Were Ka-Bar # 1232 ever USA made? Photos added

[sceva]

Hi;

I have a friend that, in cleaning out his late fathers desk, found a neat little Ka-Bar hunter. I believe it is a 1232. 4" blade, leather stacked handle with finger grooves ( The grooves look like they were ground in ), aluminum pommel, The only marking is Ba-Bar; no made in anywhere. The sheath is embossed Ka-bar has a price of $3.50 written on the back. I am sorry but I have no photos.
He asked me if it had any value and I could only say what the current ones are selling for (not a lot) The knife appears to have mainly been used as a letter opener and I do not believe it has been sharpened. Only handling scratches on the blade and the handle has a few scuffs but no wear or staining.
He may decide to sell it so I said I would try to find out some more info.

Any info you can provide would be helpful. I have added photos: Is this older, newer, an import ( I thought country of origin required if not USA)

Thank You

 

[diced]

It is likely a newer model, made in tawain that was bought at a yardsale. Good knife, sentimental properties always trump actual value. However, I am no expert, it could be worth lots of pennies, but chances are if you were to take it to antiques roadshow you would not make the final cut....

 

[sceva]

Added photos to first posts.

Is this USA made, Japan, Taiwan? Old or new?

Worth more than a few bucks?

 

[Toooj]

sceva,

You have a USA made 1232. Made in the late 1940s. It has the old Block Letter KA-BAR stamp as opposed to the slanted ka-bar stamp and no bloodgroove as found on the 1950-70s 1232 model. Around mid 1970s the patterns were taken to Japan and in the late 1990s they were moved to Taiwan where they are still manufactured.
Hope this helps.

Best Regards,

Paul Tsujimoto
Sr Eng
Prod Dev and Qual
KA-BAR Knives

 

[N. Brian Huegel]

Bloodgroove?!?! No such thing.

 

[HardTripper]

That's a keeper, probably not worth much. Use it, love it.

 

[sceva]

I should have answered sooner.

Thank you for the info, I have passed it on to my friend along with a recommendation to keep his Dad's knife rather than sell it.