Does Anyone Know Anything About These Knives?

C

Cota332

Joined
Jun 25, 2013
Messages
9
Ello! Sorry if this thread may seem winded or even robotic, I'm somewhat new to the forum and still a noob at collecting :D
So about 2 or 3 years ago when I literally knew nothing about knives, I decided to waltz into a local Big 5 sporting goods store and buy my first two folders. I bought a Jeep and a Ka-Bar folder, but I can't seem to find anything on these specific knives anywhere! Here are the knives:

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About the Jeep: The Jeep's blade is about just under 4 inches. The Jeep has dual thumb-studs, but the clip is right pocket oriented. The knife is a liner lock, and as you can see through the pictures, it has a seat-belt cutter and a glass-breaker towards the bottom end of the handle (pommel).. The handle seems to be made out of Packkawood or something similar due to its light weight. The handle fits beautifully in the hand. The blade has stamped:
"Chrysler Group LLC 2011
440 Stainless
USA Design
Handcrafted In China"

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Now onto the Ka-Bar: The size of this knife is about the same as that of the Jeep, the Jeep is just a bit wider however. First off, this is another liner lock knife, the handle seems to be made of a relatively light weight and strong steel along with a carbon fiber "look", though I doubt that carbon fiber has found it's way onto the handle at all. The semi-serrated blade plainly says "2818 China". In my stupidity long ago, I decided to loosen the screw that holds the blade in a effort to flip the blade faster, after use I guess I must have loosened it to the point that the screw popped off and nothing is now holding the blade in place. My main hope is that this blade is not some Chinese knock off, my fear is that it is.

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So in closing, where may I find specs or atleast an ad featuring these blades? Has anyone encountered something similar? Are they knockoff's of the real thing? The jeep isn't really something I'd be disappointed in if it wasn't legit, though I would be very disappointed if the Ka-Bar was.. Both served as my EDC's for awhile, then I moved onto Cold Steel's and Benchmade's. Anywho, any feedback regarding these knives would be greatly appreciated!

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I've never seen a real Kabar like that. Handle looks interesting, good pictures!
 
The Jeep knife is just a cheap, gas-station quality folder. Quick lesson on 440 steel: there are three types. 440A, 440B, and 440C. 440C is good, 440B can be okay, 440A is total crap. (With the possible exception of Puma knives made with the steel.) Whenever something just says "440," or "440 Stainless," or "440 Surgical Stainless," it means 440A.
And can guarantee that the knife's not actually "handcrafted."

The Ka-Bar I'm not sure about, I don't know much about their knives. It looks like a cheap knockoff to me; if it was genuine, there'd most likely be more markings on the blade. (Blade steel type, e.t.c.) I could be wrong, but I don't think it's likely.
 
The Kabar is, almost definitely, a knock off. You can find similar knives with buck as well as others stamped in place of Kabar.

The Jeep knife is probably legit. Its just a Jeep branded chinese import.
 
I dunno about 440A being total crap, it can be heat treated, quite well. Camillus used the stuff for years with good sufficiency, as well as Kershaw with some the Blurs. Heck even my cheap Rough Riders have decent edge retention.
 
I have that Jeep knife. I got it back when I knew nothing about knives for $11 at Big 5. The pivot loosens, as well as the thumb stud. I also can't get an edge on it. It sucks. I don't even call it part of my collection
 
whetrock said:
I dunno about 440A being total crap, it can be heat treated, quite well. Camillus used the stuff for years with good sufficiency, as well as Kershaw with some the Blurs. Heck even my cheap Rough Riders have decent edge retention.
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Randall used it and may still do so. It has enough carbon to harden to RC 60 - or more. It has far more carbon that Buck's 420HC. It will not hold an edge as well as 440C but can be equally corrosion-resistant.
 
NateReed said:
I have that Jeep knife. I got it back when I knew nothing about knives for $11 at Big 5. The pivot loosens, as well as the thumb stud. I also can't get an edge on it. It sucks. I don't even call it part of my collection
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Haha yeah, exactly the same problems.. The blade also scrapes the inside of the handle, a piece of junk, but it got me into knives in the first place:)
 
i'm curious about that jeep knife. didn't know they got into knives at any point. but i agree that the kabar is a knock-off. did you buy it at a "big 5" as well? also what kind of store is a big 5? i've never heard of one
 
Dan57 said:
The Jeep knife is just a cheap, gas-station quality folder. Quick lesson on 440 steel: there are three types. 440A, 440B, and 440C. 440C is good, 440B can be okay, 440A is total crap. (With the possible exception of Puma knives made with the steel.) Whenever something just says "440," or "440 Stainless," or "440 Surgical Stainless," it means 440A.
And can guarantee that the knife's not actually "handcrafted."

The Ka-Bar I'm not sure about, I don't know much about their knives. It looks like a cheap knockoff to me; if it was genuine, there'd most likely be more markings on the blade. (Blade steel type, e.t.c.) I could be wrong, but I don't think it's likely.
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What about 440V?
 
Tape a quarter to each one and throw them in the trash, that way you'll be legit when you say you threw something away.

John I.
 
As far as I know, many (most?) knives made in china marked "440" are in fact a locally sourced equivalent alloy.

Thomas Linton said:
Randall used it and may still do so. It has enough carbon to harden to RC 60 - or more. It has far more carbon that Buck's 420HC. It will not hold an edge as well as 440C but can be equally corrosion-resistant.
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Randall uses 440B, IIRC.
 
alude904 said:
i'm curious about that jeep knife. didn't know they got into knives at any point. but i agree that the kabar is a knock-off. did you buy it at a "big 5" as well? also what kind of store is a big 5? i've never heard of one
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Big 5 is a sporting goods store I believe only on the west coast in the US (I could be wrong).. Anyways, yeah, Jeep had a few folders out, and at the time when I bought my Jeep, they had at least 4 or 5 different folders behind a glass case.. I picked the one that "looked the coolest". :)
If you didn't know, apparently Humvee tried to get into the game as well.. I found an old Humvee Bowie that I don't even remember buying.. Says "China" on it, and that's about all it said.. It's nice, sturdy and feels amazing in your hand, freakin big blade, but it looses its edge quickly!
 
I don't know why there are so many doubts about the KA-BAR.

It has all the markings that I would expect on any of thier legitimate products:
Branding, model number, and country of origin.

China, Japan, and Tawian are all countries I know of that have been used but this knife predates my knowledge of thief lineup.

Go Into the KA-BAR subforum here under manufacture's forums and post your question In the "Ask Tooj" thread, it's a sticky at the top and direct link to a senior designer at KA-BAR. He'll tell you everything you want to know about it.
 
Isn't 440V just another designation for S60V ? Thought spyderco used it in the Military some time ago ?
 
Cota332 said:
Big 5 is a sporting goods store I believe only on the west coast in the US (I could be wrong).. Anyways, yeah, Jeep had a few folders out, and at the time when I bought my Jeep, they had at least 4 or 5 different folders behind a glass case.. I picked the one that "looked the coolest". :)
If you didn't know, apparently Humvee tried to get into the game as well.. I found an old Humvee Bowie that I don't even remember buying.. Says "China" on it, and that's about all it said.. It's nice, sturdy and feels amazing in your hand, freakin big blade, but it looses its edge quickly!
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I dunno but I'm not attracted to a knife just because it bears the name of another cool product.
 
stvpourciau said:
I don't know why there are so many doubts about the KA-BAR.

It has all the markings that I would expect on any of thier legitimate products:
Branding, model number, and country of origin.

China, Japan, and Tawian are all countries I know of that have been used but this knife predates my knowledge of thief lineup.

Go Into the KA-BAR subforum here under manufacture's forums and post your question In the "Ask Tooj" thread, it's a sticky at the top and direct link to a senior designer at KA-BAR. He'll tell you everything you want to know about it.
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But no steel listed, and they usually do that on their blades, at least the ones I've seen. Furthermore, I did a quick search for the model number, and nothing came up.
It's possible that it's authentic- and there's no harm in checking with Tooj- but I doubt it.
 
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