Read for Yourself

[Whitneyrifle]

I’m just going to put this out there.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/284996923141?h ... R96knNr4YA

[QTCut5]

For posterity:

And then for some reason the seller includes this photo in the listing even though it's clearly not the same knife (notice the square, pinched bolster with two blades on the same end)

[Whitneyrifle]

This part of the description is my favorite:

KaBar subcontracted the manufacturing of their early pocket knives out to both Queen and Case knives. I believe this one may have been made by Case for KaBar due to the sheild and shape of the tang and small logo imprint. (See Case imprint in pic 7)

[Whitneyrifle]

My message to the seller:
To Whom It May Concern:
Good day, I hope that you are well. I do not know if you are aware, Queen did not make knives for Ka-bar until the 1970s. The stamp marks for Ka-bar on your knife are from the 1950s-60s.
Also Case only ever made two prototypes of FIGHTING knives for Ka-bar during WWII. Case did make knives in 1990s for Ka-bar, but not in the vintage of this knife. Both were rejected and Case never made knives for Ka-bar in mass production. Finally, your “pic 7”, clearly shows two blades at the SAME end of the knife, with a clear Case mark. Which would have never been done for reasons explained above and the pic clearly shows that the one you display is NOT the same knife you are offering.
I am not sure that was an innocent mistake, or other issues may be going on. I just wanted you to be aware.

Their response:
Pic 7 is a Case knife imprint, shown as an example of the imprint logo similar to the KaBar as explained in the description. The knife only has two blades and both are shown with their markings. Front and back in the first pic. Case did make early pocketknives for KaBar before they started producing them themselves. A practice common among early cutleries dating all the way back to the beginnings of Sheffield.

[rea1eye]

The description of the knife on eBay is a rambling mess. He should
have just posted the knife pictures without the Case stamp
and stated this is a rare knife in good condition. Then
describe the closed length, snap, and blade wobble conditions,

Bob

[beresman]

Is the seller trying to imply that his knife has a Case imprint somewhere? Or just grasping at straws in an effort to increase the perceived value of his precious knife?

I think the seller needs an enema.

[Gunsil]

Hey Bryan, glad to see you must be over your illness. Glad the covid did not get you as it has some other members. The seller relisted the knife and added a huge timeline with so many errors it is ridiculous. I just hammered him with some truth, maybe he'll just list that poor beat up pen knife for what it is, a 1950s era Kabar made in Olean by KA-BAR Inc.

Where do you get the info that Case made prototypes for KA-BAR during the war? I do not believe this is correct. The MK2 knives are derivatives of the KA-BAR 471-7 hunting knife. Case did make pocket knives for the government during the war which KA-BAR did not.

[pointythings]

I don't see any malicious intent to defraud from the seller, just ignorance. Lots of clueless sellers on eBay, especially with knives.

[ea42]

I think the guy just mistakenly added a photo of one of his other knives. I've seen it happen before and almost happened to me as well a few times, especially when handle colors are so similar and your only going by a thumbnail print. He shows the obvious tangs of both blades on the actual knife with Kabar stamps.

Eric

[Gunsil]

I agree seller not trying to deceive, he just has read some poor internet info. He was very polite in his answer to me and thanked me for the solid info I provided. I also advised him to ask questions here, that better info was available here then the internet articles he read that gave him the silly ideas he expressed in his ad. I would not be surprised if he changes ad again without saying Case made pocket knives for KA-BAR back in the day.

[Whitneyrifle]

Gunsil,
Thank you for the kind words in recovery and hope you are well also!
As to the Case/Kabar info, here was one of the forums I was using:

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/cas ... mc.716726/

Also direct info from the Kabar website.

I had emailed the gentleman several times politely and very nicely. He basically is stating that the knife is made by Case. Here is his last response:


New message from: sellersince1998 (4,945RED_STAR Star)

We have to agree to disagree because the early cutleries absolutely worked together and produced knives under contract. Thanks

[Whitneyrifle]

Gunsil,
Thank you for writing to him. He has most definitely changed the title and body of description of the knife.
I did try explaining what you did tell to him in my responses, but obviously, you have a silver tounge and mine is made of tin.
I will also say writing at 2:30 in the morning does not help……

Thank you,
Bryan

[Madmarco]

I agree seller not trying to deceive, he just has read some poor internet info. He was very polite in his answer to me and thanked me for the solid info I provided. I also advised him to ask questions here, that better info was available here then the internet articles he read that gave him the silly ideas he expressed in his ad. I would not be surprised if he changes ad again without saying Case made pocket knives for KA-BAR back in the day.

He did change it Gene, and he also added a plug to you! Cool!

[Gunsil]

Yes, Case made a couple of MK2 protos but they did not make them for KA-BAR, they made them for the US government but did not win a contract. The famous MK 2 knife was derived from the KA-BAR 471-7 or 571-7 hunting knife and once the actual design of the MK 2 was made many companies sent in bids for contracts and Case simply did not get one although they did get contracts for many other GI knives. KA-BAR made MK 1s and MK 2s for the military yet made no M3 or M4 knives, while Case and many other companies made hundreds of thousands. Marbles never got a military contract because they wanted too much money per knife, the lower bidder got the contract. Case may just have wanted more per knife for their MK 2 than the other four comapnies who got the contracts. I totally missed the famous Case auction in Bradford in I think 1988 when all those Case government contract examples and most of the Case factory collection was sold, it must have been a fantastic sale!

[bestgear]

Thank you, Gene, for your continued devotion to this hobby and steadfast commitment to keeping it's history straight - your posts will become a large part of the historical repository that what was part of our Founder's vision when he started AAPK - keep up the good work my friend!

[Gunsil]

I agree seller not trying to deceive, he just has read some poor internet info. He was very polite in his answer to me and thanked me for the solid info I provided. I also advised him to ask questions here, that better info was available here then the internet articles he read that gave him the silly ideas he expressed in his ad. I would not be surprised if he changes ad again without saying Case made pocket knives for KA-BAR back in the day.

He did change it Gene, and he also added a plug to you! Cool!

He actually changed it three times! I did tell him to come here for better info, hopefully he does, and I at least got him to drop the Case made KA-BARs business but wish he hadn't put my name up because his historical timeline is still not correct. He also dropped his asking price which I thought interesting.

Bestgear, thanks for the compliment! Very few ebay sellers actually listen when somebody else tries to educate them about the veracity of their statements or the correct ID of their item. I have a lot of regard for this seller for listening and actually taking the time to amend his ad. Most ignore advice and some get downright ornery.

[Madmarco]

I wouldn't worry too much about your name Gene, that could refer to anyone named Gene, only us AAPK'ers will know who it is! And ditto what Tom said, you're a huge asset to this industry!