Post 1967 Vietnam Ear Camillus MARK 2 Combat Knife Variant w/ 1945 NORD Scabbard For Sale

UNIQUE - Post 1967 Vietnam Ear Camillus MARK 2 Combat Knife variant w/1945 NORD 8114 scabbard variant. (MIL015).

The WWII U.S.N. Mark 2 Combat Knife was manufactured by theCamillus Cutlery Company of Camillus, New York and is one of the mosthistorically significant American military blades of World War II. Known todayby the brand name \"KA-BAR,\" Camillus Cutlery Company was actually theoriginal designer of this blade and the first factory to contract and produceit; it was officially designated the 1219C2 Fighting Utility Knife. The U.S.Navy introduced the Mark 2 in 1943 after severe structural and design failuresplagued the smaller Mark 1 utility knives. Camillus produced more than1.4 million Mark 2 units.

The early to mid-1945 scabbard. Early-issued Mark 2knives were paired exclusively with heavy leather sheaths stamped \"U.S.N.\".Due to the corrosive salt air, intense mud, and tropical moisture of thePacific Theater the leather would rot rapidly and was phased out in favor of acomposite sheath. By 1944, the Navy transitioned to a gray fiberglass compositemanufactured by NORD Scabbards.

NORD Scabbards, the U.S. Navy introduced thesedurable gray/marled-gray thermoplastic-impregnated cotton-phenolic/fiberglassscabbards, manufactured by NORD Scabbardsand often styled with a canvas-webbingbelt frog starting in late 1943 to better handle tropical theater conditions.

NORD Composite stamped their scabbards metal throat withthe U.S. Navy Bureau of Ordnance contract number. Manufactured primarily byBeckwith Manufacturing Co./ Victory Plastics, marked with the stylized\"VP\" logo:

• NORD 4723: Delivered November 1943 – July 1944
• NORD 6581: Delivered July 1944 – February 1945
• NORD 6804: Delivered June 1944 – April 1945
• NORD 8114: Delivered March 1945 – August 1945 (this example)
• NORD 8676: Delivered March 1945 – December 1945

U.S. Navy Bureau of Ordnance contract, number NORD-8114 wasdelivered between March and May 1945. This example is stamped with thefollowing:

• NORD-8114: The specific Navy contract number.
• B.M. Co.: Stamped for the Beckwith ManufacturingCompany.
• VP (with two stars): Represents Victory Plastics(a division of Beckwith), who manufactured the thermoplasticcomposite/fiberglass body.
• 1/5:This is a mold and batch number used during production to track quality controlat the factory.

Widely issued across all U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corpspersonnel, including fleet sailors, Naval Construction Battalions (Seabees),and Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT), across both the Pacific and Europeantheaters many durable WWII surplus items, these sets remained in militaryinventory and saw continued service through the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

This example is a completely sterile (unmarked).The blade and guard are lacking the earlier marked blades and guards with “CamillusMark 2” and is likely correct for certain post-1967 military contract periods. Pre1967 Vietnam blades carried maker stamps. Afterward, post-1967 blades,the military contract specifications changed, leading to transitional piecesand eventually \"sterile\" blades with no markings on the blade or guardsometimes with dates or manufacturer codes stamped on the pommel instead. The Commercialapplications, “Reproductions” made by Camillus up until 2006 typically haddistinct tang or blade stamps or specific commercial numbers, so a truly blankblade and guard point toward specific military contract runs late 1960s throughthe 1980s rather than WWII or modern commercial knockoffs.

A \"Theater Knife\" setup with a true combat modification.

The curved guard or “The Fighter\'s Tweak” as it was known. The guard ends were bent slightly back towards the leather handle by in theater service members to address gripping issues, thumb and hand comfort and to prevent the guard from snagging on web gear, canvas vests, or ship railings in tight quarters and/or to the address the stacked leather washer grips once dried out, shrunk, from wobbling. Striking or bending the corners of the guard backward compresses the leather stack forward against the pommel, temporarily squeezing the washers back together to eliminate the loose wiggle. According to Camillus, all Mark 2 knifes left the factory with perfectly straight guard ends.

Condition -Overall VERY GOOD. Knife and scabbard are solid, grip is tight, rivets intact and tight, blade intact, scabbard shows more wear and tear with scuffs, slight cracking and no unusually signs of damage or re-work with expected wear given use and history (see images).

Thank you for your interest and view. Please ask questions prior to purchasing or submitting an offer. Thank you!