USN MK1 handle

eveled said:
The WW2 spec for this knife calls for a birds head pomel. Which gives an extra length to the handle. Somehow KaBar decided to use the flat steel pomel like a mkii knife, but did not add more handle.View attachment 1021970
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Fantastic collection you’ve got! Those are beautiful.

Creaky Bones said:
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This just happened. Tanker 1/66 Tanker 1/66 put this leathered handled 1095 Cro-Van piece of awesomeness in my mitt. Amazing generosity my friend. I love the knife, but the fact that it was a gift changes it from something I’ll use to something I’ll pass on to my son after I use it for a few years. It’s all about karma, and this knife is loaded with good karma.

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And it’s not too little!

It’s a classic that will get used on lots of family adventures. Thank you brother!
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Awesome! It’s a great knife!

Tanker 1/66 said:
I'm glad you like it Brother. Vey Underrated knife knife and a perfect knife for your son to learn bushy knife skills on. Warms my Heart for Sure. Karma :)
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Good stuff! Yet again the KaBar/BeckerHead crew proves they are a good bunch of people.

Happy holidays brothers and sisters!
 
eveled said:
The WW2 spec for this knife calls for a birds head pomel. Which gives an extra length to the handle. Somehow KaBar decided to use the flat steel pomel like a mkii knife, but did not add more handle.View attachment 1021970
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I would love to see a Birds Head Pommel on the MK1. The stock handle fits me, but a Birds Beak Pommel would be so much nicer!
 
BTW....the MK-1 fits almost perfectly in the Ontario USAF Pilot Survival Knife sheath. You can replace the (nearly useless) sharpening stone that comes with that sheath with a Doan Magnesium/Ferro block and some Ranger Bands and it makes for a very nice package. (Though I fully agree the only real drawback of this knife is the too-short handle and the black coating on the wonderful blade.)

full
 
The KA-BAR Mk I Navy handle has Two(2) basic problems.

1. The pommel is Steel - which makes it heavy and throws off the balance.
The original Mk I Navy used an Aluminum pommel and was balanced much better.

2. The pommel is too big - which adds to Problem #1 as well as interferes with the handling.
The original Mk I Navy used a smaller pommel.

The solution?

Grind the pommel down a bit.

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That, along w/ wire-brushing and Snow-sealing the leather handle?

...makes a 'Uge difference.




GR
 
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Not entirely true the original mk1 usn deck knife made by KaBar had a flat steel pommel. The spec called for an aluminum birds head. Everyone else followed the spec with something close to a birds head, aluminum, wood or plastic. 1 other maker had a solid rubber handle and pommel.

The blades are smaller on the new KaBar deck knives too. Which doesn’t help the balance problem you mentioned. I like your solution to grind it down
 
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eveled said:
View attachment 1056106
Not entirely true the original mk1 usn deck knife made by KaBar had a flat steel pommel. The spec called for an aluminum birds head. Everyone else followed the spec with something close to a birds head, aluminum, wood or plastic. 1 other maker had a solid rubber handle and pommel.

The blades are smaller on the new KaBar deck knives too. Which doesn’t help the balance problem you mentioned. I like your solution to grind it down
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Probably half the weight of the 1217 full-sized F/U pommel they used. (although the current pommels might be recessed.)

Still, the re-grind makes a big difference.




GR
 
I never realized that but it makes sense. They all are oxidized and don’t seem like they’d polish well. I just thought it was crappy aluminum.

Thanks for the info.
 
Blue Sky said:
Can you describe roughly how much material you removed? I’m comparing your pics with my MK2 handle and I can’t see too much difference.
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Did it on a belt sander.

Note: Read these instructions through a few times, and do this work in your head, w/ the knife in hand, until you are sure you understand the procedure. That is really the hard part.

First, establish the bevel angle on the handle (in) side at the major (vertical) axis.

Once you get it set (I did it all free-hand from a rest) roll the knife both ways to reproduce (grind) that angle around to the minor (horizontal) axis along the inner plastic spacer. Do a little at a time and go slow (you can't put it back on ).

You will notice that the inner bevel now extends far out to the end of the pommel at the minor axis - That's OK (for now) because they will come back w/ the outer bevel grinding. When the inner bevel looks good and the lower edge follows the handle washer, move to the outside bevel.

The outer bevel grind starts out like the inner, on the major axis, except reversed. Instead of following the lower edge of the grind, like you did w/ the inner bevel along the washer, the outer bevel uses the top of the grind to re-establishment the pommel waist (equator) line, as the control. As you grind around to the minor axis, the waistline will begin to migrate back from the end of the pommel toward the center (equatorial) line.

When the waistline is straight around the pommel, centered between the Two grinds, the outside bevel is complete. Then just buff it a little w/ some emory-cloth a/o green scotch-brite pad.

Easy.




GR
 
I think I got it, not too bad. Doesn’t sound like you’re taking off too much. Thanks for the details.
 
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