Ka-Bar 1264...obtained!

NCSlice

NCSlice

Joined
Feb 22, 2015
Messages
3,599
Finally got my hands on not one, but two! While the user was on my watch list, a NIB popped up on the exchange. Next thing ya know, I have both at my door. I've been watching for this Blade for a couple of years now and it was weird that these came at the same time. So glad I found a user because the NIB would be tough to take out. May be future trade bait.
I figured I'd over pay for one but both came very reasonable at less than $100 for the pair...lucky!

Anywho...the user looked like it had been dropped tip down, not too hard to fix. I wasted no time in getting it sanded down and razor sharp!



I'm not too experienced with the stacked leather. Do they darken quickly with use? I notice some are darker than others when new. My MK1 came dark but this 1264 is light while the user is dark, which I prefer. I also have a short f/u that's dark.

Now if I can only find that 1245 plain Blade!
(1244? I know... We've been over this before, its a bit of a unicorn)
 
Congrats on the double score!


NCSlice said:
I'm not too experienced with the stacked leather. Do they darken quickly with use? I notice some are darker than others when new. My MK1 came dark but this 1264 is light while the user is dark, which I prefer. I also have a short f/u that's dark.
Click to expand...
No, they don't darken quickly. It's mostly due to oils/salts/dirt from hands over the months and years. Hence why the user is darker than the NIB.

I guess you could soak them in oil if you wanted to 'force' it.
 
The stacked leather darkens fairly quickly from the oils in your hand. So I'd not handle the NIB version too much, if you want to keep the handle the same color (at least from my experience). But I guess that's still a subjective timeframe. It doesn't happen overnight, or even just from handling a few times. But my 1217 had it's handle darken over the period of like a year or two, and I hardly use it. YMMV.

And I've not seen this model before, the tanto shape really works aesthetically for me. Nice score :).
 
Simply oiling and waxing the handle will darken it, much more than I'd like it too but that's the off
 
Thanks for the info guys! It'll stay in the box for now and the user will get plenty of play!
 
Not entirely off topic.

But, I keep seeing a shark profile in the bottom user one. I can't unsee it. Anyone else seeing that, or have I been working too long today?
 
Glad I'm not the only one :thumbup:.

And looking at it, it looks like the grind might actually be higher on these ones than the standard 1217, there is also no fuller.
 
Correct, no fuller and it does appear to have a higher grind although I don't have a 1217 to compare. The Blade being centered with the handle adds to the aesthetics IMO.
 
Nice Slice! One of my favorite KA-BARs is my 1245, it was given as a gift, but I used the heck out of that thing. It is a surprisingly good cutting knife that will snap cut like no ones business. It is something about the hollow grind+the lightness+the length+thinned edge+swedge that it just flies through stuff. Mine is a combo edge, but KA-BAR's serrations are probably my fav. This is an old pic, but here it is with its little counterpart. I always like the look of the drop point minus the swedge leather handled 1264s.

 
mmm, I like the fuller-less look better, it looks cleaner and more usable for stuff other than fighting. Also, gotta like the blade lining up equally with the handle, never really noticed Ka-bars had that before, but it's hard not to notice it now.
 
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