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i need a little help

hi, i'm a new member to the site and thought i'd jump right in. trying to track down some info on a knife i'm working on for a buddy. it's a ka bar that was supposedly picked up by his grandfather on the battlefield during wwII. one side has the usual ka bar markings on the hilt, the other side says union cutlery co
olean ny
this is an interesting design for a ka bar especially since the handle is some type of synthetic, i was hoping someone on here could help me find some info on it so i could inform my buddy about his heirloom. thanks
ryan

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Matthew Hiebert on September 10, 2009 at 17:13

That's a real nice looking blade - I'd love to get my hands on something like that some day. Nice find. Sorry I couldn't be of any help though - I'm not an expert on the old Ka-Bar's.

Permalink Reply by Jim Johnson on September 10, 2009 at 17:18

Have you got Pics.?? Is it a regular type MKII KABAR? How long is the blade? What color is the is the synthetic handle? What is the OAL.Does it say pat. pend near Union Cut?...Then we can check it out.Oh yeah and welcome to the group.Sounds like you got a goodie to start off with!!
JLJ

Permalink Reply by ryan korn on September 10, 2009 at 21:10

pics are posted on my page thingy, one side says
united cutlery co
olean ny
other side says
ka bar
reg u.s. pat of
handle is some type of acrylic i think, brown and wavy internally. blade is about 5 inches long and nothing like any other ka bar designs i have ever seen.

Permalink Reply by Nick Arsenault on September 12, 2009 at 13:25

well in wwII most handels were made from stacked leather, but it dosent look to be leather... is it hard? (like a stone)

Permalink Reply by ryan korn on September 12, 2009 at 17:54

handle is some type of acrylic

Permalink Reply by Chris Stookey on September 13, 2009 at 1:25

Well Ryan...as it so happens, I own several KaBars...and have a certain brochure handy. Ka-Bar...as we know it today, has actually been 4 companies over the course of it's existence. First Tidioute Razor Company, then Union Razor Company, then Union Cutlery...and finally on to KaBar. This means that the knife that your friend's Grandfather picked up was made during the transition from Union Cutlery to KaBar. At a guess, I'd say that the knife was probably made 1938 to 1942...ish. For hard-core KaBar collectors, your friend's knife should really ring their bells! The design is an old-school hunter-skinner type (you can see a similar blade shape/design on my page; the Marbles Tiger). It seems a little odd that this would be on a WWII battlefield as it definitely was not military issue...but as I understand it, some troops were allowed to take a few personal things with them...and it may well be that one of the young men serving in the war took it with him.

Permalink Reply by ryan korn on September 13, 2009 at 11:34

i know whenever i went into combat my personal ka bar always went with me.

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