Bought Him a Ka-Bar

V

VorpelSword

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Dec 27, 2007
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Our son pastors a small-ish church. One of his young church members has entered the USMC. He will graduate from Basic training in San Diego this spring.

Talked with our son about it and we decided that a "modern" Ka-Bar would be right for recognizing the new Marine. This would be the D-2 resin coated blade with synthetic handle. I have committed to buying him a multitool to be selected bu our sone . . .whatever would work for a new private.

We had concert about giving something too flashy or expensive that would single him out, just a gift and tool.

On the recomendion of our son, himself a former Marine Lt., we agreed that a multitool from Real Avid designed for AR maintenance would not be a good choice as he might run afoul of restrictions on prohibited amintainance regs.

Anyway . . .there its is.
 
VorpelSword said:
Our son pastors a small-ish church. One of his young church members has entered the USMC. He will graduate from Basic training in San Diego this spring.

Talked with our son about it and we decided that a "modern" Ka-Bar would be right for recognizing the new Marine. This would be the D-2 resin coated blade with synthetic handle. I have committed to buying him a multitool to be selected bu our sone . . .whatever would work for a new private.

We had concert about giving something too flashy or expensive that would single him out, just a gift and tool.

On the recomendion of our son, himself a former Marine Lt., we agreed that a multitool from Real Avid designed for AR maintenance would not be a good choice as he might run afoul of restrictions on prohibited amintainance regs.

Anyway . . .there its is.
Click to expand...
Be sure to check out Spartan's version of the KaBar!
 
knarfeng said:
The pattern has worked as a combat knife for some 80 years. It seems like a good choice.
Make sure he knows to sharpen D2 on an aluminum oxide stone or a diamond stone.
Click to expand...

Sure. We talked it over and that tradition proven in use, was the starting point. Another consideration was that the recipient is a kid right out of basic. We didn't want to give him something obviously expensive or flashy that would single him out for unwanted attention.

I have my eye on a letter opener sized copy for myself . . I have always liked the the way it looks with the fuller. . . . .we'l see.
 
I would recommend finding out what MOS (Military Occupation Speciality) this young man is going into before buying him anything. I found I used my Swiss Army Knife, in garrison and in the field, more than any fixed blade I ever carried, plus it has the benefit of being able to be carried in garrison. In today's military a Multi-Tool seems to be one of the more useful items you can give someone. John
 
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VorpelSword said:
Sure. We talked it over and that tradition proven in use, was the starting point. Another consideration was that the recipient is a kid right out of basic. We didn't want to give him something obviously expensive or flashy that would single him out for unwanted attention.

I have my eye on a letter opener sized copy for myself . . I have always liked the the way it looks with the fuller. . . . .we'l see.
Click to expand...
Well. As long as we're talking about a smaller size, these are available.
two usmc kabars.jpg
 
My dad finished his military career as a reservist corpsman, he loved his Marines and did his best to integrate and carry his weight when he did his two weeks. Among the things he made sure to carry was his USN Mk 2 (mind you this is the 80's and 90's). He originally got it with a bit of horse trading while he was in the Air Force during the Vietnam war, and held onto it through his Naval career and eventually as a reservist corpsman. It was stolen out of his vehicle in a parking lot at a movie theater one night and I bought him a new production. He never carried it and never trusted the leather sheath, so I found him a WWII vintage Camillus USN Mk 2 in a fiber scabbard and he took it out into the field for his last couple of exercises.

That said, I'm not military, but I believe every Marine needs a KABAR. Nowadays speaking to friends that are/were Marines I'm not sure many would carry the KABAR on their belt/plate carrier/chest-rig.

So, If it were me I'd take some stock to figure out if they are going to carry it, if they are, a modern synthetic handle version in a plastic scabbard would be great. If they won't carry it, a classic leather handled version in a leather sheath they can leave at home or keep in their sea bag would be nice.

As for multitools, the Gerber Diesel is useful and available at the Exchange. It's useful enough to keep on you, and not so expensive that you won't put it on your kit.
 
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