PAL MK1

[camillus]

Hi, I was wondering, was pal one of the lager makers of the MK1, a large proportion of the ones listed on ebay are PAL just curious Mike

[SKIPH]

Mike- Good observation! Seems like the majority of MK1s you see anywhere are made by PAL. There is also a ton of mint, in-the-wrapper MK1s available. The PAL MK1 in mint condition is in my opinion a really, good looking knife. SKIP

[camillus]

thanks MK1 information is so hard to come by

[sactroop]

I agree with the above. What look like NOS MK1's are more often than not PAL's. The amount of good information on the MK1's doesn't seem near as common as the knives themselves. Mike have you had the chance to pick up Knife World Magazine; (MILITARY KNIVES A REFERENCE BOOK) ? It's got a few articles that touch on the MK1's. OBTW, I see where you've made some nice additions to your collection recently, ++++.

[camillus]

thanks, I sold my MK1 and am looking for one with a hard scabbard and has no loose parts then I don't know after that

[bayonetman]

Most of the ones you see in the Mark 1 plastic scabbard are either PAL of Camillus. By the time that scabbard came out, most (not all) of the other makers had stopped making the Mark 1 knife. From observation over the past years, it does appear that most that are found in like new condition are PAL which probably indicates that they were the last maker to have contracts for that knife.

 

My uncle served on the carrier USS Coral Sea during the early 1950s. He had an interest in knives, and said that many of the pilots and other aircrew carried the Mark 1 knife. In theory I think that the official knife at that time was the so-called Jiant Jackknife, but I am sure that many of them preferred to carry a common sheath knife.

 

Dad and the rest of his CB company were issued Mark 1s when they were sent to the Aleutians in January 1943. Later he got a Mark 2 and said that most of the men did not care that much for the Mark 1 and strongly preferred the Mark 2.

[camillus]

just out of curiosity Gary did your father say why they prefered the M1 over the MK2

[thorin6]

I went looking for my PAL Mark 1 and then remembered I had some pictures. It was the second Mark 1 I bought, and is in excellent condition. My first Mark 1 was by Ka-bar and I picked it up for $6 at a flea market. The PAL cost a little more.

 

[camillus]

that is a fine knife, I just got one on ebay I'll post a pic when I get it

[bayonetman]

just out of curiosity Gary did your father say why they prefered the M1 over the MK2

It was the other way around, the Mark 2 was preferred over the Mark 1. Although some of the thinking was probably the "bigger is better" syndrome, he did say that in his company they broke at least three Mark 1 knives, probably using them as tools as they were a carpenter unit.

[camillus]

Thanks