Ek Knives
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Ek Commando Knife Co. or Ek Knives is an American combat knife brand produced by several different companies since the original founded by John Ek in 1941. In May 2014 the Ek brand as purchased by Ka-Bar which began selling its versions of Ek knife designs in 2015. Although not officially issued gear, Ek Knives have seen use by US forces in six major conflicts: World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, Afghanistan, and the Iraq War. Ek Knives manufactures Bowie-style blades, daggers, and a Fairbairn-Sykes MkII. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Clark Gable, and General George S. Patton have been identified as Ek knife owners.
A knifemaker since 1939, in January 1941, John Ek started producing knives in quantity in Hamden, Connecticut. By 1943 he was making six different styles of knives. By August 1944, demand for his knives had grown to the point where he had three shifts working around the clock seven days a week, to produce 10 different models.
All of the knives made during WWII by Ek were numbered to help the owners keep track of them if they were lost, and because he guaranteed each knife for the lifetime of the original owner. By keeping the original owner's name on record, he could follow up his lifetime guarantee system. Ek had very strong feelings about restricting his knives to active-duty US servicemen.
It is reported that President Franklin D. Roosevelt kept a John Ek Commando Knife on his desk in the White House until the time of his death. General George S. Patton, Jr. owned a John Ek Commando Knife (as did several of his subordinates); Ek eventually named his Model No. 6 the "Patton Knife". Captain Clark Gable, while not necessarily expecting to see combat, purchased a number of Ek Knives while he served.
In 1949 John Ek moved to Miami, Florida where he continued production of his knives. From here he provided knives to American forces during the Korean and Vietnam wars. Miami-produced knives were marked "John Ek Knives, Miami, Fla.", whereas earlier knives bore the "Hamden, Conn." identification.
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