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KA-BAR


sgtdorango
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Just picked up this nicely used KA-BAR , its marked on only one side of blade KA-BAR Olean, NY....does not have USMC on other side, does this date it to a certain year of manufacture?..also has a nice un marked stapled sheath....this is my first one, been wanting one for a long time, got a good deal from a fellow collector.....now I might want more!!!!!....thanks for any info or opinions!.....mike

post-350-1226364192.jpg

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Nice looking sheath - they are harder to find than the knives. From what has been posted before on this forum, those KA BARS with no USN or USMC marks seem to be about 1943.

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Greg Robinson
Nice looking sheath - they are harder to find than the knives. From what has been posted before on this forum, those KA BARS with no USN or USMC marks seem to be about 1943.

 

That's correct. Union Cutlery made two versions of this knife which only had maker name on one side and no branch of service on the other. First one had the round blade tang and "early" OLean NY markings. Second one had rectangular tlade tang and later markings deleting the Olean NY mark. Both were most likely made sometime in 1943.

 

Scabbard looks like the stitched and stapled version made by BOYT HARNESS and typically seen on USMC knives made by Union Cutlery aka "KA-BAR". Yours is much nicer than commonly seen.

 

Greg

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I bought one like this a couple months back, little rougher shape. What are they going for these days?

 

Ka Bar prices seem to be all over the place: there are so many variations of the wartime KABARS plus the modern models that I think there is a lot of buyer confusion, so some nice wartime knives and sheaths go for well under a hundred dollars, and some modern items go for ay more than they should. I just checked ebay and saw a USMC knife with nice looking sheath that sold for over $250, but I saw what looked like a WWII USMC KA BAR with one of those modern commemorative sheaths that have USMC and the EGA stamped on them. Adding to the confusion, the Wikipedia article about KA-BAR's is illustrated with one of the modern knives and calls it 'USMC issue."

 

kabarmarks.jpg

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Greg Robinson
I bought one like this a couple months back, little rougher shape. What are they going for these days?

 

Wartime Marine "k-bars" range in value according to condition and which maker and variation it is. Assuming we're talking about excellent or better condition the values range from under $200 for a guard marked CAMILLUS to as high as $2000+ for a ROBESON. The maker with the largest total production and largest number of variations is UNION CUTLERY aka "KA-BAR".

 

Greg

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Owing to the number of variations and reproductions, the USMC knives would make a great topic for the reference section- hint hint. Come to think of it there are many other knives and edged weapons that could use a reference page as well.

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Greg Robinson
Owing to the number of variations and reproductions, the USMC knives would make a great topic for the reference section- hint hint. Come to think of it there are many other knives and edged weapons that could use a reference page as well.

 

 

BEEN THERE.....DONE THAT. When this forum first started I began an edged weapons reference section. It's still a work in progress.....so feel free to add to it. It's part of this edged weapons section and not part of the USMF reference section.

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