I found these when we were moving the parents out and into the sisters home. Dad was a Navy vet so I assume these were his.

I did some google work on the markings but most of what I found were old sales so I have no idea of current status. One is in poor shape as shown from the pictures but would make a good "project". The other is in good shape, looks like crap because I was soaking it in some oil to clean it up but yet failed to wipe it totally off.

The best one has the markings on the knife itself. The poor one has the markings on the guard in smaller lettering but a bare blade. Both sheaths have the similar markings but the poor one is a slightly higher on the number like a 7 instead of a 5.

The third is what I believe to be a "local" hand crafted from whatever scrap is available knife. I seem to recall my father telling me it was used by the natives (He spent a few years in the Pacific during WWII and Korea 'on vacation' courtesy of Uncle Sugar) to split coconuts. It is obviously in poor shape but is still an interesting artifact. And it's also sharp. Very sharp. Cut you sharp. Trust me.

Apologies for the potato pics, is a gray rainy day so no natural outdoor lighting. I should buy a new phone someday as well.

I *know* there are some experts on here that can help assign a value. I am seriously thinking of selling as I honestly don't keep stuff around anymore. (I have enough of my fathers Navy stuff and have already split it up with the sister and brother).

If I sell I'd prefer to do it locally unless someone knows of a decent online vendor so I realize pricing could be all over the map. I'm hoping not to give it away nor do I expect to retire from it. Or is collecting this stuff now passe`?

Pictures I think.

I don't know anything about the long blade, but can help you with the two Mark 2's

As you have noted the pics are not that great....  But it appears you have two Mark 2 knives?  One with a bad handle and one with grease on the blade?  

If that's correct, I don't know the mfg of the one with the bad handle because i can not blow up a clear enough picture of the ricasso to see if its marked there.  If its not, then it should be guard marked.  Looks like you have it matched with a fiberglass Mar2 scabbard.  This should have a NORD (Navy ORDnance) number on the back.  This is the navy contract number for the scabbard.  This will tell you when the scabbard was made.

The other knife is a Ka-Bar branded USN MK2 as noted on the ricasso.  Is that grease on the blade?  Handle looks in good shape and it too is matched with a MK2 NORD scabbard.  The Contract number on this one is 4723 and was the first contract for scabbards (~600k made from 11/43 to 7/44 for both the Mark 1 and Mark 2 knives).

The BM Co on the scabbard is for the Beckwith Mfg Company.  They were a division of Victory Plastics... the VP mark you see on it.  The 1/5 is just indicating the 5th run of that contract number.

So, this is a bit of history.

Yes, they have value.  No, you will not retire from it...

the value is entirely dependent on the condition of the knives and scabbards and the mfg's.  The pics make it very difficult to determine the overall condition accurately.  But i can point out what i see good and what i see bad for each.

Lets start with the Ka-bar ricasso marked.

Good
per the pommel shape, appears to be an early made knife
Handle appears in tact
blade does not appear to be overly sharpened
blade is possibly black under the grease (orginal finish??)
Scabbard from pictures shown appears in good condition
Scabbard hanger looks like its all there and the snaps work

Bad
Guard is bent
grease, why?

Unknown
is the guard loose
is the handle leather loose
What color is the handle?
how is the pommel attached to the tang? (probably screw on or peened over tang)
are there any cracks in the scabbard?

Assuming the good is really good, the unknowns are good too and the little bad's remain the same, you can probably get $100-150 for it.  Better pictures can help determine a better price.

The other one, unknown mfg

Good
per the pommel shape, appears to be an early knife, maybe
not much for the knife
possibly the scabbard

Bad
handle is broken
blade looks to be well used
guard is bent
guard is possibly loose
Handle is broken

Unknown is the scabbard

Probably a $75 package deal here.  But depending on the mfg, this could be worth more (though i suspect its either a Ka-bar or a Camillus).

These being USN Mark 2 knives make them less valuable than their USMC counterparts.  The scabbards on these are what really will drive the values, especially if both are Ka-bar or Camillus branded.  We know the unknown branded one is not a PAL (no red spacers) and the pommel and handle cut don't appear to be a Robeson Shuredge so its pretty safe to assume its a Ka-bar or a Camillus.  Neither of these brands are super valuable unless in excellent condition.

if you can, post better pics in better light that are closer up.  can you wipe away a bit of the grease so we can see the color under the grease?  maybe just better lighting can show that and you don't have to wipe away the grease.

you can always PM me if you have more questions or need anything else.

@seand1111

Thanks. Very informative.

The one with the loose pommel parts has the USN mk2 and KaBar on the guard but nothing on the blade. The basic knife is still solid, just the handle parts are rattling around.

Both have what I would call a "hammered" tang. No screws.

I asked my father (97!) about the bent guard and he said it was so they could "finger" it up out of the sheath while working if they needed it. Both sheaths are still "tight" and you have to tug on them to get them out.

I will clean them up and try for some better pictures.

I had not heard of the "finger it up out of the scabbard" before.  I had always heard people would bend them so they would know the blade side vs the spine in w/o having to look.  I would be worried to "finger it up" on the blade side like the one is bent!!!

So, the one with the broken leather washers, being a Ka-bar MK2, its price point is like i noted above because of the broken grip (~$75).

The hammered tang as you note is just that, hammered.  They hammered the end of the tang to hold the pommel tight to the grip.  

This means that both of these are early knives (late 43 early 44), possibly second and third versions.  The ricasso stamped knife would possibly be 2nd version and the guard stamped knife with a peened pommel would be a possible 3rd version.