were quite a few commercial versions sold by Buck and they had the stampings of Buck on one side of the blade and Phrobis III on the other side of the blade. Other commercial M-9 bayonets were made with only the Buck-188 markings.
 
Thanks that is it!!
I am owner of 2 and have had them for a wile (10 years?) and had no idea were I got them, I have use one out a bit and like the knife ...but wondered the story behind Phrobis and if the knife was somthig to be proude of.
Guess I still dont know that..HAHA
Thanks again !!!!!!!!!
 
Back in the mid-90's, I purchased the Phrobis Seal CUK. I a couple of weeks ago, I was
removing a box and the knife fell out of the box, hit the concrete floor and broke. The
knife was MINT! I was devestated and still am, since I am cognizant of how highly collectible it is. Is there anyone out there who knows if it is possible to purchase a Phrobis blade. The blade broke at the tang(?), where the blade eters the handle. I held
onto the rest of the parts. I would REALLY appreciate a reply from a KNOWLEDGEABLE
person who can help me out. Thank you, for taking the time to read this.
 
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