Ka-bars in "THE PACIFIC"

bush-haus

bush-haus

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Oct 15, 2010
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Don't know how many of you have watched the HBO special "THE PACIFIC", but I recieved the whole box set for Christmas, and have watched all of the episodes. One thing that caught my eye was that in every episode at least one, if not several, soldiers were wearing Ka-bars...and USING them.

The knives did not have the Ka-bar logo, but that's what they were representing. Just thought it was cool to recognize the importance of the Ka-bar knife in WWII.

Ka-bars.... may not be the prettiest knife on the market. May not have all the bells and whistles, but they have LOTS of history in this country.

Thanks to Ka-bar for producing quality and affordable knives with the durarability needed for our soldiers to get their tasks done. Just another reason why I will always pass along the good word about the company. GOOD work guys and gals !! :)

Beckerhead #32
 
first off, those are Marines, not soldiers.

I have heard that Ka-BAR stands for knife accessory-Browning Automatic Rifle. I have no idea how much truth is in this though.
My GrandDad was issued a BAR and a Ka BAR came with it. He carried it for years and passed it on to me when I enlisted.
They were issued widely during WWII, and if you look closely you can see that one of the flag raisers of Iwo Jima has one on his hip.
 
I've had several friends an acquaintances over the years that served in the pacific in WWII. For all of them their Ka-Bar was an object of reverence.
 
As far as I know, kabar got it's name when the company received a letter from a hunter, with atrocious handwriting. The just of it was that he had used the knife to "Kill A Bear". Though, he spelled bear as "bar". The name Kabar stuck after that, or so the legend goes.
 
Sqoon... I respectfully disagree with your disagreement

Some knives are made for artistic reasons that have more appeal than Ka-bars. Ka-bars are made for pure function. I DO, however, think they are beautiful knives.

Beckerhead #32
 
bush-haus said:
Sqoon... I respectfully disagree with your disagreement

Some knives are made for artistic reasons that have more appeal than Ka-bars. Ka-bars are made for pure function. I DO, however, think they are beautiful knives.

Beckerhead #32
Click to expand...

I respectfully agree to agree to your disagreeing with my disagreement. :confused: I find knives that are pretty for the sake of being pretty to be ugly, while those whose functionality and utility are instantly understood just by the look of them to be simply gorgeous.
 
Beckers are the ugliest most usingist knives on the planet as designed by the prettiest man that isn't chuck norris :)
 
had you seen the pacific before you got it? I thought it was just awful. Terrible portrayal of the Pacific theater. I seriously hope tom hanks and stephen spielberg totally twisted what Hugh Ambrose wrote in his book, otherwise his father would spring from the grave and beat the tar out of him.

Sorry for the rant, and if you enjoyed it then I guess it's different strokes.
 
All,

KA-BAR's lovely Tara Zak was the company go between for the "Pacific". We supplied knives for the show. There is a limited edition engraved knife that we also did for the show.

Gruntin,

There are several stories on how the KA-BAR Brand name came into existence. Your's being one of them. The brand name KA-BAR came into existence in 1922-3. The BAR was invented in 1917-8. The 1219c USMC F/U knife was designed in 1941. There doesn't seem to be any link that ties any of the above information together. Brad Lockwood's book on the Case Family also talks about the other stories. There isn't any provenance to support any of the stories so I guess it's all a moot point.
FYI, The official company line is the English Trapper/Bear story. That's our story and we're stickin' to it.


Best Regards,


Paul Tsujimoto
Sr Eng
Prod Dev and Qual
KA-BAR Knives
 
Ah, the Kabar 1217, my first real knife. It was a gift, that was born in Korea and died in Texas. Kabars are a beautiful knife, IMO, mostly, because I love the "spartan", austere look of a simple hardworking knife. There are 3 things born of the first 50yrs of the 1900's that, again, IMO, shows what the word AMERICAN truly is.

Colt 1911
Kabar Marine fighting knife
M1 Garand

Those three things, brought American fortitude to the spotlight in WWII. We won, through the grit and determination of the soldiers carrying them. They had the confidence and trust of their equipment, and the support of every man women and child back home in the states.

Thank you Kabar, for the Legend, the Legacy, and the Love, that your products have been bringing to our country's men and women.

Moose
 
"Kabars are pretty." "Kabars are functional."

"Tastes great." "Less filling."

Actual answer: They're just cool.
 
Toooj said:
All,

KA-BAR's lovely Tara Zak was the company go between for the "Pacific". We supplied knives for the show. There is a limited edition engraved knife that we also did for the show.

Gruntin,

There are several stories on how the KA-BAR Brand name came into existence. Your's being one of them. The brand name KA-BAR came into existence in 1922-3. The BAR was invented in 1917-8. The 1219c USMC F/U knife was designed in 1941. There doesn't seem to be any link that ties any of the above information together. Brad Lockwood's book on the Case Family also talks about the other stories. There isn't any provenance to support any of the stories so I guess it's all a moot point.
FYI, The official company line is the English Trapper/Bear story. That's our story and we're stickin' to it.


Best Regards,


Paul Tsujimoto
Sr Eng
Prod Dev and Qual
KA-BAR Knives
Click to expand...

Hi , just out of interest , how many Ka-Bars did you supply for the " Pacific" and were they your standard 1217 model ?

Thanks

Dunc
 
Love the traditional USMC Ka-bar! But oddly i don't own one yet!
I do however have the Ka-bar 1271, 1272 and the Ka-bar Becker Necker.
Actually moosez45 the Garand was designed by a Canadian,lol.
:D
 
tholiver said:
Love the traditional USMC Ka-bar! But oddly i don't own one yet!
I do however have the Ka-bar 1271, 1272 and the Ka-bar Becker Necker.
Actually moosez45 the Garand was designed by a Canadian,lol.
:D
Click to expand...

Maybe, but made in Geneseo Illinois.:D

Moose
 
"soldiers were wearing Ka-bars...and USING them."

Ka-bars are made of simple carbon steel! Didn't they all dissolve from all that salt air/water in the Pacific! How could the Marines use them with no blade left?

Vin
 
vba said:
"soldiers were wearing Ka-bars...and USING them."

Ka-bars are made of simple carbon steel! Didn't they all dissolve from all that salt air/water in the Pacific! How could the Marines use them with no blade left?

Vin
Click to expand...

those blades are tougher than you think.ive got one that was carried on iwo jima by my ex wifes grandfather.all the coating is gone but the blade,handle,guard and pommel are all still intact.still sharp as hell too.:D
 
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