Calling All Kabar Experts

[Joe C]

I have some questions re 1278 Large Bowie & 1244 Camp Knife:
Camp Knife is 1095 and has a hollow grind. Why a hollow grind on a chopper? Why not a flat grind or a convex?
Large Bowie has 1085. Is 1095 all that better? Large Bowie has a false edge on the top of the point. That might interfere with batonning but I reckon I could file the top of the blade down and remove this. Then it would look sort of drop pointish. Not a bad idea.
Is the Camp knife worth $20 more?
Are their tangs the same?

 

[Midwest Ninja]

I don't see any reason for the hollow grind if that's what you're asking, but you could always reprofile it.

Also, 1084 is a popular steel for forgers IIRC. I have a feeling 1085 will be little different.

 

[SpookyPistolero]

I think the 1085 is just a bit better on a larger chopper-type knife. It's tougher/more resilient but still hardens well. It's also really easy to sharpen in the field, but also more prone to rust.

Either way, it's a simple carbon steel that works well in a field knife. I've got the larger heavy bowie and really like it. It sharpens up very well and handles like a smaller knife. The chopping is substantial, but it will still do fine slicing. I've had no problems with rust thus far. The false edge on the front half of the back can tear up batons, but the back works too and it's not that large an issue.

I looked at the camp knife for a long time too, and couldn't decide for a while. Eventually, I decided I didn't want a guard, I didn't want the hassle of sharpening the recurved camp knife, and I didn't want a hollow grind. That made the decision pretty easy.