Ka-Bar’s In The Mist.

K

konaexpress

Joined
Aug 10, 2012
Messages
10
Hi, new guy here.

This is a long story for a forum thread so I will cut to the chase. I found a Ka-Bar in an old tool chest and was later told to keep it. I’m not much of a knife guy, I love the old Springfield 45 but for some reason I like this old Ka-Bar. It has stayed in my garage for a few weeks and I decided to fixed it up. It may not seem much to you guys but it means allot to me to fix this thing up, I can’t say why. It is just something I have to do for myself and for that old knife.

So my question is this, the blade is tarnished and the leather handle needs to be replaced. Any ideas as to how to clean and shine the blade up a bit? I don’t want a chrome blade or carbon fiber handle. I just want to clean her up, wrap the handle and know that “Baby” is there when I want her. And yea, I named her. I don’t know why...

-John
 
There are lots of threads on that subject with that knife...well worth the trouble to search. Welcome to the forum...Herb
 
Sorry, about that. Enter Ka-Bar or sharpen or repair in the search box and you are instantly slogging through years of information.

I have seen lots of talk but I don't know enough to extract what I need to know. Any how-to tutorials anywhere? Basic fundamentals on cleaning and maintenance stuff maybe? What kind of sandpaper and how to use/hold it? Do you sand down the length of the blade or across it? That kind of stuff. If there is a tutorial on this site then I apologies for taking up your time, I just haven't found it yet.

Thanks for the help -John
 
Head over to the Ka-Bar forum and you will get more responses, as well as possibly more links to info. Toooj (Paul Tsujimoto, chief Ka-Bar engineer and overall Ka-Bar knife aficionado) frequently posts up there and will more than likely know how to get you to where you want to be. Also, pics are pretty much required whenever you have knife in hand ( ;) ) so get some pics of it up too. Here is a link to the Ka-Bar section, and I will ask a mod to move this there.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/874-KA-BAR-Knives
 
konaexpress,

Can you post some more pictures? I'd like to see a close up of the stamp and the end of the buttcap.
Also some better quality pictures of the side view of the entire knife, both sides.
Are there any markings on the guard?
I believe you have an original WWII USMC F/U or USN MkII knife. Better pictures will give us more info.
In the mean time, do not do anything to the knife.

Best Regards,

Paul Tsujimoto
Sr Eng
Prod Dev and Qual
KA-BAR Knives
 
Hi and thanks for responding to my post.

I took these photos with a small Kodak Sport so the close-up is lousy. I will see if I can charge up another camera to get a better photo for you and no, I did not see any markings on the guard (the thing between the blade and handle?). The sheath does not look that old to me and it does not have markings either. it is brown leather with stitching and staples around the edges and a small hole at the tip, I assume to tie it to your leg?


Thanks again -John
 
Looks very good to me. Toooj I'm sure will have more to say. From what little I can see of the sheath it also looks like it maybe period correct. If you see any words or numbers stamped on it could you post pics? If non, more detailed pics of it would still be helpful. I wouldn't do anything beyond cleaning it.
 
I’m sure your knife was made earlier during WW2 than mine pictured below.

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This knife had the blade re-profiled at sometime. Can't say when it happened but otherwise a solid knife.
 
konaexpress,

There were basically 4 distinct generations of the USMC/ USN Fighting /Utility knife made by Union Cutlery during WWII.
Your knife is a Gen II (approx 1943). Narrow handle/ thick pommel/ round, threaded and peened tang attachment to pommel.
The plain leather sheath is proper and was made by Boyt.

It's your knife so you can do anything you want to it, but I'd just wipe it down with mineral oil and store it in a dry, stable environment.
You have a genuine piece of WWII history.

sac troop,

You are correct. Your version is a Gen III (approx 1944). The big difference is the rectangular, peened pommel attachment as opposed to that used on kona's knife.
Hope all of this helps.

Best Regards,

Paul Tsujimoto
Sr Eng
Prod Dev and Qual
KA-BAR Knives
 
Toooj, thanks much for narrowing down the time line. I've a general idea of the chronology but the dates not so much. Would it be correct to place the guard stamped knives as after my Gen III and would they be showing up in 44 or not until 45?
 
sac troop,

The MKIIs with the guard stamp were the tail end of the Gen III through the Gen IV knives. Circa: late 1944 to the end of war.
The distinct Generations can be generally broken down by the war years. 1942-Gen 1; 1943-Gen 2; 1944-Gen 3; 1945-Gen 4.
Some of the changes between the Generations were due to engineering revisions from Naval Procurement but a lot were changes due to material shortages, contractor backlogs, scheduling problems, etc, etc. The normal stuff that occurs when high demand/short time frame is in effect.
Hope all this helps.

Best Regards,

Paul Tsujimoto
Sr Eng
Prod Dev and Qual
KABAR Knives
 
We have about the same story. I've had the bent and beat up knife for over 30 years. I sanded it to 2000 grit. Put a new handle on it--stacked leather. I will put some photos on one of my cheap-o web sites when it is finished in a day or so. I'll share how I did it with mostly hand tools.
 
Toooj said:
sac troop,

The MKIIs with the guard stamp were the tail end of the Gen III through the Gen IV knives. Circa: late 1944 to the end of war.

Paul Tsujimoto
Sr Eng
Prod Dev and Qual
KABAR Knives
Click to expand...

Guess it makes sense that mine was purchased at a military surplus store by my grandfather then.. It truly WAS surplus! xD
 
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