couple usmc combat questions..

B

Buddiiee

Joined
Jan 24, 2007
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I was contemplating the 8" kabar 'fighter'. then again, I miss my old original camillus brown handled, standard issue USMC utility as well. I still have an original WW2 camillus, and an old kabar i still carry but, I hear that camillus is on the rocks right now. should I buy up a few camillus' for safe keeping, or what. Anyone know their current status right now?
My next question is, hammering is still a major feature for me, for a field knife, and thats why I was considering that kabar fighter. it has a bigger blade, and is still a no nonsense design. but i hear some people in here talking about the powdered metal buttcaps not being too good for hammering. well, ive hammered alll sorts of stuff in the field, and on camping trips, and never had a problem, though, i dont want one in the future either. i doubt the 'powdered metal' technology is really old. so, would anyone know at about what year, did they change their buttcaps over from normal steel, to powdered? maybe ill pick up one of those as well.
And, i know kabars are, but are camillus' buttcaps powdered too? Im thinking theyre not.
Anyone blow up a kabar by hammering yet?
 
well, me and a buddy shattered a tip by hammering it into a brick. but thats probably not what you mean. :)
 
Spend the extra $2 and get an actual Kabar. That Camillus stuff is pure garbage, IMHO.
 
I hear that camillus is on the rocks right now. should I buy up a few camillus' for safe keeping, or what.
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I think if you want a Camillus, you should get one or two now. There's no impending Ka-Bar closure, so you'll probably be able to buy them for years.

That Camillus stuff is pure garbage, IMHO.
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Aren't they built to the exact same specs as the KaBar? I have a Camillus USMC and it certainly doesn't appear to be garbage.

-Bob
 
Buddiiee said:
no lol. though, why were you doing that?
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we started chopping some wood with a few busses. then i chopped the brick with my heavy heart. slight roll on the edge but no chipping. then we took a sledge and hammered it tip first, again only roll ,no chipping.

well he had a k-bar, and we wanted to see how it would hold up. when he chopped the brick, the edge chipped, then the sledge and it broke right off.

why? hmmmmm.........


i dont know, but it sure was fun!!!
 
well all i know about kabar is, they were THE first, after that, camillus, pal and robeson started helping out with production. then i think case jumped in too. after the war, they all went away besides camillus. (i think) then i think kabar started up production again.
at anyrate, ive fondled them all (im sure by now, you guys can see im a military knife kind of guy. i love military history, thats why) and from my personal experiences, the cases were the crappiest i thought. thats in my hands though. as far as puttin em to work, i have 3. a ww2 camillus (that is still shaving sharp) an 80's issue brown camillus, and a 90's 1217 kabar classic. out of the fit and finish, feel, robustness, and overall utility, the kabar is by far and away the better made knife. (but, the camillus performed just as good in the field though) The leather has plastic spacers, to stop the rust transfer both at the hilt, and pommel, and the leather widens out WAY more at the pommel for support, than the others....BUT, their grinds or bevels, are the widest. once you dull up a kabar, forgetaboutit. unless you can pull out a lansky out of your buttpack, youre screwed. my camilluses sharpen right up in a hurry, and when done, are wayyyyyyyyyy sharper than my kabar.
But this 'powdered metal' pommel deal has me thinking..... hmmmm. sure, they havent blown up yet, but will they?
Im thinking to just grab up a few more brown camilluses, and throw em in the ole collection for now. Theres just something about carrying the same exact knife as our forefathers did, that sparks my imagination. especially used ones. who KNOWS where that knife has been, or what its seen.
 
Actually, I think you have that backwards. Camillus had the original contract and Kabar helped out, and ended up making more than Camillus, and were thus more well known - hence all USMC fighters are often referred to as Kabars.

Edit: Camillus is also what our Clothing/Sales shop carried in the Army (as of a year ago when I got out) - may be different in other places, but thats what we had. The Camillus is also still (well, WAS!) made to the same specs as the WWII fighter - I believe (I may be wrong, cuz I don't really follow Kabar) that they have modernized most of theirs to some extent. I'm by no means an expert, but I'm pretty confident that Camillus had the original contract for the USMC.
 
MORIMOTOM said:
we started chopping some wood with a few busses. then i chopped the brick with my heavy heart. slight roll on the edge but no chipping. then we took a sledge and hammered it tip first, again only roll ,no chipping.

well he had a k-bar, and we wanted to see how it would hold up. when he chopped the brick, the edge chipped, then the sledge and it broke right off.

why? hmmmmm.........


i dont know, but it sure was fun!!!
Click to expand...

Sounds Nosstastic




:D
 
A little useless knowledge for you guys. When I served active duty USMC, pretty much ANY fixed blade knife was called a "Kabar". Whether it was an actual Kabar or not. ;)
 
I've beat the heck outta my KA-BAR. I used while I was in (SEMPER FI ENDURAGUY!) and still use it. It holds up fine to hammering and such. Can't go wrong IMO. Stick with an actual KA-BAR, not the Camillus stuff.
 
I've got no problem with my Camillus. I'm not a hard core operator but for house, yard or camping it's plenty tough. I stripped all the black stuff off of it and found some really good looking steel underneath, looks like a patina-ed old hunting knife. When I stripped all the black stuff off an Ontario pilot's knife I found barely finished steel, looks bad. No experience with the Ka-Bar. YMMV

Frank
 
Hey, these old Ka-Bar USMC knives are so tough they can travel through time!

Just yesterday I saw a bad guy try to skin Matt Dillon with one on a rerun of Gunsmoke.

Was a funny blooper!
 
Hey diceman.. you are correct when you say our clothing and sales carried the camillus. the all black ones right? thats the only ones i seen in the clothing stores. as far as camillus having the original contract? negative, kabar was the first, camillus pal and robeson came in as backups.
And yes enduraguy, every 7" usmc fighting/utility knife is called a kabar. much like the kleenex deal as well.
And its camilli? thats the plural? ok, will do. lol.

Just do what? get more camilli cuz theyre indeed going under? or can i wait. are they still producing the traditional brown 7 inchers anymore? or are they ok for a while. are the kabar pommels tougher than we think? dam... now im in a pickle.. ill make a few calls...
 
welp.. there it is... :( today was it. no more knives from the venerable camillus knife company... tomorrows their last day in the office.. DAM. i LOVE their knives too. i have all sorts of airforce, m3's, usmc utility knives, and the little stainless camp knives too. looks like im buyin me another camillus.. :( a sad sad day in knife history indeed. he said he thinks its the imports that put em out of business. they can make a knife for cheaper.... im pretty pissed off right now... im buyin another usmc combat in brown, another airforce, and another camp knife.

edit. called kabar about their pommels.. she said, that while they are powdered metal, shes never seen em break while she was there. and shes been there for the last 3 years. (which has been wartime) theyre not covered in the warranty though. so if you do break one, youre outta luck. i asked her "well wasnt that what they were MADE for???" she said "years ago, but not now"
But like I said, she hasnt seen any come back with broke pommels yet. So I guess thats a good thing. But for now, its camilli hoarding.
 
Hopefully this info should clear up the "who came first" question. Camillus, NOT Ka-Bar - shipped the first lot of 2,100 of the 1219C2's to the Marines in early January, 1943. Camillus also designed the first style of this knife designated as the "USN Fighting Knife, Mark 2". Many companies along with Union Cutlery (KA-BAR) made a similar knife.

So there you go. Camillus provided the knife first and made more than any other manufacturer. The odd thing is, the name KA-BAR became synonomous with this type of knife. Kabar sounds better than saying, "Hey, let me borrow your 1219C2 Fighting Utility knife" to dit a cat hole".

IMHO, the KA-BAR kabar is a better made knife by far. The Camillus offering is ruff. No desire to make it any better. But at the end of the day, they both do what they were designed to do.

Dan
 
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