Est. 1898
Heritage & History
The company that became Ka-Bar traces its origins to 1898, when Wallace Brown acquired the assets of the dissolved Tidioute Cutlery Company in Pennsylvania and set about building a serious knife business. Brown renamed the venture Union Cutlery Company in 1909 and, two years later, accepted an offer from the city of Olean, New York — land, a building, and tax incentives — that brought the company to its permanent home in the Southern Tier. When Brown died in 1924, the firm adopted a new trademark inspired by a fur trapper's letter recounting how his blade helped him kill a wounded bear when his rifle jammed; the trapper's rough handwriting rendered the phrase as "ka bar," and the name stuck.
The company's defining moment came on November 23, 1942, when the United States Marine Corps formally adopted the 1219C2 fighting and utility knife — a clip-point fixed blade with a leather-stacked handle and a 7-inch blade of high-carbon steel. Ka-Bar shipped the first production run in January 1943, and within a year Marines were calling any version of the knife a "Ka-Bar" regardless of who made it. Six manufacturers were licensed to produce more than a million of the knives during the war. The pattern has served American troops continuously ever since, through Korea, Vietnam, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the company formally took the Ka-Bar name in 1952 to honor that legacy.
Made in Olean, New York
After passing through several corporate owners following the Brown family's departure in 1962, Ka-Bar was acquired in 1996 by Alcas Corporation — the Olean-based parent company of Cutco Cutlery — which consolidated manufacturing at its existing factory on Homer Street. The shared facility employs approximately 1,400 workers from the surrounding Cattaraugus County region, and it produces Ka-Bar's military and tactical fixed blades alongside Cutco's consumer kitchen knives under the same roof. To fulfill active Department of Defense contracts, the factory has demonstrated to federal procurement officials that all materials are sourced domestically and that the entire manufacturing process takes place in the United States.
Ka-Bar's USA-made lineup is anchored by the USMC Fighting/Utility Knife and spans the Becker Knife & Tool series, the EK Commando line, and the Les George and State & Union collaborations — roughly 79 products that the company categorizes as manufactured in the USA on its website. The brand is currently a subsidiary of Cutco Corporation and continues to produce the same fighting knife pattern that Marines carried across the Pacific in 1943.
KA-BAR USMC Fighting Fixed Blade Knife 7-Inch 1095 Cro-Van Stacked Leather Handle
KA-BAR
Tools & Hardware
KA-BAR Full-Size USMC Fixed-Blade Serrated-Edge Knife 7-Inch Stacked Leather Handle
KA-BAR
Tools & Hardware
KA-BAR Full Size Black Fighting/Utility Knife 7-Inch Kraton G Handle
KA-BAR
Tools & Hardware
KA-BAR US Army Fighting/Utility Fixed Blade Knife 7-Inch 1095 Cro-Van Leather Handle
KA-BAR
Tools & Hardware
KA-BAR Short Fighting/Utility Knife 5.25-Inch Stacked Leather Handle
KA-BAR
Tools & Hardware
Frequently Asked Questions
Is KA-BAR made in the USA?
Yes. KA-BAR manufactures 7 verified products in Olean, New York. Ka-Bar has been forging fixed-blade knives in Olean, New York since 1898, and its iconic USMC Fighting/Utility Knife — adopted by the Marine Corps in 1942 — remains one of the most recognized military blades in American history.
Where is KA-BAR manufactured?
KA-BAR is headquartered in Olean, NY. Manufacturing takes place in Olean, New York.
What KA-BAR products can I buy?
We carry 7 verified KA-BAR products across Tools & Hardware. Every listing links directly to Amazon with verified American manufacturing.
When was KA-BAR founded?
KA-BAR was founded in 1898. Ka-Bar has been forging fixed-blade knives in Olean, New York since 1898, and its iconic USMC Fighting/Utility Knife — adopted by the Marine Corps in 1942 — remains one of the most recognized military blades in American history.