Sulaco
Gold Member
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2003
- Messages
- 2,421
This is my first KA-BAR since I picked up some Dozier folders some years back. I've owned some Beckers (not crazy about them) and some other KA-BAR stuff, but nothing recently.
I wanted something light I could carry in my EDC bag. I always liked the MK1 design and when I saw it available for such a good price, I read up on it and decided to get it.
Wow, I'm impressed. This is a really nice knife. I was a little concerned that the handle might be a bit small, or a bit too round (two deal breakers for me), but it's neither. While it may be a tad round for my tastes, the taper in the rear near the pommel still allows me to maintain an excellent grip with my small fingers (the ones that do the gripping). I also really like the tapered sides at the guard. I'm a hunter so I can see the usefulness there. The shortened top guard is nice too as I have big hands and find my thumb riding up the spine in a lot of holds.
The grip material is awesome. I also like the coating on the blade. It's thin and smooth, not textured like the Beckers. It cuts much better this way. I love the heavy taper to the tip. It makes this knife so much more useful to me than one that has the main thickness almost to the tip. I don't care about tapered or rat or full tangs. I've seen some tapered, hidden and rat tangs take some unreal abuse and examples of them are still around after decades of use and abuse.
I do wish the pommel was a little lighter. I'd prefer less weight in the handle, but I know it helps with the tang being pinned in place.
Anyway, good job KA-BAR of making a great design useful again. I plan to pick up a few more to stash in my various locations!
I wanted something light I could carry in my EDC bag. I always liked the MK1 design and when I saw it available for such a good price, I read up on it and decided to get it.
Wow, I'm impressed. This is a really nice knife. I was a little concerned that the handle might be a bit small, or a bit too round (two deal breakers for me), but it's neither. While it may be a tad round for my tastes, the taper in the rear near the pommel still allows me to maintain an excellent grip with my small fingers (the ones that do the gripping). I also really like the tapered sides at the guard. I'm a hunter so I can see the usefulness there. The shortened top guard is nice too as I have big hands and find my thumb riding up the spine in a lot of holds.
The grip material is awesome. I also like the coating on the blade. It's thin and smooth, not textured like the Beckers. It cuts much better this way. I love the heavy taper to the tip. It makes this knife so much more useful to me than one that has the main thickness almost to the tip. I don't care about tapered or rat or full tangs. I've seen some tapered, hidden and rat tangs take some unreal abuse and examples of them are still around after decades of use and abuse.
I do wish the pommel was a little lighter. I'd prefer less weight in the handle, but I know it helps with the tang being pinned in place.
Anyway, good job KA-BAR of making a great design useful again. I plan to pick up a few more to stash in my various locations!
