good 'ole kabar

RescueRiley

RescueRiley

Joined
Mar 22, 2006
Messages
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Got a kabar 1211 a while ago in trade...it was on the duller side when I got it so I spent some time thinning out the edge....and now it shaves like a remington microscreen..(got to love 1095)
THe blade while long is thinner than blades of many similar sized knives... which in some ways makes it handle like a smaller knife...
I spent most of friday evening whittling figure 4 triggers... and it did a fine job despite the 7 inch blade...
The clip point while being thin (and probably the weakest point of the knife seems to drill really well, and the blade is wide enough that you coud choke up a bit to use the clip and belly as a skinning blade... (or at least I can but I have small hands).
It is a hefty solid knife that feels tougher than woodpecker lips....for a larger blade I like it a bunch (now that it is good and sharp)..
I've limbed some shelter supports with this knife and chopped some wrist thick poles (using a ring leuku grip) and while too handle heavy to be a good chopper it did work by using a snapping motion of the wrist.
I haven't done any battoning with it yet although it seems like it would hold up..even though it is a stick tang it seems pretty durable...
I priced them out on amazon and they can be had for about 50 bucks which really cannot be beat in my mind...this to me while being on the large side would be a good bet for the "dropped in the woods with one knife" predicament. (even though I like smaller blades for most hings)
The one problem I have with this knife is the double guard..the front guard is fine but the back guard make it difficult to get your thumb onto the spine of the blade for controlled carving..nut that should be fixed easily enough with a hacksaw and a file.
Lets hear from the rest of you..Karbar experiences? mods? use witha baton?
 
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My full size Warthog has been seriously abused for ten years. Chopping, batoning, prying and digging on a pretty regular basis and I can still bring the edge to shaving sharp. 1095 DOES rule. :thumbup:

Jeff
 
I had one. It was stolen. A WWII version. It was my outdoors knife. Ive been searching thrift stores... for another one. A couple of years ago, while in a CASE outlet I saw the CASE version, for forty dollars. I should have purchased it.
 
I've always liked em. I have an old battered one I keep saying I'll fix up a bit, but never get around to it. Always wanted to try one of the warthogs. I like a wide blade.
 
I got one for Christmas back in the 80's and it is a great knife! My father made a new sheath for it and stained and treated the handle for me! :thumbup:


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That's a really good looking sheath, Farnsrocket! Handle looks nice too. :thumbup:

I've got that same USMC-type kabar, it's a solid blade. I've never warmed up to it though, just doesn't seem to do anything very well in my hands. Not that anyone else with one is exactly under-knifed!
 
I like my Ka-bar as well, but due to size it rarely sees any use (suburbs, man!). That said, a little mink oil soaked into the leather handle, a lot of time getting the edge right and sharpening the swedge, and it stays tucked away but easy to reach in case TSHTF and I need to PUHA out.
 
I think I have a new one of those but I am not sure. I do or have owned almost all of the full size Kabars and they are tops in my book as a one knife that can do it all in a pinch. Back in the early 60's I was issued a Ontario version which I still have. It has done everything in it's life and other that snapping the very very tip off once, it's never missed a lick. (the tip hit a piece of pipe)

As I get older and do more pick-up and camper camping and less primitive trips I have sold many of my bigger knive including the Warthog and Camp knife. Yesterday at a gun show I got a new Kabar 1273. It was between that knife and a new Outcast. The Kabar won out but I would have been a winner either way. BTW I just grabbed JK's Camp knife which I would expect to fill the same niche:) very well.
 
Excellent knife for the money, except that in tropic climates, the leather washers rot off the tang. I had that happen with one K-Bar and an Air Force survival knife.
 
Good point.. the 1211 however has that new rubber type deal I don't know what it is kraton maybe?
 
Kraton G for the handle. Nice knife, too long for me, and I hate clip points with a passion, but still a good solid blade.
 
Do they still make the KA-BAR Next Generation. Stainless steel blade, powdered steel guard and pommel, and a kraton handle. I have one somewhere that's probably 10 years old.
 
MrCoffee said:
Kraton G for the handle. Nice knife, too long for me, and I hate clip points with a passion, but still a good solid blade.
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That's another good point. I'm not into sharpened clip points. They're great for reaching the vital organs of an enemy on the field of battle but they're also good for getting me hurt when I'm trying to use them for more utilitarian purposes, and they make for a weaker tip, though I've never seen the tip broken off a Ka-Bar.

There's several designs out there, billed as "tactical", that have nice drop points on them, that would work much better as utility knives, IMO.

It's really hard to beat the Ka-Bar for the money, though.
 
As far as I know, they still make the next generation model and the D2 model. The guy at the gun show had several of them.
 
I have one like pictured above. It has seen serious dirt time and is still kicking. I have another, never version with the black handles and tanto point for martial arts training. One of the sharpest blades I have ever handled. Scary sharp.
 
My Kabar is brand new, a nice blade, but has not been used at all. But this old girl has seen some use. It is an old Camillus fighting knife my brother rehandled for me. The Kydex is my first attempt at sheathmaking, nothing fancy, but I was pretty pleased.

CamillusSheath1.jpg

CamillusSheath2.jpg
 
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