1217 Sheath - Staples vs Rivets?

TravisH

TravisH

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Sep 22, 2014
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So I was going through my KaBar inventory doing preventive maintenance (fondling really) and I noticed something about my USMC 1217 sheath - it has staples, not rivets!

I've had had this particular 1217 for about 30 years but never really gave the sheath much notice until now.

Any idea about when KaBar switched from staples to rivets?

 
Interesting question. I hadn't really paid any attention to the sheaths, either.

Just did a quick search on fleabay and found that of 98 1217s on there, only 2 (same seller for both- a surplus store) are shown to have stapled sheaths. I have sent the seller an email asking how long those have been in stock. May or may not get an answer.

ETA:: got a message back - he was just using a generic picture of the 1217 an sheath that he had taking up space on his computer. Quote - "That's not what the sheath looks like."

So no details yet.
 
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I'm going off memory so don't hold me to this... When KA-BAR brought the 1219C2 back into production for civilian sales, roughly around 1976, it was supposed to be a copy of the wartime KA-BAR.
The original leather sheaths that came with WW II made KA-BARS had staples and not rivets like the current versions do.

If your KA-BAR has a phosphate finish and your 30 year time frame is correct then you would have one of the " 76 " reproductions and the sheath should have staples.
 
The first leather WW2 sheaths had 9 rivets. Then the first change was to 9 staples. Then they went with the plastic NORD sheaths.
 
The WW2 staples were probably half the size of the staples on your sheath. Would have to measure them tomorrow, but IIRC, the staple tops/faces/whatever you call them :D were only about 3/16".

Maybe 8 larger staples (as well as the USMC logo and KABAR stamp) were meant to distinguish them as reproductions.

The original leather sheaths never had the EGA logo nor the word KABAR stamped on them. Again, IIRC, only PAL provided leather sheaths with their company name stamped on the sheaths near the throat. Most of the time, the knives were shipped to the Naval Supply Centers without sheaths and the knives were matched up with whatever sheaths were in the system at the time - Boyt 43 and no logo/name leather sheaths or plastic NORD sheaths. I can't remember of the top of my head who the secon maker of leather sheaths was, but they made them without a name on them, unlike Boyt Harness Co.
 
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