I received my latest Ka-Bar via UPS today. I had the high bid on it in the last Hessney Sportsman Auction ten days ago. I had been looking for a boot knife to carry for some time now and now that I have this one, I may just keep looking. There is nothing wrong with this one and that is exactly why I am debating (with myself) as to whether or not I will carry it, it is that nice I think.
When I saw that the box said Ka-Bar Knives by Cole it piqued my curiosity. So I googled that phrase. One thing that came up was a link to the history of Ka-Bar. Thus I learned not only about why & when Cole produced Ka-Bar Knives but also about the history of the Ka-Bar brand from its beginnings long before the name Ka-Bar was thought up. One of the more interesting things is how & why the company name was eventually changed to Ka-Bar from its preceding name of Union Cutlery Company (and there were other names before that), that company was located in Olean, NY (still is there or at least has returned). For an interesting read about Ka-Bar, go to the page at this link:
https://www.kabar.com/customer/history.jsp
I had not bought a Ka-Bar in awhile because my other four of them have held up well. Those four are all versions of the USMC WWII fighting knife, two regular size & two compact. This new knife, having been manufactured in Japan under the Ka-Bar name under the direction of Cole of Ohio, was made sometime between 1966 (when Cole took over) and 1996 (when CUTCO bought KA-Bar and returned manufacturing to Olean, NY)..
I figure I did okay on this one because I picked it up with a bid of $75.00 plus 13% buyer's premium and approximately $13.00 shipping (it was in with two other items so I divided shipping by 3). I think that just under $98.00 was a deal since I saw the same type of knife sold for $165.00 online, see this.
For now at least, the mental debate between the opposing views within my psyche continues - use it or keep it as new in the box!\
