Ka-bar knives longer time review

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EatingSarma

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Jun 22, 2020
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What is better than owning a Ka-Bar?

Owning 2 Ka-Bars :D

I have the 1211 I posted in my previous thread and the short tanto version too.

It feels badass to have a Ka-Bar in each hand, anyways I gave them some use and used both for various tasks.

Big one - taking limbs off smaller trees.
Small one - whittling, cutting ropes, fabric and pieces of rubber to tie my garden.

And I used both to cut up large pieces of meat and part of that meat would get cooked and part would go to freezer.

What is striking - they both seem to have equally thick hand.

Long story short - coating is decently tough, they hold decent edge and are very easy to get razor sharp, they aren't perfect for any task, but they do everything more than good enough so I cannot complain.
Short one is definitely not a slicer though. It is more like a sticker. But that's to be expected at this thickness with a narrow blade.

No complaints on handles either, it's simply a joy to use them.
 
there good knives iv used both 1213 and 1258 straight edge ones with kraytion grips for years if the coating comes off acid etch with Apple cider vinegar looks good i really like the shorts kydex sheath and have it normal straped to my leg carrying in my boot when motorcycle camping both knives are good quality well made good robust knives and sheaths
 
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I currently have two: the BK-18 Harpoon (bought because it feels like the culmination of Ethen Becker's lifetime of work as a knife designer to this point) and BK-2 Companion (useful if I'm ever attacked by a Ford F150, while camping in the woods).

I used to have a Ka-Bar Utility style model as a teenager but it finally gave up the ghost after years of serious mistreatment: heavy bushcraft use, plus being thrown at boards and wooden posts all the time. Very few knives would have stood up for half as long to what I put that poor knife through.
 
The Grendels said:
I currently have two: the BK-18 Harpoon (bought because it feels like the culmination of Ethen Becker's lifetime of work as a knife designer to this point) and BK-2 Companion (useful if I'm ever attacked by a Ford F150, while camping in the woods).

I used to have a Ka-Bar Utility style model as a teenager but it finally gave up the ghost after years of serious mistreatment: heavy bushcraft use, plus being thrown at boards and wooden posts all the time. Very few knives would have stood up for half as long to what I put that poor knife through.
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I tote an original Blackjack Campanion (1/4" slab of 1095) in the SUV in case I ever have to defend myself against a Buick. I got it after I read a review where it was sledge-hammered around the hood of a Buick like a gigantic can-opener, with no significant damage to the edge. Of course, the Buick's hide was probably not as well heat treated, and was considerably thinner. 😜
 
Kabars are great; has anyone bought rubber o rings and install them in the grooves of the handles? works good gives a different feel....
 
Without quite realizing it, I keep find myself drawn to Kabar knives. The USMC utility I have had for several years. For a long time, I thought of it as the ultimate motorcycle camping knife, although I never got my own until I was pretty much done with touring. I have since added a number of Beckers, BK9, BK14, BK16, and a couple of BK62 Kepharts. Last but not least, the Kabar wrench knife.

Quite a few of my knives come my way after I have heard somebody sing their praises here. All the recent conversation about the Mark I has been tempting me, but some other things keep pushing their way to the front of the queue and hogging the discretionary funds. Sooner or later, it will probably happen.
 
The Grendels said:
I currently have two: the BK-18 Harpoon (bought because it feels like the culmination of Ethen Becker's lifetime of work as a knife designer to this point) and BK-2 Companion (useful if I'm ever attacked by a Ford F150, while camping in the woods).

I used to have a Ka-Bar Utility style model as a teenager
The Grendels said:
I currently have two: the BK-18 Harpoon (bought because it feels like the culmination of Ethen Becker's lifetime of work as a knife designer to this point) and BK-2 Companion (useful if I'm ever attacked by a Ford F150, while camping in the woods).

I used to have a Ka-Bar Utility style model as a teenager but it finally gave up the ghost after years of serious mistreatment: heavy bushcraft use, plus being thrown at boards and wooden posts all the time. Very few knives would have stood up for half as long to what I put that poor knife through.
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but it finally gave up the ghost after years of serious mistreatment: heavy bushcraft use, plus being thrown at boards and wooden posts all the time. Very few knives would have stood up for half as long to what I put that poor knife through.
Click to expand...
How do you like the BK-18?Ive been considering buying one myself
 
1. ka-bars are fine knives. Given political correctness in my urban environment, I do not carry a fixed blade.
2. There is one large "go to box" of first line fixed blades . Two ka-bar Mark 2 knives sit in the steel box with some other knives.
3. You would have to look hard for a review of the Mark2. There is a good reason why that knife continues in production 70 years later when there are knife offerings in the same size with flashy handles, "better steel".
 
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Yeah, Kabars are pretty awesome! I love mine: a US Army Mark 2 Fighting/Utility, a Mark 1 Navy knife, and a BK18. They're all pretty fantastic.
 
Garrett Ferrell said:
How do you like the BK-18?Ive been considering buying one myself
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It's a well designed and well built knife, with a bit of heft to it, like a lot of Ethen Becker's bushcraft/survival blades, but this one is light enough to actually make me want to put it into a pack for a day or two (just maybe not for a five day hike). It'll definitely put up with a lot more abuse than a lot of knives out there. SMKW does things to this knife that if I did it, I'd feel it necessary apologize to my knife for my tool transgressions.
 
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What's the tang like on the Big Brother? It looks great but I'd be afraid to whack tree limbs if it's a typical kbar tang, what with the length of the blade adding leverage to it.
 
Boombats said:
What's the tang like on the Big Brother? It looks great but I'd be afraid to whack tree limbs if it's a typical kbar tang, what with the length of the blade adding leverage to it.
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As Ka-Bar short has the same tang as full size 1211 Ka-Bar, I imagine that all Ka-Bars have same tang. I've seen pics of broken Big Brother online, and they all broke at the tang.
 
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