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Ka-Bar 3066 flipper & mod

Zuluninja

Zuluninja

Gold Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2009
Messages
2,799
I picked up 2 of these folders at Blade, liking the aesthetics and the flipping tab. Action out of the box wasn't great, as a pull back would send the blade halfway , and a straight push down around 3/4 of the way in; a wrist flick is needed to full lock, which I don't like to do as it wears the lock face faster and creates unnecessary strain on the mechanism.

Deciding to keep one stock, the other went thru some cosmetic and functional changes. Upon taking it apart, all contact areas between washers, blade and liners were lightly sanded, and a thin bronze washer was sandwiched on both sides between the plastic washer and the blade. As I felt the blade might be a tad heavy and removing some steel might give a better flipping action, the nose was ground to a straight clip with a thin swedge. I also sanded the grind and pocket clip, but this coat is tough stuff and wasn't completely removed, and the liners edges were polished. After reassembly and lube, and flipping it a lot, it is now quite smooth. It flicks out faster with a straight push down on the tab, but a pull back will also lock it, albeit slower. This one won't give a solid twack as a heavy framelock, but it has a positive, smooth lock now without needing a wrist flick.

Straight push down on stock folder fails to open completely:

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side by side

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mod

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size comparison

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overall quite pleased with it, a bit of simple elbow grease gets good results. Ka-Bar, keep bringing more folders! how about some bearing flippers?
 
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It would be nice, but I don't mind them being made in China. The Ka-Bar quality is there, while keeping the cost down. I paid 15 bucks per knife, helluva nice deal, and I bet that with just regular use and patience this one will eventually be as smooth as the modded version.
 
zuluninja said:
It would be nice, but I don't mind them being made in China. The Ka-Bar quality is there, while keeping the cost down. I paid 15 bucks per knife, helluva nice deal, and I bet that with just regular use and patience this one will eventually be as smooth as the modded version.
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They look nice, I've never been impressed with the durability of tools made in China.
 
Zulu, your thread inspired me to order two 98s just now. Thanks, brother.:thumbsup:
 
Finally, someone posted pics of the new knife...:D

Cool mods Zulu, like what you did with the tip. Not a big fan of the Chinese abc metals, but for $15, guess you can’t complain too much. The design of the knife looks nice; hopeful this’ll be the start of some new folders coming from KA-BAR.
 
yeah, that's how I see it, a new start with bigger aims for the future. As for steel...I like them all, even if it's not premium steel, I still enjoy putting edges on them. They can also be starter blades for newbies getting into knives.
 
5Cr15? Really? That's pitiful. I'm sick and tired of seeing American knife companies continually fail at making quality budget knives.

There are plenty of companies making knives out of 14C28N sandvik (Ruike, Real Steel, etc...) and D2 (Steel Will, Ontario, etc...) for under $35ish. They are even using bearings in some of these. VG10 can be found in $50 knives pretty easily. There are even some knives becoming available in S35VN for $75. Yet, several of these American knife companies insist on using 5CrXX, 7CrXX, and 8CrXX in their budget lines. Heck, even a moderate price increase would be worth it. 5Cr15 is approaching butter knife territory. I'm not a complete steel snob, but steel technology has really advanced in recent years and American companies insist on offering cheap Chinese knives without ever improving materials. I have no problem with knives made in China, but at least try to make them competitive. I'm completely done with CRKT for this reason. They are the worst offenders. They are constantly offering great designs with good fit and finish and horrible materials. Their prices aren't even that good. They always charge VG10 and S35VN prices for 8Cr13MoV and Aus8.

All that to say: nice original design, but horribly inadequate materials.
 
I picked one up at BLADE since it was only $15. Guy behind the counter told me it was AUS-8 steel though and not 5CR15. Might not of if he'd told me that. Still at $15 I just bought it as a beater folder.
 
I was a bit disappointed when I checked it at their site and saw the steel, but for 15$ I still think it was a great buy. The only way to find out how the steel does is by using it, see how long it holds an edge, how easy is it to get sharp again. I am not expecting m390 performance, but I trust Ka-Bar to have done a good job with the HT.
 
The blade remind me of a cut down bayonet. The way the blood groove goes off the edge. Looks like a winner to me, at a good price point.
 
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