KA-BAR Mk 2 1978 Special Edition Commemorative

[usmce4]

Back in Oct I saw this knife at a Gun Show and was in a hurry and foolishly passed it by. It's been haunting me as "the one that got away" ever since and I've been searching for one since then. This weekend I went to the same show and lo and behold the same knife was on the same dealer's table. It's not often you get a second shot at the one that got away!

It's different from other modern issues in that it has a plain deep, decadently rich hot blued blade, is serial numbered, and the pin goes clear thru the pommel.

I'm still not 100% sure what issue it is, but sactroop helped me research it and according to a quip from Frank T. he found we think it's the second Commemorative Issued - done in 1978 after the USMC 200th Anniversary one.

I like it so much I thought I'd share it with the forum.

 

Art

 

[usmce4]

more....

[aznation]

Really nice...I love it! Congrats.

[tthen]

Very nice Art, glad you got a second chance!

[Frank Trzaska]

Nice find Art. KABAR told me in their research they made 1200 of these in 1978 for the Collectors Club. Yours being serial number 1950 makes me scratch my head a bit. They either made more or skipped some numbering?

 

They are a very nice knife.

[usmce4]

This pic came out so cool (IMHO) I just had to add it to this thread. The upper one is the one the Commem is a copy of - Bill Walters labels it "4th Generation", some still call it the "Transition Model". Whatever you call it, it's the first MK2 after the Red Spacer models, still retaining the blued blade.

 

Art

 

 

[sactroop]

I've avoided commemoratives all along. It's a to each their own kind of thing. That being said this one and the 200th Anniversary of the United States Marine Corps would be exceptions for me.