History Of Ka-Bar Knives

Interested in what the history of ka-bar knives is? Here you go…

The beginning of Kabar history:

In the 1920’s Union Cutlery introduced a new brand of knives: KABAR. Nobody is 100% certain where the name came from but evidence suggests it was extracted from a customer testimonial. The customer was an illiterate backwoodsman who write a letter explaining how he had “killed a bear”. Due to his poor scrawl, though, it appeared that he wrote he had “k a bar”. Hence, the name KABAR was born!

WWII & Ka-bar Knives:

Just after World War II started, Union Cutlery submitted a Ka-Bar knife design to the U.S. Marine Corps. After testing and modifications, the 7″ Ka-Bar Fighting Knife became standard issue for all Marines, as well as being used by other military branches. To keep up with demand, the US government commissioned other knife companies to make the same knife design.

Ka-Bar’s Modern History

In 1952, Union Cutlery changed their name to Ka-Bar. The USMC fighting knife had dropped out of production, and the company was not as successful as it once was. But then in 1975, they re-released a commemorative version of their famous knife - it sold like hotcakes. Ka-Bar then brought back their standard issue fighting knife, which also sold well. The company has changed hands several times in recent decades, but they are still known for the quality and performance that made their knife the official knife used by the U.S. Marines in WWII.

What is the history of Ka-bar Knives in a nutshell? Quality, performance, and defending freedom!

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Also check out our pages on:
Ka-bar Military Knives
Ka-bar Tanto knives