Ka Bar Heavy Bowie

T

three fingered

Joined
Mar 6, 2006
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2
I've been looking at the Ka Bar Heavy Bowie and I'm thinking about picking one up. Seems like a real heavy duty knife, however I'm concerned about the 1085 carbon steel. Will it hold up to rough wear and tear. Is it too heavy to hump around with you? Opinions?
 
I use mine as truck knife and have absolutely no complaints. Holds an edge well, takes a serious beating and resharpens easily.Balance is excellent,grip is very secure ( I live in serious rain country/Pacific northwest) and the bird's head pommel allows a nice secure swing for clearing or slashing. The point is a better design than the Marine variety and the 1/4" spine is very strong. The cordura sheath is rugged and doesn't get in the way.
 
I reread your question and should add that it actually doesn't seem at all heavy during a carry. As you probably know, Kabar makes two versions. I'm speaking of the large model. I've handled the shorter model and it's a very nice handling blade. Given that I work outside and on the edge of the Olympic rainforest, I wanted the larger blade. I use it for everything small to big. Small as in cordage,big as in elk and bear skinning. KaBar makes these in Taiwan but the quality is excellent.
 
Alright, after 20 minutes worth of whittling on the handle with my SAK and another 5 min spent wrapping the now 'knarly' looking handle with some rawhide cord I had laying around yesterday - walla; I went from having a knife who's handle was literally too big for me to use - to having one of my new favorite inexpensive Bowie knives... The Kabar Short Heavy Bowie :thumbup:

It is comparable in overall size to the Ontario SP-6 but just seems massive in comparisson. I did some trimming in the yard with it yesterday on palms of various sorts etc - cuts great & makes for a pretty good bush knife, especially if you go with a more suitable sheath (kydex is fine but leather isn't going to last too long in a subtropical environment). The wide flat ground blade on the Kabar is a better slicer & is far easier to resharpen than the Ontario - or even than the Cold Steel SRK; I don't know if it is the steel (1085 versus whatever "Carbon V" was when I got the SRK a few years back) - or the grind that makes the difference but a few strokes on the Sharpmaker & the Kabar is good to go. ...At least those are my observations thus far. I have a feeling the Kabar willl be seeing allot more use in the future too...
 
I just bought the March ish of Tac. Knives awile back and there was a review on it by John Larsen. I must say I can't stop looking at it; it's a straighforward simple design (which I like) and looks to be a good WTSHTF large blade. The title says it all: "Slash, Chop and Pry". Wish they had one stocked around here.
 
Okay, after a busy Sat. afternoon of yardwork, I have to say I love this knife even more: from machete-like cutting to pruning finger sized branches it performed excellently. I even chopped my way thru the trunk of a lagustrum (sp?) "tree" that was about as thick around as my lower leg...

I did need to touch up the edge afterwards but that took all of a few strokes per side on the sharpmaker. No problem. Actually it would still shave to a degree before-hand. But now it's scary sharp - and sharpening is not exactly my forte' either...

The thin edge profile makes for an excellent cutting tool. It is a far better expedient machete than any of my other blades in its size range, including my SR Camp Tramp. ...Now if I were doing more heavy wood chopping like on the trunk of that bush/tree, things may have been different. But for the lighter stuff, the thinner edge worked like a charm!

I have to say: :thumbup: :thumbup: - very impressive.
 
This 1085 steel at around 55 to 57 HRC seemed to be a good middle way solution for a production knife.

So i get the short version and like it.

The only thing about it was, that the handle rolled in my hands while chopping. But i count it on the fact, that i have been sick at the time and wasn´t grapping the handle hard enough and was wearing gloves. Maybe a bit of cord wrap may help.

The knife held up well even though a small hatchet might have been better in that task.

Overall a very well done knife from Ka-bar, more than "for the money". Excellent edge ground onto it.
 
I had to modify the handle of mine Blop - but about 10min with a SAK & I have her whittled down to something I can get my hands around - its still the same shape as before actually, just allot smaller in diameter.

Used her again today for a couple hours; Palms of various sorts mostly - either hard & fiberous or relatively soft & fiberous. Those & allot of vines... Personally I love a blade this size: In the tight confines & tangled underbrush it is just the perfect size to prune. It will chop shelter making sized branches quite well, performs the machete-like duties like a champ & is small enough to strap on & keep it on all day...

While I am sure the 9" model is a fine blade too, especially for the $$, the ~7.5" short version is perfect IMO. This is by far the best "one knife" for the money for my environment - if we are talking 7" - 8" carbon steel Bowies this knife, with a little handle work, is at the top of my list :thumbup:
 
I agree with JGD. I modified my handle in a similar fashion and consider it to be a wonderful outdoors knife for my neck of the woods.
Additionally I removed the top of the two sheath snaps and find it very handy with only the one snap.
 
1085 has a lower carbon content than 1095 or CarbonV which tends to make 1085 tougher. The 1085 alloy is also easier to heat treat and hence quality control is easier to insure. The 1085 option is a great choice for a tough knife.
 
I just got mine in the mail today (the large version). So far it is fantastic considering how affordable it was. There are only a couple of minor annoyances; as has been stated already, the handle is a little awkward, for my hand, although modifying it won't be hard. Also, it is definately a little blade heavy, but it isn't too noticable unless you plan on doing nothing but holding it still and level.
 
I chose the short version and have been totally amazed at how well it keeps it edge through tough chopping! And the blade point shape is much stronger than say the ontario bowie tip and similiar knives and the handle fits my hand absolutely perfectly as i have big hands. It didnt take but one using with it to swallow my pride and look past the fact that it had TAIWAN on the blade rather than U.S.A. , SWEDEN, JAPAN, GERMANY, and the few other countries that produce high quality cutlery. This KA-BAR TAIWAN made knife is just as good and even more effective than most! I still use my cold steel oda carbon v which is a lot of cutting power for the size and heck the U.S.A. made schrade camp knife is a hard worker for it's size with it's deep belly and sawback spine it works great for notching stakes etc. but dont buy the new china models!
 
japanesegorilla (interesting name by the way :D ) - Just about any 9" blade Bowie knife will be blade heavy & this is as it should be. But tell me, aproximately how far in front of the hand guard does it balance?

The ~7" model balances just slightly blade heavy - balances on a ballpoint pen placed right at the blade / handle juncture. This is about perfect for this sized knife IMO :thumbup:

sdt11670 makes a good point, all things being equal, it is my preference to buy American. However, one need not be ashamed of this blade no matter where it's made. I take it the Kabar compares favorably to your CS ODA (?) - care to compare & contrast the two a little?

Thanks!
 
Using a ballpoint pen, it balances at about a hair over 1/2 in. from the hand guard.

The more I carry this knife around, the more I love it. Somehow, it just feels right at my side. Also, it was one of the sharpest knives out of the box that I have purchased (although I only have a few so far...).
 
But tell me, aproximately how far in front of the hand guard does it balance?
The ~7" model balances just slightly blade heavy - balances on a ballpoint pen placed right at the blade / handle juncture. This is about perfect for this sized knife IMO.
Click to expand...

Re: 9" model...
it balances at about a hair over 1/2 in from the hand guard.
Click to expand...

Would you gentlemen mind sharing your thoughts on this? Why does this location equate to good balance? How are you using the knife where the balance point makes more difference than how the knife maneuvers and chops?
 
sdt11670 makes a good point said:
I actually like the Taiwan KA-BAR better than the good ol' U.S.A. CS ODA it feels better and chops better and isnt much bigger on the hip and although it is heavier, it is so well balanced that i can't tell holding them side by side. The wide blade (width not thickness) is also an asset in chopping and to be truthful the blade grind was perfect as well as the edge grind which is rare on big factory knives and not one of my cold steels had a perfect edge or blade grind yet were all "first quality" but i am not knocking cold steel though as it does seem that their blades do tend to cut way out of proportion to their size and all hold an edge really well even the stainless steels.
Click to expand...
 
sdt: Thanks for that - I've always been a CS fan myself but like you, I am definately partial to the Kabar due to the grind of blade & edge :thumbup:

Possum: IMO, the less 'blade heavy' a piece is, the more "knife-like" it feels to me. This gets important on the larger blades if you want to try doing anything other than chop with them.

A 9" blade should be considerably blade heavy IMO. The longer reach & blade heavy balance make for a more effective chopper. And the added reach helps to compensate for the clumsy-ish feel for self defense applications - there is a fine line there... For example, you need some tip control if you are going to use the point in a SD application - go too blade heavy & you loose some of that...

So I like a balance point just on the blade heavy side of neutral for the ~7" knives - especially for self defense applications: if you go too blade heavy it makes for slower recovery from your swings & makes the knife less suitable for reverse grip applications. Bowie knives in the ~7" blade range can really vary allot:

For example, the old marine combat knife is slightly handle heavy. This gives one allot of control for cuts & fine work but at the expense of some chopping ability (not that it can't chop, just that it is less well suited for it due to the knife's handle heavy balance). This does translate to fast recovery in self defense though.

The Ontario SP6 balances ~1/2" in front of the handguard. This is a pretty decent compromise that makes for powerful cuts yet relatively fast recovery. There is a reason that the SP6 is their "Fighter" model... It's pretty well balanced for a blade its size. But keep in mind it's got an 8" blade too.

The Swamp Rat Camp Tramp balances closer to 1" in front of the handle: This makes for an excellent chopper. I don't own a blade in its size range that even compares as far as pure chopping power goes. However, this extreme blade heaviness translates to a more "clumsy" feel for many self defense applications. Especially in reverse grip. I mean you could use it for that but its not the ideal knife for self defense due to its balance. The excellent handle design & choil does help though.

The Kabar Heavy Bowie is just slightly less blade heavy than the Ontario SP6. This makes for a very fast knife in the hand for SD and a very controllable tool. Like I said above, the balance on the Short Heavy Bowie is about perfect for a blade its size IMO... Good enough for effective chopping but not so blade heavy that it could be described as 'slow' or 'clumsy'. :thumbup:
 
What do you think of the becker cu bk7? i also have this knife and favor it alot also. It feels heavy for it's size and the handle is slicker than desired especially after getting used to Kraton, but it is a very useful tool and even the hammer butt is useful for driving stakes if someone is using one of my hammer hatchets and i dont want to wait for them to get finished!
 
I realize this is overly simple (As I is....) but I pick up a tool-framing hammer,firearm,knife etc..and it immediately feels at home or it doesn't. Doesn't matter as to the specific tool. just a right or wrong sorta thing.
 
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