Ka-Bar stamped 6G4-5.. what does it mean?

travish, ya I kinda realized #3 after the fact. I didn't realize every time you post it jumps to the top of the board until after the auction. I couldn't figure out how to IM and it wasn't till later I figured out it takes a paid membership to do so. I'm going to upgrade my membership so I have no further problems. Gunsil has been a wealth of knowledge and the only one I knew to ask. Thanks for clarifying the rules on the other things for me I was not aware of them... I am on a few different forums for different interests and can't always keep all the different rules straight.
I hope somebody here did get it... the highest bid I could really afford was well shy of what it went for. The seller likely makes their living from the auction and though a "steal" would have been nice... I'd hate to see them get shorted on such a great piece.
 
gunsil, Thanks anyway... Somebody got a gem. Buying it at any price would have strained my budget, but I have a knife addiction, and can't help myself some times. Too bad you didn't see it earlier, since it went past my budget Id have like to see you get it.
I'm still curious as to when they started putting the patent stamp under the KA-BAR stamp and adding the 5th pin to the stag scales. That would help narrow down when grandpa's knife was made. Do you know when they stopped stamping the guard?
As irritating as the lack of info on early Union Cut Co. is, I think the uncertainty probably adds to the collectability. I recently saw a list that has them at one of the few to hold a 4 star(highest there is) collectability rating... better than some awfully popular knife makers. I'm definitely intrigued.
Thanks again for sharing your expertise.
 
I have tried three times to reply here and every time I get a "timed out" error, perhaps due to my slow typing, but this site seems to be full of such glitches and is very frustrating!! Well I wrote out a reply on my computer, and was able to copy/paste it which is the answer below but it seems a pain to have to do this in order to get a longer reply written out and posted.
 
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Actually I monitor that site for KA-BARS every day and had that knife on my watch list just to see how it did and if anybody I know got it. There are two other major KA-BAR collectors and neither of them bid on it. Being as I have at least nine model 64s including a couple of mint ones I did not need another. Somebody got a nice deal in my opinion, but the freckling and damaged sheath kept the price affordable to many.
Actually there is a good amount of KA-BAR hunting knife info out there, it is just not public. A friend and I have seven pre WW2 KA-BAR/Union Cut hunting knife catalog/brochures and three price lists. The seven brochures may be all that were ever printed and each seems to cover 2-3 years, and we have only gotten exact dates for three of the seven. Price lists are very hard to find but have better info since they are dated and show which models were discontinued when more accurately than the brochures. This info along with fifty some years of collecting and studying old KA-BARs is how I have such good knowledge of the subject. Some day this info will be published, but the research and search for more old ads and price lists continues. It is likely that the start/end dates of the guard markings will never be known as well as the pin quantities. The Reg US Patent markings had to start after Jan 1924 since that is when they were granted the Reg, and likely not that same month since they would need to get the tooling set up. This mark continues on some models right up to at least 1940, although some references say differently. I believe the guard mark began around 1923-24 and ended around 1926-28, but that is not written in stone. The earlier pre KABAR Union Cut. knives do not have model designations on the guards. Your knife falls in that range, and I can see no reason why anybody would need a closer date since most pre WW2 hunting knives by any company cannot be dated even that close with several exceptions.
Your knife was made from the early production years of the KA-BAR/Union Cut stamp through the KA-BAR Olean stamp years so dating it is harder than some models which were made early on and discontinued after only a couple or few years. The best clue is the guard stamping which the later knives do not have as I have stated before.
 
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Thanks Gunsil! That would put my knife in the '23-'24 time period then since those were the only years that had the guard stamp but not the patent stamp... actually if it was Jan of 24' then it was likely made in 23' perhaps this was the only year with this stamp combination? At any rate you got it within a couple years and that is pretty darn good! That's better than I could have hoped for. I certainly hope you and your friend publish your findings. I'd be one of the first in line to get a copy! It would be an extremely valuable resource for KA-BAR collectors everywhere. If I ever come across anything that might help your research I'll certainly send it your way... The only thing I've seen that was remotely informative was a post on this forum earlier this year http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...-Company-A-little-Kabar-history-(zoom-needed) I found the picture of the buried knives to be quite interesting. Looking back at this reminded me of another piece of KA-BAR that I have... also from my grandfather... It's an Arkansas Oilstone that was in his hunting bag. I still even use it occasionally. It is still in the pouch and has the paper fold out tucked inside as well. I didn't even notice what it said on the back until I was just looking it over... but it sure is fitting. It says:"THE KA-BAR KNIFE- Your grandfather was proud of his... Your grandchildren will be proud of theirs."
 
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