Hey Gang! Just stumbled on this ebay item #281156799027. It is an absolutely beautiful example of a Red Spacer Kabar MK2. Take a look at the handle. The leather looks like it was placed on the handle yesterday. The blued blade is phenomenal, and a near mint sheath. I'm impressed with the fact that this knife stayed near mint for 70+ years. Evidently the owner(s), knew they had a work of art. The $2500 Buy Now price, I have no clue. The knife impressed me. Check it out. SKIP

This knife is simply beautiful, amazing ... but the price is too

I've never seen a nine rivet scabbard with the rivets in that pattern.

 

The false edge is sharpened but should not be. To me it looks like the blade has been reblued and then sharpened. Looking at the sellers other auctions causes me concern. It seems every blade being listed is virtually mint.

 

Bill

Bill- Beg to differ. I have several mint MK2s, all with sharpened false edges. The blade appears to have some scabbard wear, but I don't think it was re-blued. The seller always has nice to excellent stuff. He usually gets a premium. He does take great pictures. We'll throw the sharpened false edge out there, see what the other guys think. SKIP

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=281156799027

 

It almost looks like the leather has been cleaned, but hard to say. This guy has been selling so many high end military knives that it does make you wonder. It may be he's selling off a collection, or is justbvery lucky at garage sales.

That is a killer knife....puts mine to shame!

I have the same knife, but mine has some use, and has been refinished. Doesn't look like that one. SKIP

The seller of this knife is named Eric Keller. He is a dealer with many connections. You have to watch his photos. He will lighten and darken the shade to make the knives to look better than they are. He uses the same background in all of them.

Hey Bill!! How's it going? I was just impressed w/ the knife. Photography is your forte. What's your opinion on the knife, and the sheath. Always like your input. SKIP

Hello Skip, this is Bill Jr. It does look to be a nice knife, price is big.

For those who would like to read a basic primer on the red spacer Ka Bars, here's something posted when the forum was about one months old by the late Greg Robinson, who was know on this and many knife forums as "Marine Kabar"

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/480-red-spacer-usmc-ka-bar/

The rivet pattern is somewhat off, but I have seen worse on good scabbards. The shape of the round edge on the scabbard appears like it was cut by hand.

Skip,

 

Cool information. The mint MK2s you have - are they USN or USMC versions? Are they Ka-Bars? I've never seen a USMC Ka-Bar (vs. Camillus, PAL, & Robeson) with a sharpened false edge. Looking thru my reference material I can't find an example of one.

 

Bill

Bill- My mint ones include 1) PAL USN RH-37, 2)Camillus blade marked USN, 3)Camillus guard marked USN,4) Ka-Bar guard marked USN, 5) RCC guard marked USN, 6)Camillus, screw-on pommel, blade marked USN. All are mint, all have a sharpened false edge.All mine have the sharpened false edge (have 13 total) . My issue Camillus blade marked USN w/ Mk2 sheath has the sharpened false edge. Mike Silveys book "Knives of the US Military in WW2", has a lot of great MK2 photos with the line of white very distinctly seen. Also try Bill Walters site, "usmilitaryfightingknives.com". He has his collection pictured, just click the MK2s. Check it out . SKIP

Sorry Skip but I still don't see any Ka-Bar USMC knives with sharpened false edges in Mike Silvey's book Knives of the United States Military World War II.

 

I see a Camillus USMC on page 14 that might have a sharpened false edge but really can't tell. The top edge of the knife has a glint all the way down the blade edge so can't be sure. But it's a Camillus not a Ka-Bar.

 

The USMC Ka-Bars on pages 16 & 17 do not look to me to have sharpened false edges.

 

The USMC Ka-Bar on page 20 does not look to me like it has a sharpened false edge.

 

The USMC PAL on page 22 does not look to me like it has a sharpened false edge. But again thats a PAL not a Ka-Bar.

 

The USMC Robeson knives on page 24 does not look to have sharpened false edges. And once again these are Robeson not Ka-Bar.

 

All the other MK2s in the book are USN and appear to have sharpened false edges. Most are very easy to see. But these are USN not USMC.

 

Bill Walters site does not have any USMC knives in the Mark 2 section. You have to go the USMC Fighting Knives section. The pictures are not sharp enough to tell but non of the Ka-Bars appear to have a sharpened false edge. He does have a close up of a PAL that might have been sharpened but hard to tell. And once again it's not a Ka-Bar.

 

I have eight WWII USMC Ka-Bars and not one has a sharpened false edge. Nor does my WWII USMC PAL, Robeson, or two Camillus knives. Thats 12 total WWII USMC knives. Three of which are the early red spacer versions. Two are the triple black spacer like the one in question but mine are not blued.

 

I have "theater modified" WWII USMC knives consisting of 4 PAL, 1 Camillus, and 3 Ka-Bar. These all started out as USMC 1211c knives and non of them have sharpened false edges. That makes 20 WWII USMC Knives and non with a sharpened false edge.

 

Interestingly the post war knives I have are a mixed bunch. The early Utica I have does not have a sharpened false edge but the later version does. The early Camillus, Ox-Blood Camillus, and post 1974 Camillus in my collection do not have sharpened false edges. Nor does my Corenta and Ontario but my MSI does have a sharpened false edge.

 

This is all very interesting. But back to the point at hand. I still don't find any reference for a USMC Ka-Bar with a sharpened false edge. USN yes, USMC no. I kinda hope I'm wrong in all this. It would give me reason to get more knives. Right know I try to only keep the best example of each to save space and money.

 

By the way. I would love to see your collection Skip.

 

Bill

Bill- This is interesting. I do have a Camillus blade marked USMC that is sharpened. But, I have a plain (no service) blade marked Ka-Bar, used and refinished that may or may not have been sharpened. So, the question is out there. Gang help us out! Do Kabar USMC MK2s have a sharpened false edge or not? We know the USN versions do, but how about some USMC. I only have one USMC marked Kabar, like the one being sold, and a plain blade marked Kabar both blades appear to be used, and refinished. Does anyone have a few mint USMC marked Kabars we can get research data from. My curiosity is peeked. SKIP

Bill- Went to "Warpath Militaria" here in town. Checked out a Ka-Bar blade marked USMC, false edge had not appeared to have a sharpened false edge. Your observation is very interesting. We need to hear from someone with a few mint ones. SKIP

I just checked a half dozen mint Kabars and Camillus. All the false edges were sharpened. You have to remember that when they were making these, they were not concerned how they looked. They were pumping them out as fast as possible.

I just checked a half dozen mint Kabars and Camillus. All the false edges were sharpened. You have to remember that when they were making these, they were not concerned how they looked. They were pumping them out as fast as possible.

Were these USMC Ka-Bars?

Yes

Thanks Bill. Very interesting.

Bill- Thanks for the info. SKIP