Just got a few Ka-Bars and...

J

James0723

Joined
Mar 25, 2009
Messages
1,322
I have to say these are my favorite knives that I have ever gotten. I am not a noob when it comes to knives. I have been collecting knives for over 2 years and my knife collection totals to almost $3,000. I own many more expensive knives than the Ka-Bars. I have Kershaws, Benchmades, I own several of the Rat Cutlery, some Fox knives, some Condors, and I have never been happier with a purchase than the Ka-Bars.

I got one Ka-Bar with a stacked leather handle ($40) and one with D2 steel ($96 which only comes with the Kraton-G handle). At first the leather handle smelled overwhelmingly like peanut oil, but that smell has worn off somewhat and now it just smells good.

I ask anyone on the forum, who else is making knives this cheap that are also made in the US? Where else can you find a 7" fixed blade in D2, made in the USA for $100? The Ka-Bars also came hair shaving sharp out of the box.

I know they have a good heat treat too, I have read about how they're manufactured and they use a three step process that consists of treating, cryogenically freezing, and then tempering.

The only thing that annoys me is that a year ago the D2 ka-bar was offered with a premium Eagle sheath that was also made in the US, now they got rid of that and replaced it with a Chinese made "Spec-Ops" sheath which is very similar, but still I'd rather have had the Eagle sheath. But I think that just shows how low the price point on these knives already is that they had to get rid of the USA made sheath. There is absolutely no way they could give you a lower price on these knives and I expect they'll raise the prices in the next few years.
 
To this day I see more K-Bars carried by soldiers than any other single fixed knife. Iwo Jima and other places gave it a hard reputation to beat.
 
If I was going to war I'd know I'd want a Ka-bar as opposed to any other knife. Same goes for camping. The $40 stacked leather handle Ka-Bar is now my go-to knife, and ironically it's also my cheapest.
 
This thread is starting to sound like an advertisement for Ka-Bar... :D

I do agree that Ka-Bars are high-quality knives and a great value. I also like that they are battle-proven and tough-as-nails. But I can't let this thread turn into an advertisement for Ka-Bar because they have a few proven problems, too.

1. rat-tail tang. Just google it. Lots of people bought one piece Ka-Bars and ended up with a "two piece" Ka-Bar after minimal field use. The Ka-Bar is not a survival or woods knife. It is a fighting knife.

2. spine-side guard. Unless you are going to be knife-fighting, that back side guard is useless. In fact, it will seriously cramp your style if used for most survival or bushcrafting chores.

3. weak tip. A lot of people will disagree with me there. But you only have to look at it. And google it. Lots of people have broken that tip off trying to do something besides stab someone with a Ka-Bar.

In short, the Ka-Bar is not a magic, indestructible knife that only costs $40! Get yours now! ::eyes rolling:: It's a good knife, solidly built, and well-suited for combat. There are much, much better choices for everything else. Just my two-cents.

Mag
 
True story, the USMC fighting knife is a good sturdy knife, but quite a few have been broken, especially after extended rough field use. They won't fall apart on you if you sneeze on them, but the rat tail tang is the place it usually breaks.

If you like your KaBar USMC knife, but are looking for something with a full width tang for rough use, check out their Becker line, and their JAB line of knives...

They cost a bit more (up to about $75), but are beefy as all get out and have some sweet designs. Check out the BK2, JAB potbelly, BK5, and BK9.

Cheers, and congrats on the purchase :).
 
I'm not meaning to advertise for them, I'm just coming to a forum I've been using for years and reporting my satisfaction with these knives.

I did google "ka-bar tang break" and found people talking about how their ka-bars broke after prying with them and hitting them with sledghammers and things. The tang is still a full tang, it should not break unless it is being abused. And as long as we're talking about that, go watch the Ka-Bar D2 destruction test vids that Nos4 put up on youtube and see what he puts it through and how it holds up.

Google "Ka-Bar Amazon" and read through all the reviews. In particular the non-serrated stacked leather handle version. 113 reviews. 101 five star ratings. 9 four star ratings.

Like I said I myself have spent $3,000 on knives. I am overjoyed that finally I can get knives, made in the US, hair shaving sharp out of the box, made out of good materials, without having to empty my bank account.

It really illustrates how overpriced most other knives are in my opinion. How is it possible that Ka-Bar can give us a sub $100 7" blade D2 knife made in the USA? If any other company made a knife to those specs it would be like $300, at least. All these knife makers and CEOs of knife companies think they should be making six figure salaries I guess.
 
Thanks for the recommendations, I will definitely be checking out their Becker line. Anything related to Ka-Bar seems like it might be good.
 
Not a problem man. I ended up purchasing a becker because of the amazing things that I had heard about them, and about kabar as a company. Because I'm poor (married grad student), I'm sticking solidly to the "value" end of the spectrum right now. There are plenty of nice knives that I've read about and put into a "later" category, but for right now, kabar is doing great for me :).

Also, Kabar just barely got a manufacturer subforum up, so go ahead and check it out (2 contests running for free knives at the moment).
 
My USMC knife is from Camillus, but I do have one of the new Ka-Bar Becker knives (BK9), and it's a heckuva nice knife and even less expensive than the old Camillus versions.

James0723 said:
I ask anyone on the forum, who else is making knives this cheap that are also made in the US? Where else can you find a 7" fixed blade in D2, made in the USA for $100?
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Check out Queen. They make some nice-looking (I don't own one) D2 fixed blade knives in the $50 range. They're outdoorsman / hunting-styled knives, as opposed to 'combat' or 'survival' knives.
 
Thanks for the heads up on the forums/contests.

I did just check out Queen, looks like another great company, but it seems their hunters in D2 are rather small with blade length being 3 1/2 inches.
 
I received one ( 7 in with black kryayton) right before a big camping trip/ rising trip to Mammoth Lakes in Northern CA. Sadly I was pretty disappointed with it to be honest. The grind was very very uneven along the last 1/2 inch of the blade towards the tip, and it was not very sharp at all. I really wanted to like this knife but just was pretty disappointing to me. Just my experience not trying to talk crap on ka-bar.
 
If the sheath is made in China, It's not a Spec-Ops Brand sheath. It's an imitation.
 
You're right. It is not a Spec Ops sheath. I apologize, as I really don't know much about the various sheath brands.

A year ago the D2 Ka-Bar had a US made Eagle sheath as one of the options, now it's a Chinese copy of that sheath.
 
Benchmade92 said:
I received one ( 7 in with black kryayton) right before a big camping trip/ rising trip to Mammoth Lakes in Northern CA. Sadly I was pretty disappointed with it to be honest. The grind was very very uneven along the last 1/2 inch of the blade towards the tip, and it was not very sharp at all. I really wanted to like this knife but just was pretty disappointing to me. Just my experience not trying to talk crap on ka-bar.
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Maybe you bought yours used or a fake? Both Ka-Bars are got are razor sharp out of the box. That's one of the reasons I'm so impressed with them. I just uploaded this vid real quick to prove it:

[video=youtube;O6SFDFkTwpU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6SFDFkTwpU[/video]

Also I note that you say you received yours "right before" a big camping trip. Yet, in one of your posts you offered a "brand new" Ka-Bar as a trade, so obviously you don't make the most accurate statements.
 
James0723 said:
I did just check out Queen, looks like another great company, but it seems their hunters in D2 are rather small with blade length being 3 1/2 inches.
Click to expand...

Ah, yes.
Canal Street has some bowie knives (beautiful in the pictures) with 7" blades of D2 steel, but they're quite a bit over the $100 mark.
 
I've really gotta get another Ka-Bar. Gave my USMC version to a friend who was hitch-hiking across the country, and I miss it. :o
 
Magnaminous_G said:
This thread is starting to sound like an advertisement for Ka-Bar... :D

I do agree that Ka-Bars are high-quality knives and a great value. I also like that they are battle-proven and tough-as-nails. But I can't let this thread turn into an advertisement for Ka-Bar because they have a few proven problems, too.

1. rat-tail tang. Just google it. Lots of people bought one piece Ka-Bars and ended up with a "two piece" Ka-Bar after minimal field use. The Ka-Bar is not a survival or woods knife. It is a fighting knife.

Lots of boneheads who might be talented with a keyboard or a video camera, but haven't a clue about how to properly use a knife. The knife was basically designed as a utility knife.

2. spine-side guard. Unless you are going to be knife-fighting, that back side guard is useless. In fact, it will seriously cramp your style if used for most survival or bushcrafting chores.

Trim off top guard if it's in your way...5 minutes with a dremel tool.

3. weak tip. A lot of people will disagree with me there. But you only have to look at it. And google it. Lots of people have broken that tip off trying to do something besides stab someone with a Ka-Bar.

More bonehead behavior, there's a reason prybars are made.

In short, the Ka-Bar is not a magic, indestructible knife that only costs $40! Get yours now! ::eyes rolling:: It's a good knife, solidly built, and well-suited for combat. There are much, much better choices for everything else. Just my two-cents.

Mag
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Note inserted comments
 
The guard on the D2 Ka-Bar is different. It's curved on the edge side and does not extend on the spine side.
 
I received the Ka-bar from a very reputable dealer so I am certain that it was new.

And as far as me offering a "brand new" knife it was. I ended up not using the knife because of the uneven grind it had so it has been sitting in the box not being used. So how about you don't you not make assumptions about other people's belongings James0723.
 
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