This is the Ka-Bar USMC Straight Edge Utility Knife, though it’s most often just called the Ka-Bar. The knife was developed for use by the U.S. Marine Corps in WWII and was used extensively in both the Pacific and Europe theaters of war.
Ka-Bar are still making the knife today and each knife is still made by hand in the USA just like they were back in the 1940s. US Marines were equipped with this knife in the Second World War as well as the Vietnam War, Desert Storm, and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The Ka-Bar U.S. Marine Corps Utility Knife was used by the USMC during WWII, it was also standard issue for the Vietnam War, Desert Storm, and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Each Ka-Bar Utility Knife starts out as a piece of 7-inch 1095 Cro-Van steel which is then shaped into a blade. It’s given a distinctive stacked leather handle that gives good grip even when wet, and it has a 12GA commercial-grade carbon steel butt cap and finger guard.
Each one of these knives comes with a leather sheath included and they have 20-degree edge angles as well as a flat grind. The overall length of the knife is 11⅞”, the blade length is 7” and its width is 1.188”.
1095 Cro-Van steel is an alloy that many aren’t familiar with, it’s a high-carbon steel derived from 1095 steel by adding additional carbon, nickel, chromium, molybdenum, and vanadium.
This creates a steel alloy that is both harder and tougher than the original 1095, making it ideal for use in high-end knife making. Interestingly, hardened 1095 Cro-Van steel is also used to make precision ball bearings and stamping dies.
The Ka-Bar U.S. Marine Corps Utility Knife comes in both straight edge and serrated edge versions, though it was the straight edge version (shown in this article) that was originally used by Marines in WWII.
Each of these Ka-Bars is still made in the USA, they have strong 1095 Cro-Van steel blades that measure in at 7″ long and a 12GA commercial-grade carbon steel butt cap which Marines sometimes used as a hammer.
The knives are now being offered for sale by Huckberry with free US shipping, free returns, and a best price guarantee for $135 USD. They make an ideal addition to your outdoors gear and they remained a favorite with many Marines long after they left the service.
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