My Dad's WWII USMC Camillus Model A, Pattern 1219c2

My Dad was partial to Ralph Bone’s knives and I have several of them, but this was his favorite knife, it is the issue fighting utility knife my father took to Okinawa in ‘65 and Saigon in ‘67, my Dad was a USMC officer and ran bakeries for the US Marine Corps from 1959 to 1968, he “acquired” this late WWII Camillus model A ‘KA-BAR’ (WWII USMC pattern 1219c2) fighting utility knife sometime during his service (1958-1968) and while I know he never used it in combat it was a part of him during that time and for the remainder of his years, he and it never parted ways until he died in December 2000. When I say it was a part of him it was his EDC at times when hunting, fishing, camping and hiking, he stored it in the trunk of his car for several decades. I just recently cleaned and conditioned the leather on both the handle and sheath, I clean off the verdigris from the sheath about every 2 years and apply Picards to the leather. When I hold it I feel connected to him.

It’s one of the sharpest knives I own, even the front top edge is a razor, Dad sharpened it last, I’ve never touched the edge with a stone.







My father was also a Knife Rep, when I went to work for him in 1989 he was the Victorinox/R.H. Forschner sales rep in Northern California, we represented the line until 2002. My father is where I got my love for knives, he loved them too.


KR