Kabar Pommel

A close up pic of the pommel end would be great for recommending how to properly repair the knife.

Is it worth fixing? Yes, it is. Other than being a real WW2 1219C2 with family history, it is a USMC red spacer Robeson, a relatively rare version. Down the road, to a collector, being repaired will lower the value somewhat, but the positives of repairing PROPERLY will be that the most of the original handle remains intact and the only repair/replacement would be the pommel (and possibly a red spacer).

Looking at the small overall pic, you are missing the pommel and a red spacer that terminated the leather stack right before the pommel. I can't tell from the pic. The terminal spacer may be there.

Since it is a red spacer Robeson 1219C2, the pommel it had was the thick 3/8" flat pommel disk that was welded on. Robeson did things a little differently from what I understand. The original specs called for the tang and pommel to be threaded with the pommel being held in place with a split nut.

Camillus sent a batch to the Navy. The Marines didn't like the split nut - it came loose too easily. The first change order went out to peen them tight. Until the 2nd change which shift construction to a rectangular, peened pommel/tang, the tangs were rounded/threaded/peened. Robeson went a slightly different way - rather than peening the tang end, they welded the pommel and then ground the weld flat. Kabar and Camllus also started welding theirs, but never ground them flat, that I have seen. That broken off pommel was one of the reasons for the change order from round, threaded, peened pommels to rectangular, no threads, peened pommels.

So the fix for your knife if it were mine would be to -
1) order a handle kit from Kabar
2) weld a longer stub onto the tang that is broken off (a 1/4" bolt with the head cut off would work)
3) Take a piece of 3/8" mild steel larger than the kit pommel and drill a hole it it to match the bolt size.
4) Stick a round red spacer on the stack and then weld the new pommel on the spacer stack after making sure the pommel is compressing the disk stack so you don't end up with a gap between the pommel and stack.
5) Cut the bolt off and grind it flat. Grind the mild stell down to match the replacement pommel diameter.
6) Balance the knife on the pommel in a dish with a little vinegar in it to "patina" the pommel.

If you have the welder and grinder and a vise, total fix time about an hour to an hour and a half to do a neat job. Will take longer and cost more if you have to dig up a friend or a machine shop to do the work instead. Either way, it'd be worth it in the long run to prevent the existing disks from falling off the tang and getting lost.

That's what I would do with it.
 
I'm working on it.
First time I'm using an no-line photo album.
I thought the whole knife photo would get larger when clicked on.
I guess not.
I'll try and edit the post.
 
It’s a very nice knife. Worth fixing and preserving. Don’t sweat the pictures. We all had trouble at first. Zzyzz ... gave good advice on the repair. I’m looking forward to the end result.

First thing is to knock off the active rust without over cleaning the blade. Then oil it. Go slow. Maybe a pencil lead or a flattened brass shell. NOT sandpaper or a wire wheel.
 
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My intent was not to tell you it looked like it needed to be cleaned. Rather to say be gentle if you decide to clean it. Too many historical items are ruined by over cleaning. It’s a nice knife.
 
Did just enough to take the surface rust off.
Still some, but that's for later.
I'll probably get the kit and see what I can do with it.
 
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