Ka-Bar Knives began in 1897 in the state of Pennsylvania. When a group of 38 men,  formed a Limited Partnership known as Tidioute Cutlery Company Ltd, in an attempt to collectively salvage their struggling cutlery businesses. The company lasted only a short while before it was purchased by the Union Razor Company in 1902.  Which later changed it’s name to Union Cutlery Company to better represent their growing range of products.

The name “Ka-Bar” came from a package sent to the company’s president, Wallace Brown. In this package, was a bear skin and a letter from a fur trapper detailing how a Union Cutlery knife has saved his life after his gun had failed.  From that point on the term “Ka-Bar (Kill A Bear) was coined and later trademarked. From 1924 to 1939 the company continued to produce cutlery. During this time they changed leadership twice, and struggled through the great depression.

It wasn’t until 1942 that Ka-Bar Knives began to become a household term. Working with USMC Captain Howard America and USMC Colonel John Davis, the company’s president, Danforth Brown submits a fixed blade knife design to the USMC for consideration of issue to the troops during World War II. Soon after, Union Cutlery Company began supplying KA-BAR stamped knives for the war effort, along with similar knives produced by other U.S. manufacturers.

The knife was such a success, that in 1952 the Union Cutlery Company officially changed it’s name to “Ka-Bar.” From that point on the knife continued to be a success. The USMC Ka-Bar has been in every major conflict since, and continues to see service to this day.