KA-BAR
| KA-BAR | |
|---|---|
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| Information | |
| Weapon type: | Utility knife |
| Designations: | Ka-Bar Knife |
| Use: | Weapon, tool |
| Creation time: | 1942 |
| Working time: | 1943 until today |
| Region of origin / author: |
USA , military |
| Distribution: | Worldwide |
| Overall length: | 30.84 cm |
| Blade length: | 17.78 cm |
| Blade width: | 31.0 mm |
| Blade thickness: | 4.0 mm |
| Weight: | approx. 300/600 gr (without / with scabbard) |
| Handle: | leather |
| Lists on the subject | |
The KA-BAR , more precisely "US Navy and Marine Corps Utility Knife MKII" is a combat and all-purpose knife, which was mainly used by the US Marine Corps (USMC) during the Second World War , but also by the US Navy and the US Army was on duty. The versions for Navy, Marine Corps and Army differ in the material of the scabbard (linen resin for Navy) and the processing (riveted and sewn leather for Marine Corps, stapled and sewn leather for Army). In the Army, however, it was replaced by the M3 Trench Knife as early as 1943. The KA-BAR was also used in subsequent conflicts and wars in the United States and is still in use today.
history
The KA-BAR was originally built in 1890 as a hunting knife designed model 1219C2 and had initially a 17 cm long Bowie - blade of uncoated steel. In 1942 the design was adapted and adopted by the military.
Shortly after the entry of the United States into the Second World War in 1941, the American soldiers expressed frustration over the shares issued to them combat knives from the First World War and the Mark I-dagger . These proved to be inadequate for hand-to-hand combat and trench warfare . The KA-BAR was selected from a hunting magazine by the US Army and produced millions of times during the war years. Its popularity is also expressed in the fact that it was occasionally even used for combat diving missions, although at that time it was still very vulnerable to salt water. A large number of different types of knives were used by the Marines during the war. However, the KA-BAR was the most popular and widely used. Even after the end of the war, it continued to be a standard item of equipment for the US Marine Corps.
The only modification that was carried out on the knife before further production is the matt black or gray phosphating of the blade, the ricasso (or crossguard) and the pommel, as protection against corrosion and to prevent light reflections. The final design of the knife was coined by Major Howard America. He lengthened the knife to 17.8 cm in order to optimize it for combat use, made it a little easier by means of double-sided fillets in the blade and, among other things, led. a. the oval leather handle, consisting of pressed leather discs with spacer rings, as a standard version.
During the Second World War the knife was made by many manufacturers, including a. Union Cutlery Co., Pal Blade, Robeson, Camillus Cutlery Co., Ontario Knife Co. The classic design of the KA-BAR was adopted by many knife manufacturers and / or adapted to meet today's requirements. Interestingly, Camillus supplies the first and most of the official models to the American military, not the Union Cutlery Co., which later turned out to be eponymous.
The enterprise
The knife got its name from its original manufacturer, the "Union Cutlery Company", who engraved their brand name on the blade. The current company KA-BAR was founded in 1898 under the name "Tidioute Cutlery Company". The name "KA-BAR" was first used as a brand name, but in 1952 the company was renamed "KA-BAR Cutlery Inc.". The headquarters of today's company, "KA-BAR Knifes Inc." is now in Olean , New York .
Nowadays KA-BAR also manufactures army and naval versions , as well as various special series for specific missions of the different troop units with corresponding engravings of the knife. Except for the armed forces- dependent engravings and special series engravings on the blade and the symbols on the scabbard, these are identical. The current version, with the designation “Full-size USMC KA-BAR, Straight Edge” only differs in details from the original KA-BAR. There are modernized versions with modern materials and smaller versions of the KA-BAR.
etymology
The origin of the name "KA-BAR" is unclear. The company presents it as a modification of the phrase "kill a bear", which was uttered by a customer because of its characteristics. Another theory can be found in the Marine Corps Officer Candidate School (OCS) museum in Quantico , Virginia : The acronym stands for "Knife Attached - Browning Automatic Rifle."
Web links
- Official website of KA-BAR Knives, Inc. (English)
- History and information about the Ka-Bar ( Memento from July 5, 2005 in the Internet Archive )