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The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
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Ka-Bar/Becker quality?
- Thread starter Plumberdv
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the haters could come here, and we could school them, but then they'd have to find something else to hate 
chances are they are just repeating a party line, and have never used the products... which is really, more sad than anything else.
chances are they are just repeating a party line, and have never used the products... which is really, more sad than anything else.
Michiganhatamoto
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I own three kabars (USMC, Big Tanto, Mark 1) and a few M2 combat knives made by camillus and others. The camillus knives are all exeptional. I actually used to think very highly of kabar until a couple months ago. My friend's late father bought me a USMC with a flawed Kraton G handle fresh out of the box for a camping trip not two weeks before he passed away after a long battle with cancer. (It was like the kraton had not been moulded properly or something by the way it seperated) It came with a quarter inch long "fracture" (for lack of a better word) running though the kraton at the finger side of the steel hand gaurd, and it unevenly followed the tang downward towards the end cap. I was camping at the time I got the knife, and by the end of the week, my knife handle had split all the way down the tang just being used making marshmellow sticks.. I even tried useing a bit of superglue on the handle hoping it would prevent it from worsening. I had never seen or heard of anything like this happening to a kabar anywhere, ever. When I contacted kabar about a replacement handle after I got back, they refused to ship out a replacement kraton handle to me EVEN IF I PAYED for it. All they said they could do is ship out a replacement leather handle "kit",and I would have to pay around $20 + shipping just for leather rings and a stainless pin, and that "I would require some sort of co2 compressor to compress the leather washers together to make a seal" (which is obvious) along with some other I was told that along with some other bs I don't quite recall. Like I don't know how the handle goes together..
:jerkit:
So why wouldn't you just let me buy a replacement kraton handle guys? Then I wouldn't need to compress anything, just slide on kraton handle, buttcap, insert pin and done. This knife is special to me, I couldn't bring myself to ship it though the mail.. They didn't seem to understand this. :yawn:
Anyways, long story short, I am very dissapointed in the customer service. You really duck't up with this one kabar. Now I have a blade, guard,.. Actually, now it looks like moosez45's, just not broken at the tang and not used as much.
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I would say get a hold of Tooooooooooj over in the Ka-Bar forum, he will direct you to how to get it all worked out. I'm pretty sure they can do SOMETHING to make it right. You might have to send it in though. The way I understand it, the Kraton is actually formed TO the blade, it isn't a slip cover.
Michiganhatamoto
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:foot: I used to be a loyal customer. I was so offended by how I was treated by customer service that I took my buisiness elsewhere. Just wondering, would you happen to know why kabar doesn't sell replacment kraton handles? I just can't understand why they wouldn't.
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You still pinching the heads off crawdads? I told you that you have to cook them first!
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First, please mind your language. I edited your longer post above.
Second, Ka-Bar isn't in the handle business; it's in the knife business.
If you had a problem with the handle and all you did was whittle sticks, you should have asked about replacing the knife. Did you?
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Like I said, I believe the kraton handles are molded to the blade through a machine. Kind of like an injection mold machine. If it IS that, then it would cost WAYYYYYYYY too much to send you the machine to mold it.
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I have two Beckers and have owned a total of 3 ka-bars - I've never had any issues.
My old man did complain that his Ka-Bar Tanto was out-of-the-box dull, but as he was re-sheathing it, he sliced his palm open when he was finishing that very sentence. I guess it was sharp enough after all.
My old man did complain that his Ka-Bar Tanto was out-of-the-box dull, but as he was re-sheathing it, he sliced his palm open when he was finishing that very sentence. I guess it was sharp enough after all.
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Send it to me, I'll regrind it for you.
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There are plenty of businesses that don't sell parts with respect to their finished products.
Those parts sometimes only exist on a manufacturing line in another building, or even in another part of the country, or in another part of the world in some instances.
It's just not cost efficient to move parts all over. I don't know if that's the case here, but I think it's perfectly reasonable for Ka-Bar to say, Sorry, we don't sell our kraton handles.
Michiganhatamoto, I do hope they offered to help you otherwise. Did they ask you to send the knife back in?
Those parts sometimes only exist on a manufacturing line in another building, or even in another part of the country, or in another part of the world in some instances.
It's just not cost efficient to move parts all over. I don't know if that's the case here, but I think it's perfectly reasonable for Ka-Bar to say, Sorry, we don't sell our kraton handles.
Michiganhatamoto, I do hope they offered to help you otherwise. Did they ask you to send the knife back in?
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Well, there you go. Problem solved.
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Well, Michiganhatamoto was down there viewing, but then he left. I wouldn't mind getting all of the story here.
I realize the original knife has sentimental value, but if Ka-Bar doesn't sell those handles, then they simply don't sell the handles.
A customer service person is bound by what the company will and won't do.
Edited to add: If anybody knows a tradesman who does good work on stacked leather, post it up. Michiganhatamoto asked about such in a thread over in Ka-Bar.
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Michiganhatamoto
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Possible but I really doubt it.
I mean it could be, but why they would choose to manufacture a knife that way when there is already an end-cap with a stainless pin holding the knife together. That would just make no sense. I'll leave it at that, are not the tangs on all USMC utility/fighters the same size? (aside from the Big Brothers, Mark 1s, and Tantos?) I could try that, you would think they would at least try to make things right. I feel like I am being blown off. If a knife comes with a faulty kraton g handle, then why should it be replaced with stacked leather. It didn't look like the handle was directly moulded to the tang at all, but I suppose it is entirely possible. But again, even if it was moulded directly to the tang (which would be an absolutely F- retarded way to manufacture this knife, no offence meant towards you at all), what would the end cap and stainless steel pin be there for?
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I suggest you try C-Bear's advice before complaining any further. Toooj stays on top of the Ask Toooj thread, and if you ask respectfully, he will answer you respectfully.
ETA: I emailed Toooj as well, so maybe you'll get some clarity on the matter.
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It seems like they cant send Kraton, so they offered to replace the knife ? Which he didn't want to do because it has personal value, so they offered to send the leather rings out, but maybe that normally makes the knife more expensive than the Kraton handled one ? (Not sure) So they would have to charge the difference? Sounds like they tried to make it right for the most part, but couldn't solve it exactly the way you wanted. It is possible that they might be willing to send you a replacement knife and let you change the handles and send back the new knife with the bad handle on it ? Dunno, just spitballing here.
Michiganhatamoto
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Haha relax dude. I think my use of expletives was more than fitting, is perfectly justifiable by my situation, and editing my post before telling me was not very nice on your part. So that's what I think of that lol. :grumpy:
I appoligize if your that offended by the "S" word, somehow I doubt you will loose any sleep over it bro.
So onto the OP ~ No, I did not specifically ask to replace the entire knife because it has sentimental value, There is nothing wrong with it exept there is no handle. I'd like to eventually give this knife back to my friend. I'd like to find a replacment kraton g handle for it, but I just don't see that happening at all. So, I guess i'll start looking for a person that is experienced enough to make me one out of cancas micarta or G-10 or something as opposed to leather. (which I don't like because It holds moisture) I just don't like shipping my knives through the mail for a number of obvious reasons, but I suppose I'll eventually have to. Customer service told me I could purchase a replacement handle kit for around twenty bucks plus shipping if I really wanted to replace the handle myself. They refuse to sell me a kraton handle, even after I offered to pay for the part. That's all I got. :yawn:
Thanks for the generous offer Tradewater, what would you be regrinding on it though? The blade is plenty sharp, I sharpen it on a diamond stone and finish with ceramic stick and a leather strop.
Kabar offered to sell me a replacement leather handle. not free... Otherwise I would have settled with a leather handle kit. Your exactly right. Kabar is a knife company, they have like 10 different handles for beckers and they sell original leather handles, so that isn't completely true.
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Michiganhatamoto
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Thanks all for the help. I'll try not to post anymore since i basically hijacked this thread.
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Anything you want. The blade, the handle, the box you ship it in, etc. I just got a new grinder and I can't control myself.
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