The Story Behind America’s First Hunting Knife

[Rich1028]

Great post!
Learned something...

sad to see another Michigan company go

[Mister Mills]

A WWII Navy issue MK-II Ka-Bar. The knife was basically a heavily militarized version of the Marble’s Ideal. Millions and millions of these knives have gone to war for the past 75-plus years.Steven Dick

The article said that the KBar knife was styled after a Marble. I had a couple of Cammilus-knife KBars.
Really good steel, and make-up, they were as solid as a rock; and if the Marble was as good as them, it is/was an excellent knife.
And I have every assurance in my mind, that they are as good as any KBar.

The knife pictured is a Marble, it was a Navy knife form WWII. It is high praise to say that style came from Marble, because they are still being made and carried by troops.



PS: I have seen some Vietnam-era Kabar's and Navy knives at flea markets; and the sellers must have been on dope; with prices as high as $75 or more.
Why? I can buy a brand-new one Marine or Navy or AF pattern knife. I am odd, on some things, I like traditional; but on others, I can go modern.

I know this much, I ain't gettin' suckered on some worn out Vietnam-era knife. Not when I can get 2 Navy or Kabar, for what some guy is charging for 1.
That is my cheap-skate side speaking out.

[StratBastard]

The article said that the KBar knife was styled after a Marble. I had a couple of Cammilus-knife KBars.
Really good steel, and make-up, they were as solid as a rock; and if the Marble was as good as them, it is/was an excellent knife.
And I have every assurance in my mind, that they are as good as any KBar.

The knife pictured is a Marble, it was a Navy knife form WWII. It is high praise to say that style came from Marble, because they are still being made and carried by troops.



PS: I have seen some Vietnam-era Kabar's and Navy knives at flea markets; and the sellers must have been on dope; with prices as high as $75 or more.
Why? I can buy a brand-new one Marine or Navy or AF pattern knife. I am odd, on some things, I like traditional; but on others, I can go modern.

I know this much, I ain't gettin' suckered on some worn out Vietnam-era knife. Not when I can get 2 Navy or Kabar, for what some guy is charging for 1.
That is my cheap-skate side speaking out.

I have a great Ka-Bar, it's my camping knife. Always does the job, good steel, tough construction. I used to be in the collectable knife biz, going most weekends to gun and knife shows. Those Viet Nam era knives have a collector value over and above the price of a new one... the collector market can really drive prices. If you're going to USE one, rather than have it in a collection, a new one is definitely the way to go. As far as I can see, they're still making them tough today.

[Mister Mills]

I have a great Ka-Bar, it's my camping knife. Always does the job, good steel, tough construction. I used to be in the collectable knife biz, going most weekends to gun and knife shows. Those Viet Nam era knives have a collector value over and above the price of a new one... the collector market can really drive prices. If you're going to USE one, rather than have it in a collection, a new one is definitely the way to go. As far as I can see, they're still making them tough today.

When I picked the knife up, in its blister pack I was sold, on the spot. That was at Camp Dawson WV. The knife was built like a tank, and solid black; and when I opened up the package, the knife was sharp, with excellent steel. [I knew of KBar by rep, but I did not know a thing about Cammilus, the maker of that one. I learned later that they were a contractor with the US Govt and the Marines.]

My unit was part-time SF, and the guys really loved to go high speed; and low drag. One of the Airborne qualified guys [maroon beret] wore Rolex watches; and he lost one when he crash landed in a swamp, on a para jump. Not me baby, I love Casio and Timex, because I want something that can take a real dose of Hell, if need be. Classy stuff tends to keep selling, over the generations. [ They loved the Gerber Gator there, and I had one myself; but it was like sitting on a rock, when I carried it in my back pocket.]

I am cheap, did I mention that? The watch that I am wearing right now, is a carabiner-style, with a busted crystal, that I got at a flea market. I bought a battery for it, and put package tape on the crystal, to hold it together, and Shazam! I have a working watch. I kinda like that style of timepiece myself, and I could give a pile of horse dung, what anybody thinks about its looks.

[StratBastard]

When I picked the knife up, in its blister pack I was sold, on the spot. That was at Camp Dawson WV. The knife was built like a tank, and solid black; and when I opened up the package, the knife was sharp, with excellent steel. [I knew of KBar by rep, but I did not know a thing about Cammilus, the maker of that one. I learned later that they were a contractor with the US Govt and the Marines.]

My unit was part-time SF, and the guys really loved to go high speed; and low drag. One of the Airborne qualified guys [maroon beret] wore Rolex watches; and he lost one when he crash landed in a swamp, on a para jump. Not me baby, I love Casio and Timex, because I want something that can take a real dose of Hell, if need be. Classy stuff tends to keep selling, over the generations. [ They loved the Gerber Gator there, and I had one myself; but it was like sitting on a rock, when I carried it in my back pocket.]

I am cheap, did I mention that? The watch that I am wearing right now, is a carabiner-style, with a busted crystal, that I got at a flea market. I bought a battery for it, and put package tape on the crystal, to hold it together, and Shazam! I have a working watch. I kinda like that style of timepiece myself, and I could give a pile of horse dung, what anybody thinks about its looks.

Here's an oddball Camillus: the MC-1 Paratrooper. Issued as a shroud cutter in the Viet Nam era. Not their best knife, and strangely enough the blade was spring loaded instead of the emergency shroud cutter.

[Mister Mills]

Here's an oddball Camillus: the MC-1 Paratrooper. Issued as a shroud cutter in the Viet Nam era. Not their best knife, and strangely enough the blade was spring loaded instead of the emergency shroud cutter.

That hook blade is easy to figure out, it would grab the canopy lines pretty well; and the blade is a GP design, for slicing anything. I guess that it what they were aiming for, plus it is a switchblade from the sounds of it.

I have a funny story about switchblades, a WV State Trooper showed up at a drill, and was selling them from the trunk of his patrol car. At the time, they may have been illegal to own in WV; and when I brought that up, he gave me a "Don't worry about it." look. ....I have lived an odd life.
I have learned to roll with the punches though.