Need a hand with this piece of history(?)

P

Pacosith

Joined
Nov 19, 2012
Messages
8
Hi all,

I hope I'm not offending, I tried to read all the rules, so here goes.

I need help from you knife guru gods.

I got this knife from my dad, who got it from his uncle who flew bombers in WW2 in the South Pacific. He told me these were uncommon but issued, and true to form, I cannot for the life of me, find any information on this particular. It seems like it's close to a few, but they're just not quite "there" if you know what I mean.

So, my dad had it a new sheath made for it, as he carried it with him in Viet Nam, so it's not original, but I figure it might help.

I have included pictures of both sides of the blade, and if you can't see it, it looks like below where it says KA-BAR Reg US Pat, and there might be a bit more, but it seems to be very lightly stamped.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I've been reading quite a bit here, and I have faith one or more will know right off what it is, at least that's what I'm hoping.

Here are links, because I think they're HUGE pictures, and I don't want anyone mad. (I'm trying to include large thumbs too)

LcePml.jpg


http://imgur.com/LcePm

xbsd7l.jpg


http://imgur.com/xbsd7

soyyjl.jpg


http://imgur.com/soyyj

I really appreciate it in advance. If I didn't offer the correct sacrifices, let me know. I have some 23 y/o single malt I'd be willing to share(in spirit). :)
 
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can you get us a close up picture of the stamps? The sheath is a Randall sheath so that doesn't help us with this knife.
 
Don't know anything about their history, but I do like that pattern. :) Tooog is the man in the know. Hopefully he will be around shortly to give us some info.
 
sideshowbob8 said:
can you get us a close up picture of the stamps? The sheath is a Randall sheath so that doesn't help us with this knife.
Click to expand...

Sure can! Edited for your viewing pleasure. Sorry, that's the best my camera can do..and I tried all sorts of different ways to get that.
 
That's a really nice knife. Do you have any specifics about your Dad's and Uncles service? Locations, time frames, squadrons, groups, company, division, battalion, etc.?
 
I've seen a similar post/question about a similar knife recently and Toooj's response was that it was an out of production hunting knife that was not an issue item but was allowed to be carried.
He of course could cite the model, range of manufacture dates, etc....
 
I too would like to hear about the production time frame for this specific knife.

This would fall under the heading of conjecture on my part but I can see how it might be that your Uncle was actually “issued” that knife.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor and the U.S. was thrust into war one thing that quickly became apparent was that the military wasn’t fully ready for war. One of many of the items not available or in short supply were knives. The public was made aware of this after the Battle for Guadalcanal as Marines were answering questions regarding what kinds of things did they need.
Back in the San Francisco Bay area a night club owner by the name of Frank Martinelli started a campaign on the radio and news papers called, “Save a Life with a Knife”. The public responded by donating about 10 thousand knives of all sorts with blade lengths of at least 4 inches. These knives were collected, sorted and distributed by the military to service men in need of them. As you can see from this almost any knife that was in production at or prior to the start of WW2 could have actually been issued to a G.I. .
FYI there was an article written in LIFE Magazine on February 8th, 1943 regarding this campaign. You might be able to find a copy of this through the internet or your local library. A copy of this story would complement your Uncle’s story.
 
I'll definitely ask my dad if he knows more about the squadron and when he was deployed.

I know that after the war, he settled down in Australia, so he must have had a good time there. I wanna say he was either B-17s or B-24s..but not sure on that, so will ask on that point too. And anything I find out is to be taken with a grain of salt, as he wasn't really "all there" when he got back from the war, as I understand it. Not sure what happened, but there are some things not shared by soldiers, that they keep to one's self. I'll poke around for that LIFE article too, thanks! This is something of a mystery I've put off over the years, but I figure I'd like to know something so I can pass it along to my son, when he gets my collection. Thanks guys!
 
Pacosith, I have a pretty good idea of what you mean. Often there is only so much information you can collect from the source or those that knew him directly. I went on a similar journey trying to find out more on my FIL's service. It got pretty frustrating at times and then all of a sudden I'd uncover something and it would lead to things I didn't know. Funny thing is the more I uncover the less outrageous some of his stories become.
That knife with connections to both your Uncle and Father would be something I'd celebrate. Someday your descendants will really appreciate it.
 
Hi Guys,

I know a little bit about Randalls. The sheath was made by Maurice Johnson roughly in the mid 60's (Randall's sheathmaker at the time). It does not follow any Randall Model pattern and the retainer snap and the positioning of the snap is not standard for a Randall sheath. IMO the sheath was custom made by Maurice for that knife.

Best,
 
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ron mathews said:
Hi Guys,

I know a little bit about Randalls. The sheath was made by Maurice Johnson roughly in the mid 60's (Randall's sheathmaker at the time). It does not follow any Randall Model pattern and the retainer snap and the positioning of the snap is not standard for a Randall sheath. IMO the sheath was custom made by Maurice for that knife.

Best,
Click to expand...

Good call, pretty sure that's spot on. My dad has 2 Randall's that he's passed down to me in addition to the Ka-Bar displayed above, and he had the sheath made when he got the other 2 that he carried on him, depending on the mission. I can post pics of the other 2 if you like, but I didn't think it was fitting for this particular thread, being Ka-Bar and all that it entails. :)

Pretty sure my dad was in good relations with the folks at Randall over the years.

Edit: just got this update from my dad on what he recalls about him:

He was in the 519th Bombardment (Kangaroo) Sqdn. He wrote a diary of where he was stationed in Northern Australia and the missions he flew into New Guinea and the Coral Sea. He was stationed at Pearl Harbor (Hickam Field) during the Japanese attack on 7 Dec and then his sqdn went to Townsville, on the NE coast in early 1942. The Ka-Bar was a common knife (bolo style blade) in the B-17 survival kits of the time. He had several DFCs and several Silver Stars and at least 1 Purple Heart.
 
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Pacosith said:
I can post pics of the other 2 if you like, but I didn't think it was fitting for this particular thread, being Ka-Bar and all that it entails. :)
Click to expand...

I would love to see them if the KA-BAR guys don't mind. That should help to narrrow down the timeframe.

Thanks and best,
 
I too would like to see pictures of the other knives and sheaths and I'm sure that the Mods wouldn't mind either.
 
That KA-BAR I have not see or don't remember seeing.KA-BAR's and knives in general were a very hot commodity in II so often guys would take whatever they could get there hands on. The tang stamp is DEFINATELY consistent with period so that might be a II knife.
 
Thanks, Pacosith! The one on the top is a Model 14. The one on the bottom is a Model 18. Notice that the throat rivets on the 14 sheath are oversized vs. those on the 18 sheath. That 14 sheath is called a "splitback" (The leather on the back is made up of two pieces). The splitback sheath phased out in ~'67, so my guess is that your Dad bought the two Randalls and had a sheath made for his KA-BAR in '67 or '68.

Best,
 
Pacosith,

Sorry for the late response. I was on an extended Thanksgiving vacation.
Your dad's knife is a Union Cutlery, KA-BAR Branded Model #598-8. This model came in 5, 6, 7, 8, and 12" models. Made in the 1930-early 40s.
Obviously the sheath is a custom. (Thanks ron matthews for the maker info)
Knife is in very good shape. Not a whole lot of monetary worth but a whole lot of family value.
Thanks for sharing.
Hope this helps.

PS: Thanks for posting the Randalls. It's okay to post as it was pertainate to the discussion. We have a very good relationship with Scott Maynard of Randall and have nothing but respect for them.

Best Regards,

Paul Tsujimoto
Sr Eng
Prod Dev and Qual
KA-Bar Knives
 
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Paul,

I don't know you, but it's evident you're a gentleman with knowledge and class.

Thanks and take care.......
 
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