The KA-BAR U.S. Marine Corps Fighting Knife
When most people think of the name KA-BAR, they think of the company’s hallmark product, the U.S. Marine Corps Fighting knife. Arising out of needs identified by Marines, Army soldiers, and Navy sailors during WWII, that design–officially the U.S.N. Mark 2–gave our guys on the front lines not just a battle weapon, but a versatile multi-use tool. It was produced by a number of different companies during the war, but soldiers preferred the one made by Union Cutlery Co., which had used the KA-BAR name on its knives since 1923 and stamped all their Mark 2s with that name. After the war, Union changed its company name to KA-BAR Knives to take advantage of the popularity of its military design.
Today KA-BAR Knives Inc. is wholly owned by Cutco Corporation, America’s largest manufacturer of kitchen cutlery, which was founded in 1949 as ALCAS, joint venture of Alcoa
KA-BAR’s history goes much farther back than Cutco’s. Their earliest incarnation was over 120 years ago, in 1894, when Wallace Brown founded a mail-order cutlery business from his home in Little Valley, New York, known as Union Razor Company. His brother Emerson soon joined the business, which became Brown Brothers Razor. That effort, however, proved to be short-lived.
But in 1902 the Browns were back, purchasing the assets of Tidioute Cutlery Company. The business, eventually under the name Union Cutlery Company, proved to be a success.
Over the intervening decades, the business went through multiple leaders, moved twice, started and discontinued numerous different brands, and had the usual financial ups and downs. But by 1996 KA-BAR had hit on hard times and was on the verge of bankruptcy. “Dad knew if he didn’t buy it, it would go under, and all the jobs would go overseas,” said John Stitt, CEO of KA-BAR and son of James Stitt, Cutco’s Chairman. (John’s brother Jim is Cutco’s CEO.) “He bought it to keep it in Olean. It operated at a loss for years. Now it’s obvious it was a brilliant move.”
One of KA-BAR's historic buildings in Olean, New York
The challenge in the immediate moment is crazy product demand. “Right now, we’re so busy the future has taken a back seat to just keeping up,” said John Stitt. “I’m spending a lot of my own time out on the warehouse floor packing knife boxes.”
“I had a guy ask me if he put in a large order, could he get a discount?” added Joe Bradley, KA-BAR’s Sales and Marketing Manager. “I had to tell him no, if he placed a large order he could get half of it now. We got the order, and I helped package it. Right now we don’t need more business – we couldn’t handle it!”
Stitt sees their recent demand being in keeping with an overall U.S. market shift in favor of outdoor equipment. “People are getting outside more than they have in a long time,” he explained. “A friend of mine owns a bike shop in North Carolina. He doubled his sales in four weeks this spring. Kayaks, campers, even citronella candles are sold out. People are slowing down and getting to know their families again. And I don’t think it’s just a blip.”
Despite Stitt’s comment about the future taking a back seat, though, the company has already been making adjustments to appeal to new consumers. “We saw the zombie craze coming a decade ago, and now we own the zombie name in the knife world,” said Stitt. “We offered a USSF Knife as an April Fools’ prank a couple years ago, and it just took off. We took Zombie Knives to the SHOT Show [an annual hunting and shooting trade show] in 2011 and everybody laughed at us for them. The next year everything was green, everything was zombies!”
“John’s on the wild end of the spectrum for new products,” Bradley offered. “He did the zombie thing, and we have other new things coming. I come from a traditional background–I have my grandfather’s WWII KA-BAR. John’s done a great job of assembling a diverse staff–everyone is unique.”
The KA-BAR Wrench Knife
In addition to internally staffing to drive a range of new product ideas, KA-BAR has been partnering with other successful knife makers such as Ethan Becker, Jesse Jarosz, and the Tactical Defense Institute (TDI). They’ve also established a joint venture with Spartan Blades, a small producer of extremely high-end knives, under the Pineland Cutlery brand. “We helped with their sourcing for better pricing,” Stitt said. “And we’ve now established multiple price point product offerings with them too.”
KA-BAR has shifted its marketing focus to attract new customers as well. “We’re introducing the name to a new generation,” said Bradley. “We’re in video games, TV shows and movies–we’re all over those. Where we used to have to ask for product placement, now people are asking us for permission.”
“We have 20-year-olds working for us, and they look at things very differently,” Stitt added. “Millennials have no cable, and they’ve always had cell phones. We have to listen to them to endear a new generation of people to the brand.”
But their products will also stay true to their roots. “John always tells us that we’re caretakers of this brand,” Bradley explained. “Our products will always reflect who we are. I think 122 years from now, other folks will still be continuing this brand.”
That sentiment is true across the company. “One of the things with KA-BAR is that we have almost no turnover,” said Stitt. “My plan personally is to retire from KA-BAR. And I talk to other people here, and the love what they do and love being here,” said Bradley.
