Old Kabar -

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A&E
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Old Kabar -

Post by A&E »

Hi Everyone. I asked a couple other questions tonight. Here's one more. I have this old Kabar pocket knife. Does anyone know anything about it? How to date it? Thanks for all the help.
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Eric
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zzyzzogeton
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Re: Old Kabar -

Post by zzyzzogeton »

It does not appear that there is a model number stamped under the Kabar, so that puts it pre-1966. The Brown family sold Kabar to Cole National in 1965, IIRC, and Cole put the first model numbers on Kabars, excepting a few old pre-WW2 fixed blades.

When Gunsil comes along, he can probably come up with a closer estimate.
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tongueriver
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Re: Old Kabar -

Post by tongueriver »

And, since it has Delrin handles, that puts it after 1960.
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A&E
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Re: Old Kabar -

Post by A&E »

Sometimes bone and delrin look almost the same to me.
Eric
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XX Case XX
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Re: Old Kabar -

Post by XX Case XX »

A&E wrote:Sometimes bone and delrin look almost the same to me.
Although I can clearly tell that's Delrin, I too have trouble sometimes. When I first started collecting, I made that mistake numerous times. ::paranoid:: Very nice knife by the way. ::tu::

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XX Case XX
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Re: Old Kabar -

Post by XX Case XX »

tongueriver wrote:And, since it has Delrin handles, that puts it after 1960.
Does that apply only to Kabar or does that include other brands as well?

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Mike
"If there are no Dogs in Heaven, then when I die, I want to go where they went". Will Rogers

I work hard so my Dog can have a better life...
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zzyzzogeton
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Re: Old Kabar -

Post by zzyzzogeton »

Delrin first became commercially available in 1960, IIRC, and started getting used by cutlers as a handle material almost immediately as a low cost replacement for bone and stag.

Western started using it in 1961, replacing all stag and bone usage. I think I read somewhere that Case started using it in late 1960 or early 1961 as well. No clue as to when other companies started using it, but late 1960 is the earliest it could have been used. And your knife is an example that Kabar also was using it prior to 1965, at the latest. I'd bet they also started using it in 1961.

Obviously, there were other types of plastic used as handle material prior to 1961, but Delrin just kinda jumps out at you, almost always used as a faux stag/bone replacement.
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Re: Old Kabar -

Post by Gunsil »

You guys got it right!! Knife gotta be 1961-1966 or so, maybe 1967 or 68. I can't imagine that Cole got all the stamps changed or made up in all sizes for all models as soon as they took over the company.
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A&E
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Re: Old Kabar -

Post by A&E »

Thanks for the help Everyone. I plan on posting these on Ebay here soon and it's helpful knowing more about them so I can describe them well.
Eric
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