"KA-BAR D2 Extreme - The First 30 Days"

zanussi01 said:
LV, The pin in the pommel looks a little proud on your knife.
Was it like this when you got it,or has it stared to wiggle out?
(I have had a few do this from new)

Nice "mouse",lean and very high in Iron,skins make great leather,tails make great soup!
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Thanks for pointing that out.

I tapped it, it seems fully bottomed, but I will keep an eye on it just in case.
LV,
 
goldie said:
ive been using a D2 extreme in the woods for a few years its a great all around knife; ive done alot with it,i highly recommend one...
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I agree, it is a pretty well rounded tool.

I find them a valuable asset or I wouldn't waste my time or everyone else's with these threads.
 
Kels73 said:
LostViking, I'm really enjoying this thread. I remember your Dog's Head review a few years back. The D2 Extreme appears to have the same profile as that knife. Do you have a preference between the two?
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A final decision is down the road. They are very similar.

The Dog's Head is still all business. Other than some coating wear and routine edge maintenance,
pretty much as I took it out of the box.

I am liking the Kraton handle. It provides a good grip, and when involved in things like the corned beef grease, just wipe and go. The D2 is certainly sharp.and I would say ,less prone to rusting.

Time will tell whether this D2 Extreme will hold up. But so far it's hitting on all cylinders.
LV,
 
***Full Disclosure Time***

This knife was purchased by me with my own money, as was the Dog's Head.
KA-BAR was not involved in any way, no sponsorship, no goodies, no gimmicks.
Not even a "Nice Job" for that matter.

I'm not even sure KA-BAR likes me doing these types of reviews.
They tend to illustrate the knives being taken outside their design parameters.

Just a note to say, this is not a paid advertising adventure for me.

I may take the knives past what some folks feel comfortable with.
But it is what it is.
There is only one way to test a knife, and that is to test the knife.

I equate it to dogs.
One can have a pedigree, one can be from the pound.
in the field it's what works that matters.
Not what the associated paper says.

That's why I don't get too wound up over steels. I don't really care what the spec sheet says.
If it does what I need it to do, I'm fine with it.
Steels have become like rifle calibers. It seems a new better mouse trap hits the market every week.

Will I break one??
Perhaps, perhaps not.

I'm just drawn to these knives because of the history behind them.
They have a reasonable price that a working dad or mom can afford.

I have always rooted for the underdog. In today's world of full tangs, super steels,
high grade epoxy adhesives, the lowly KA-BAR pretty much unchanged since World War ll,
remains a viable option for a woods camp knife.

There is just something nostalgic in it for me.
LV,
 
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My D2 EXTREME is an older serrated one, usually hate serrations but the straight edge recently lost out to the Modified Tanto. My Serrated edge might be going with my brother to Alaska for commercial fishing, he loves serrations and I been giving him knives that help get his work done and makes sure he gets back ok. The Extreme serrated one did grow on me, it came in handy when having to deal with massive messes of monofilament line under water off my dad's cabin's lake shore. My modified Tanto was just recruited in to large critter cutting season after the harvest of the large critters this year. IE we kill and murder the live stock to eat it so it will no longer live to be PC about it.
 
LostViking said:
That looks like a nice set up!

I'd be curious about your feedback, once you have some belt time with it.

I have lusted after a Hedge Hog sheath.
But it seems when they are available I am elsewhere.
And when I want one, they are unuptainium.
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Look at highland leather on etsy.
 
I'm no where near done with this.
But the weather and my job have conspired to keep me busy.

I work at a hunt/fish camp and have been clearing trees & limbs off roads, trails, and paths to be ready for Trout opener. But every time I get sort of caught up. We get an ice storm or high winds.

Tonight we are supposed to get an ice storm and high winds. A twofer,
Yay!

So tomorrow & Thursday depending on timing, look to be busy.

Then there is the road work so folks can get in and out. Frost was almost out, then the bottom fell out of the thermometer again. It was +7ºF this morning. So the mud & ruts are locked up tight.
 
Hope it gets better for you, up in the frozen north. Don't think I would last too long up there, with the kind of winters y'all have. But we're having cold snap here, too. It's only going to be 79 degrees today.
 
It snowed again last night. I'm ready for spring to spring.

I picked up the medium 10" Carbon Pan last week for $34.00 at a local sport shop.
www.lodgecastiron.com

Carbon Steel Skillet: 8 Inch, 10 Inch, 12 Inch | Lodge Cast Iron

Made in the USA. Shop Seasoned Carbon Steel Pans at Lodge Cast Iron, offering quality carbon steel cookware, frying pans, skillets & more.
www.lodgecastiron.com www.lodgecastiron.com

Fried up a chopped up piece of bacon this morning,


As the world continues to spiral out of control. I have been experimenting with ways to stretch meals a bit.

I have found that adding a few crushed Saltines to eggs offers some extra substance with little to no change in taste and only a very slight change in texture. The D2 pommel works well as a cracker crusher.


Eggs into the pan,


Flip and add some shredded Havarti with caraway seeds,


Traditional Option,


Healthy Option,


Last week I mixed up an equal amount of Saltines and Italian bread crumbs. Then added some Cajun Seasoning, garlic powder, & onion powder, Beat up two eggs. Then took two hamburgers and dipped them in the egg, and breaded them with the Cracker/Crumb mixture. They turned out very good.
 
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1066vik said:
what cord did you wrap it with?
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Roguer said:
Curse you LostViking LostViking cuz of you I ordered the Straight Blade version as well! Well I find it more useful than the 1211 in the field and brother is probably going to get the silly serrated one.


Estimated delivery April 28 - May 3
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You are welcome sir!

You know, it's funny.
This thread has been sort of a train wreck for me. March's weather was truly horrible.
April hasn't been much better. As I type this my deck is accumulating a light coating of white stuff.

There is still alot of ice around, and that is after a 70º weekend.

And other knives have arrived. Two KA-BAR Shorts, two Reiff Knives,

Then there was and still may be the dreaded Red X, where my photos won't show at all or disappear in and out like a bad Star Trek episode.

Using your knife is total fun, at least if you're not in a war zone.
Documenting it can be less so.

I had big ideas for this thread, I just haven't been able to get them done.
That bugs me, because this is a spectacular knife, as is my Dog's Head.

I have sexier knives, more expensive knives, tougher knives, and many other knives. But the KA-BAR's are special.
They aren't just knives, they carry with them a lot of history. Maybe even a little John Wayne. But in reality
Mr. Wayne was just an actor. Those boys on Iwo, Tarawa, and places like Rung Sat are the real heroes.

But even beyond that, they just inspire confidence. They are well balanced, extremely versatile, and just an all round great working knife. Spec'ing out this knife may well be one of the few things the government ever did right.

I can choose any knife I want. I have three Randalls hanging on the wall behind me as I type.
Randalls that I actually use. Even still I love my KA-BAR!

I may change the name of this thread, because I am well past the thirty day mark.

I toy with taking a Dremmel Tool to the front guard. adding a hole to run Paracord through.
(Are you listening KA-BAR???) and string myself a Paracord hand loop al la Jerry Busse.

In some ways I failed badly at this thread. That bothers me. Failure is not something I excel at.
I'm hoping this isn't the start of a new trend. Sometimes life just gets in the way.

But, as I watch the Stock Market drop, interest rates rise, and food supplies dwindle.
I can say with total confidence, "I'm glad I have my KA-BAR"

It's like a Woobie for grownups.

I'll leave it there for now!
LV
 
For wilderhood operations the the Extreme form of guards are superior over normal 1211 types and such. Shorties...well the nephew got that one, to small for my hands, but the Mk.1 was great and functional till the niece retrieved "HER" knife (after using it for several deer seasons she claimed it...as I barely used it...oh well its getting used at least) to her pack. The modified tanto, only thing I want on it is a smaller pummel, but for blade function, its going to be at large critter cutting season than my BK5. I rate my knives on function, so the most used one that would be on top of the list is the Mk. 1 that some one else uses/stole/claimedbecauseshegetsawaywiththingsbecauseshebarelyeverasksforanything. Even if I never got to use it much. Next was the First silly serrated D2 extreme (So they claim) and all the fishing line it cut up under water. This is straight K-bar brand ranking of the small number of Ka-Bar brand I have. (Still 1211 is a MUST for every one to have for basic utilitarian jobs)
 
Yep, the 1292 is a great D2 straight edge, much more utilitarian knife, better than the serrated one you don't have to treat carefully around the serrations on the serrated one. Saw one knife that is D2 by another maker being sold as a "Bowie" that is shorter but still made out of D2 steel (german D2, which isn't bad, I got some great OKC Cerberuses in that steel). And a bit more expensive. Yep the straight edge should of got it a long time ago.
 
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