All About Pocket Knives

I can't tell if these handles are plastic or bone & I don't know how to date the knife. I've tried scraping the handles with a knife to see if the blade catches (I got that hint from someone on the forums) but I can't really tell.

I think these are plastic though.

Any ideas on dating or handle material here? thanks.

I would think Plastic Delrin made sometime in the 60's..You gotta love a hunter..

Sunburst

Yes, I'm selling this on ebay & am trying to figure out how to best describe it. I appreciate your response. I'm also thinking it's plastic. What makes you think it's been manufactured in the 60's? Also, does it look like that blades' been used and then buffed out? Comparing it to my CASE old folding hunters, it doesn't look like a full blade. Thanks again,

Purely just a gut feeling on the time period A&E, most of what I have seen from that time period fits the look of that hunter. Please don't use my word as the final judgement on this, there are many,many more knowledgeable folks on this board who could get you closer... Good luck on your sale.

It looks like it has been cleaned very well and possibly used but from the picture I cannot tell if it has been sharpened..If it has it looks like it was sharpened only once or twice..Its a nice Kabar. I sold a Kabar trapper with the same handle material and it was late 50's early 60's.

Sunburst

Try holding another knife at 90 degrees to the handle, then drag the edge without pressure. If it slides like glass it's bone...if it drags or catches at all it's Delrin.
What are the markings on the knife? Your title says Ka-Bar...but it looks like it may be Kabar. Any pattern number?

Nice knife.

Bill

hey eric. it looks later than sixties to me and it looks like it ws buffed hard to remove some scratches. still a nice old knife. i'm not sure when they removed the hyphen in KA-BAR to KABAR. i believe it's synthetic grips.

I'm thinking it must be delrin. It DOES catch a bit.

There are no other markings on the blade other than KaBar. It doesn't have a dash in there. There are no other markings on any of the blades.

Plastic Plastic Plastic

It actually may be too ealry to be Delrin, but definitely a plastic material. Post WWII to late 60's.

Kabar was an odd duck in that most knife companies continued to make bone handled pocket knives after WWII and up to the early 1960's. Kabar used the jigged black plastic from WWII on.

Later, after about 1967, they went to Delrin as we usually think of Delrin....brown/tan in color in an attempt to imitate genuine jigged bone.

Hey Eric,

I sent a PM your way.

My oversight, as I should've said Delrin or plastic.
Here is one like I believe knifeaholic is describing. It is marked Kabar/1071/U.S.A.

Bill