Ka-Bar D2 Impact Knife (Clipped style) Vs. Ka-Bar D2 Extreme

W

Waddly Hobbins

Joined
Feb 5, 2008
Messages
7
I am currently trying to decide between the two knives as to which to purchase first. I am a fan of Ka-Bar but only have the 1095 standard versions of their knives. If anyone has one or the other, or even both, I'd appreciate any info on them. Most notably I'm interested in the differences in handle style length of blade (6" vs 7",) and the ridged area on top of the impact.

The two knives:

Ka-Bar D2 Impact Knife (Clipped Style)
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Ka-Bar D2 Extreme

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Welcome to the forums. I have 2 Kabar knives but not these, nonetheless I can tell you that I would go for the impact. For one it's full tang, while the extreme is a rat tail tang I believe, and generally the impact should be able to take a lot more abuse and have a more solid feel to it. I have the 1095 standard version of the extreme, and I don't know, but for some reason this design just doesn't *feel* solid to me, like after a decade or so of use the handle/pommel/fingerguard will start to wobble. Some knives feel like an extension of your hand, and for whatever reason this one just doesn't for me.

As for the finger grips on the impact's spine, I can't see how this can be anything other than an advantage over the extreme unless you don't like it aesthetically.
 
Welcome to the forums!
I've owned both the Extreme and the D2 drop-point/spear-point version of the Impact.
Between the two, I much preferred the Impact (despite the shorter blade).
Most of the reasons were as 'dougk16' pointed out above, but also:
1) The extended tang of the Impact works better (for me) than the pommel on the Extreme
2) My hand 'locked' in much better with the Impact handle
3) I think the blade length of the Impact is much more practical than the 'combat' length of the Extreme (just my opinion/preference)
4) I like to place my thumb on the back of the blade. The little stub of a top guard on the Extreme tended to get in the way where the single guard and thumb ramp of the Impact was more practical

Bottom line:
You can't go wrong with either. It's simply a matter of preference.
If you have any knife shows/gun shows near you, go and see if you can compare these two knives ('feel test') before you buy.

Regards,
Mike
 
Well, so far it seems that it's a clear choice of the impact over the extreme: all of the points that people have stated above, plus its about 40 or so dollars cheaper and it's limited quantities.

Thank you for all the responses as of yet and the welcoming to the board.
 
extreme for it's looks. light user
impact full tang.:D hard user
 
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