Logic to Ka-Bar numbering system?

[DunkEm]

Discussion in another thread has me wondering if there is a clear logic to the Ka-Bar product numbering system that I am failing to discern. Can anyone help decipher the code for me?

 

[Moosez45]

Nope. Been after it myself for a while........

I got nothing.

But I know where Yesterday's is and where Brenham is.......I went to school in College Station.......Big Dog Harrys........Denim and Diamonds.....Ptarmigan Club......Oxford Street.......man.....the good ol daze....

Moose

 

[zzyzzogeton]

Nope. Been after it myself for a while........

I got nothing.

But I know where Yesterday's is and where Brenham is.......I went to school in College Station.......Big Dog Harrys........Denim and Diamonds.....Ptarmigan Club......Oxford Street.......man.....the good ol daze....

Moose

I don't know if I believe you went there. No mention of THE iconic bar of College Station - The Dixie Chicken. It's seen many a drinking hole come and go, fly-by-night wanna-bees that couldn't hang with the big dog.

 

[zzyzzogeton]

Discussion in another thread has me wondering if there is a clear logic to the Ka-Bar product numbering system that I am failing to discern. Can anyone help decipher the code for me?

Way back in the 20s/30s, the model numbers were relatively simple to decode. Gunsil has all the details, but there were 8 or 9 handle materials. The first digit of a model number was the handle material. I know 5 was leather, 4 some kind of plastic (came in red black and ??yellowish-tan??). The second 2 (rarely 3) numbers were the pattern type. A trailing letter designated special pommels. "G" would mean the knife had a stag pommel. The model number might have been followed with a "-x" where "x" is a number representing approximate blade length. A 472G-5 would be a 5" pattern 72 knife sporting a stag pommel and the weird stacked plastic disc handle mentioned above. A 598-4 would be a 4 inch pattern 98 with a stacked leather and "standard pommel" for the model/year/era, e.g., mushroom/bird beak/flat.

Now-a-days???? Well, 12xx are fixed blades, but there seems to be no generic pattern to identify a knife by. You have to memorize what each knife is. Some, like the shorties, all fall in a short range, i.e., 125x to 126x, but you can't identify blade type, point style, handle composition, etc just by looking at the numbers. You have to KNOW what each one is. Non-standard Kabars, e.g., Presentation grades, Snody, TDI, Dozier, Mules, etc are assigned a series of number of numbers with in a given range - e.g., the presentation grades are all 9xxx. Bean counters assigning a stock tracking number, nothing meaningful.

And then Kabar will recycle model numbers. 1255 has been used at least 3x that I know of, 1244 = 2x, probably others I haven't noticed.

At least with Westerns, you know where you stand - A single letter for handle type, 2 digits for pattern type, occassionally a letter for a sub-model (i.e., 48A, 48B and 48C) and rarely a "-x" for blade length. And for 1977 to 1991, a separate letter (A to O) for the year. Simple collector's poetry.

 

[DunkEm]

Nope. Been after it myself for a while........

I got nothing.

But I know where Yesterday's is and where Brenham is.......I went to school in College Station.......Big Dog Harrys........Denim and Diamonds.....Ptarmigan Club......Oxford Street.......man.....the good ol daze....

Moose

I don't know if I believe you went there. No mention of THE iconic bar of College Station - The Dixie Chicken. It's seen many a drinking hole come and go, fly-by-night wanna-bees that couldn't hang with the big dog.

Sounds like you both might have spent a bit of time here in the great Brazos Valley.

FWIW - Bluebonnets are starting to arrive for spring.


And thanks Z for the numbering info.

 

[zzyzzogeton]

Sounds like you both might have spent a bit of time here in the great Brazos Valley.

I can sing the Aggie Band Song, Aggie War Hymn, The Spirit of Aggieland, The Star Spangled Banner and Texas, Our Texas without the sheet music.

For knife related content, I carried a Buck 110 every day I was there and bought my first Kabar brand USN MK2, a guard marked version in a NORD sheath for $7.50. They had a 30 gallon barrel full of them. Should have bought more.

 

[Moosez45]

I don't know if I believe you went there. No mention of THE iconic bar of College Station - The Dixie Chicken. It's seen many a drinking hole come and go, fly-by-night wanna-bees that couldn't hang with the big dog.

They wouldn't let us in......

Those were the spots we hung out in.

Bonfire and Fellowship.......yuuup.

Dixie Chicken..........noooooooope.

:foot:

Moose