PDA

View Full Version : My B-Day present to me


SemperFi1977m
06-03-2011, 11:29 AM
My Ka-Bar made it today:rock:

A little history about Ka-Bar:

How KA-BAR Got Its Name"Soon after its introduction in the mid-1920's, the KA-BAR trademark became widely known and respected. There have been many versions of how the KA-BAR name came to be, but all evidence points to a letter received from a fur trapper. This particular fur trapper's testimonial turned out to be the most significant ever received by the company.

He wrote, in very rough English, that his gun had jammed and that he had therefore relied on his knife to kill a wounded bear that was attacking him. In thanking the company for their quality product the trapper described using his knife to kill the bear. All that was legible of his scrawled writing was "k a bar". The company was so honored by this testimonial that they adopted this phrase and used it as their trademark, KA-BAR."

KA-BAR, The Legend"On December 9, 1942, after the start of World War II, KA-BAR submitted a fighting knife to the United States Marine Corps in hopes that it would become general issue to that branch of the military. Working in conjunction with the Marine Quartermaster Department a design was devised and soon production was under way on a new and improved fighting / utility knife for the Marines. As the war escalated, the demand for these knives was so great that the KA-BAR factory alone could not keep up. The government assigned several knife companies to create similar knives as supplemental pieces for those serving the War. KA-BAR’s wartime production totaled more than 1 million. The KA-BAR knives became so well recognized for their quality and so abundant in number that “Kabar” became the name by which many referred to this knife pattern, regardless of whether the knife was manufactured at the KA-BAR facility.

These knives were depended upon to perform daily tasks such as pounding tent stakes, driving nails, opening ration cans and digging foxholes, not to mention defending lives. Years after World War II, many KA-BARS were unofficially reactivated in the Korean, Vietnam, Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom conflicts.

These high quality standards were maintained in 1976 when production was reintroduced to commemorate the Marine Corps 200th Anniversary of service to the United States. It was then that the original factory in Olean, New York, along with some of its original craftsmen, undertook the job of creating a “full dress model” of the original – a Limited Edition Commemorative that would prove to be most meaningful to the Marines. Using the original blueprints which had been stored in the company archive files, the recreated knife was a true work of art that retained the look, feel and performance of the original battle ready combat knife. The first one of its kind, serialized with the number “1”, was presented to the Commandant of the Corps and was later put on display at the USMC Museum at Quantico.The USMC Commemorative was so enthusiastically received that it became obvious that the original KA-BAR Fighting / Utility knife had retained its popularity through the years. The limited production Commemorative was so quickly taken up by the Marines, knife enthusiasts and collectors that KA-BAR decided to return it to regular production in its standard form. With only a few changes made possible by modern technology, the KA-BAR Fighting / Utility Knife was reintroduced."
~kabar.com

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/253802_1909209062064_1596977715_1884258_5538268_n. jpg


http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/253812_1909210662104_1596977715_1884264_3580842_n. jpg

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/251166_1909211702130_1596977715_1884267_8315387_n. jpg

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/251208_1909211022113_1596977715_1884265_2436598_n. jpg?dl=1

AutoMag
06-03-2011, 12:57 PM
Congrats Lonnie, it looks great!!!:)

SemperFi1977m
06-03-2011, 01:36 PM
Thanks John: it's used, but not abused or ever sharpened.

skosh69
06-03-2011, 02:08 PM
Looking good...

tubbs
06-03-2011, 02:27 PM
Thanks for the story Lonnie. I think you have a fine knife right there.

Mghwk
06-03-2011, 07:05 PM
Thanks for the read and the pictures. I have one just like it that has been in almost daily use for 20 years. It's so not pretty that it's beautiful. Are you going to use this one or keep it as a commemorative?

Mark
:sheep:

SemperFi1977m
06-04-2011, 04:26 PM
Thanks for the read and the pictures. I have one just like it that has been in almost daily use for 20 years. It's so not pretty that it's beautiful. Are you going to use this one or keep it as a commemorative?

Mark
:sheep:

Im going to use the heck out of it :D

Thedragonslayer
06-04-2011, 07:03 PM
Very good looking Knife Marine!!!:stand::)