This is a kabar...right?

[knifejunkie1928]

Hey everyone! first time over on the kabar forum. I useally never venture off of the Becker forum, but hey beckers and kabar go hand in hand.

Anyway I got this knife from my uncle when I was a kid. Just been sitting in a closet the whole time I've had it. Now I don't much about knife history, but this is a kabar right? It says camillus on it but didn't camillus own/make kabars back in the day?

And I'm guessing the U.S.N is United States navy?

Anything thing you guys could tell me about this blade would be awesome.

 

[longun]

Google Camillus Cutlery Mark 2. Lots of good information out there. I would link some of it, but I think linking is frowned upon here. Congrats on a nice piece of history.

 

[sac troop]

No KA-BAR and Camillus are not related to each other. Yes it is a WW2 1219C2 pattern knife. We commonly came to call these KA-BAR's for a variety of reasons, But IMHO it's mostly because who wants to argue with a Marine.
Four companies made these knives in WW2 for Uncle Sam. Camillus is one of them. IMHO, it's still OK to post it here because at the end of the day to most people the differences don't have much of a distinction.
FYI, the stamping on the guard would make it a later WW2 production knife.

 

[knifejunkie1928]

see what do I need google for when I have bladefourms!

Thanks! for the info sac troop. Sad to learn this isn't a kabar… oh well! still an amazing piece of history!

Sorry to have posted this on the kabar forum.

 

[zzyzzogeton]

No problem. Even though it is a "still viable company name", KABAR has become synonymous with any version of the 1219C2/USN MK2. Kinda like ASPIRIN has become the generic name for salicylic acid. Aspirin was actually a brand name at one time. But because KABAR is a BRAND and not a PRODUCT, per se, people get confused. There are LOTS of folks out there who are clueless that KABAR is a brand and NOT a knife style.

I see sales ads all the time where the description includes "KABAR style" for some knife that may have a blade any where from 3" to 12" long.

The story I like best about how all 1219C2s/USN MK2s became "Kabars" may or may not have a grain of truth to it. Like Peter Pan said "You gotta BELIEVE."

The first batch of 50,000 USMC 1219C2s rolled off the Camillus manufacturing line and were shipped to the Marines in February 1943. At Boot Camp, during equipment familiarization training, the first DIs described the 1219C2 kinda like this -

"This is the USMC 1291C2 Fighting/Utility Knife. It is made by Camillus Cutlery out of Camillus, NY. It is 12 inches long, with a 7" steel blade and a 5" stacked leather handle..............."

A couple of months later, the first Kabar versions started arriving. Now the DIs had to change their spiel depending on the knife they were holding. Along the line, every DI just called them KABARs and dropped the company manufacturing info, PROBABLY, MAYBE, about the time Robeson-Suredge and/or PAL versions came along.

A second story, and probably more likely, is that out in the field, Marines did what the did to every thing - simplified it.

"Lemme borrow your KABAR a minute." has a "more manly, guttural" sound to it and was 2 syllables, Camiilus sounds like a flower and has 3 syllables, Robeson-Suredge is a mouth full and what self respecting Marine would ever say "Lemme borrow your PAL for a minute."????

 

[Swampdog]

Your knife was most likely called a Ka-Bar by the Marine who owned it, as zzyzzogeton has done an excellent job explaining.

I'm a Vietnam-era former Marine and the only 7" blade fighting/utility knives we had available were made by Camillus.

I bought one brand new for $7 at the Base Exchange in 1971, I just referred to it as my "Ka-Bar knife."

 

[knifejunkie1928]

Thanks for the history zzyzzogeton. haha yup just like aspirin!