KA-BAR little neck knives - first impressions (and follow-up promised)

Galeocerdoshark

Galeocerdoshark

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May 21, 2011
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Hi everyone,

As ever so often, I recently needed a little knife fix and decided upon accumulating a few KA-BAR neck knives. Dex from coyleoutdoors helped me out and lo-and-behold... this arrived at my doorstep:



First of all, I'm sorry for the terrible pics. It's evening here and I just took 'em with my phone in a bad lighting environment. These pics are just to give you all an idea though.
Some of you are probably not going to like them because they're made in China, so that's something you might want to consider when looking at these knives. Others might not like them because of the steel that's used (some xCRxx steel, as are many Chinese made knives). But some of you might think (like I did): "Hey, that's a nifty design", or "Hey, that looks like a cool blade for one HELLUVA small pricetag, I might wanna check it out." I think this thread might be more oriented towards the last category of people.

So, if there's no obstacles for you, here are the knives and their sheaths:



What do we have here? Well, we have the KA-BAR Skeleton, the KA-BAR Snody Administrator, the KA-BAR JAB Piggyback and the KA-BAR Dozier Skeleton.
Just to be complete here, I added two other KA-BAR neck knives that I also own, being the Acheron (that came with my Swabbie, so no sheath) and the Becker Remora (which is 440a steel, instead of the 5cr15 AND this one is made in America, it's not the Chinese produced version):



Some very short and very uneducated first opinions upon holding them and fondling with them a little bit (except for the Remora, I've used that one quite often in the past).

1) I didn't buy these knives in order to be impressed by the steels. You won't be, I wasn't either but if you are expecting to be impressed by that, I think your missing the point of these knives.

2) I really like the width of the handle on the Snody administrator. Even though the handle is very short, the width allows you (well, me) to have a very solid grip on the thing, especially when resting your thumb on the spine near the tip, this knife is locked in VERY securely and lets you do a lot of precision cutting. The KA-BAR Skeleton, on the other hand, is a lot thinner, but compensates this by having a longer blade. It feels a bit more awkward to me, since it wants to force my thumb into the depression behind the blade, but I'd rather rest it on the spine of the blade. I really like the feel of the Piggyback too. The jimping near the tip of the blade is excellently positioned for a secure grip. That's a major difference with the Acheron, for example. They have pretty similar handles (though the contours don't match up 100%), but the rear jimping on the Piggyback extends further onto the blade and the second jimping spot gives you more reach with your thumb, if that makes sense. I really DO NOT like the Acheron. It feels awkward, and I constantly want to put my index finger in a choil that isn't there (so that would mean I'd be gripping the sharp end of the knife, which I don't intend to do). Nope, I don't like the Acheron one bit. The grind, the handle, nope, nope, nope.

3) The grinds. I don't mind hollow grinds at all. In fact, I kinda like them on this size of knives. i've got quite a bit of sub 3in bladed folders with hollow grinds and they have their place, imo. They're slicey and get stuff cut. That's what you need an EDC for, no? On the other hand... the bevels are...often pretty uneven. Not gonna complain about that on a 10 dollar knife, but still, it's something that is blatantly present in some of 'em, and rather well executed in others.

4) The Dozier... I love the Dozier :D. It's such a clean design, clean knife. I loved the folder, and I'm loving this fixed incarnation so far as well.

5) IS THE MINI BK9 ALMOST OUT YET :D. I wanna add it to the collection...

Well, that's it for now, I guess. Just wanted to show them side to side. I do intend to use these knives side to side for the coming weeks (maybe months) and I honestly can't wait to find out more about them...what I like, what I don't and so on. I hope it can interest some of you while this thread keeps going.

So... that's about it, but I'll keep you all posted with updates as we progress over time :thumbup:

Cheers fellas,

G-Shark
 
Thanks for the comparison Gshark!

They all look like fun little blades! Can't wait to hear more as you get more time with em!
 
Thanks for your kind words TBL. I'm honestly very curious as to how they will perform under different circumstances. I think I'm more interested in the feel of 'em, the way they handle and cut and do different edc tasks rather than something like edge retention :).
 
Nice little collection there GShark. Love the looks of the Dozier. Might have to grab one myself. Hope you keep this thread going.

And I can't wait for the BK23 as well!
 
Thanks for the comparison! I was actually looking at all of these for a buddy the other day. Out of all of them the Dozier or the Remora really "look" like they would function the best. I have a micro neck knife I carry every day and it really comes in handy just like these would. Plus these are at a great price point.
 
Great write up G-shark!
Looking forward to hearing more of your thoughts after some good use.
Man, I really like the looks of that Dozier....
 
Great review G!! Thanks!!!

I have the JAB Piggyback and the Remora. They have both served me well. I did notice that I favored the Piggy over the Remora, because of handle length and the hollow grind. The piggy is deceptive that way; looks small and weak but it handles and cuts like a larger knife. The rest of the lineup I'm not too interested in but thanks for taking the time to let me get to know them a bit more.
 
Nice graphic display of the Kabar necker options. Just missing the 1117. Interested in seeing how your initial perceptions of them change as you use them.
 
Aikiguy said:
Nice little collection there GShark. Love the looks of the Dozier. Might have to grab one myself. Hope you keep this thread going.

And I can't wait for the BK23 as well!
Click to expand...

Thanks! And I'll keep it going. You really can't go wrong for the price, especially for the Dozier. The 23 has to happen :D

iwouldhurtafly said:
Thanks for the comparison! I was actually looking at all of these for a buddy the other day. Out of all of them the Dozier or the Remora really "look" like they would function the best. I have a micro neck knife I carry every day and it really comes in handy just like these would. Plus these are at a great price point.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't write off the Snody either. But we'll see how they do in the coming weeks. Will keep you posted. Thanks!

Jonny1280 said:
Great write up G-shark!
Looking forward to hearing more of your thoughts after some good use.
Man, I really like the looks of that Dozier....
Click to expand...

Clean looking, huh? It is... Thanks for the compliments!

Tdhurl1103 said:
Great review G!! Thanks!!!

I have the JAB Piggyback and the Remora. They have both served me well. I did notice that I favored the Piggy over the Remora, because of handle length and the hollow grind. The piggy is deceptive that way; looks small and weak but it handles and cuts like a larger knife. The rest of the lineup I'm not too interested in but thanks for taking the time to let me get to know them a bit more.
Click to expand...

The piggy is really quite comfortable in hand. I've already been wondering how they would handle with some wooden scales. Alas, the sheath wouldn't fit them anymore but apart from the remora sheath (which has superior retention) all the sheaths kinda such anyway. Just being honest! But what do you want at that price point, custom kydex? :D

zzyzzogeton said:
Nice graphic display of the Kabar necker options. Just missing the 1117. Interested in seeing how your initial perceptions of them change as you use them.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I'm looking forward to discovering more as well. I didn't buy the 1117 on purpose since it would be comparing apples to oranges. Totally different price point, length,...
 
Sexy collection. Those would make great boot knives. I would take some red or black plastic dip (that is used to coat plier handles) and dip the handle of the necker that has a "stacked" sort of look to it and use it as a boot knife. I would dip it at least 3-4 times. Or paracord?? Looks great. :thumbup:
 
Sooooo, a first "follow-up". I've been carrying the Snody quite a bit lately...So much so that it isn't included in the pics below, since I have seem to misplaced it somewhere. I hope it turns up because I really liked that little blade, especially the control you had...

Anyway, been cutting in some green twigs just for testing purposes. Nothing magic or very special here, just some observations.

1) The Acheron. Do not like it. At all. As I said, it feels awkward, the curved edge and especially the VERY short hollow grind. Nope, nope, nope.
It's weird that the Piggyback with quite a similar handle profile feels so much better. You do get a little bit more reach, as can be seen in this blurry pic (couldn't get it to focus)... But it's mainly the blade shape combined with the handle though. Big no on the Acheron.


It kinda looks OK, but gets stuck pretty much right away in the wood.


See? Virtually no penetration because you almost immediately hit the "flat" higher up on the grind.


2) Piggyback: MUCH better. I actually like this design a lot. The comfortable jimping near the tip is an ideal resting place if you want to do some push cuts using the thumb of your non-knife hand. Your hand also follows the lines of this blade very well. I like the way this is thought out. This one also cuts WAY deeper into the wood because the hollow grind is a lot higher (pretty much like double the length of the hollow grind on the Acheron). Me likey.


3) The Ka-bar. Nothing special. Doesn't bite as deep as the Piggyback (or the Dozier or the BK13). But it's OK. Seems like the grind is not as hollow as on the others? Not really sure, maybe it's my perception due to the coating. The extra reach given by the handle is a big plus though. It fills out your hand a bit more, gives more stability. I'm guessing this one will do very well in cutting veggies.


4) The Dozier. Bites deep. Good handle length. I really like it. No frills on this one (like jimping), yet a very clean blade instead. It's got quite a bit of good things going for it. I'm impressed, for the price you get a very sturdy piece of steel with good cutting abilities.




I prefer the folding version though. Mostly because of the steel, but also because of the smaller package AND because of this...


That thing is definitely in the way of my index finger. It's too small to be a guard of sorts, so I think it's merely there to hold the knife in the sheath. I might as well grind it off at some point, since it's quite annoying.

5) The BK13... Really guys, this thing cuts SO MUCH above its weight, it's very impressive. Sharpest of the bunch (maybe 'cause the others still have the factory edge), VERY good and quite deep penetration in the wood too. I was afraid in pairing this one up against some of the larger ones of this bunch o' knives because of the limited handle length. I thought handling comfort would be compromised. Was I wrong...




This is what I mean. You've got enough on your thumb, index, and the palm of your hand to do pretty much all of your cutting. Not a single finger will feel "lost", if you understand what I'm trying to say here. The resting palce for your index is just large enough (for me), and you have plenty of stability and control 'cause it rests in the palm of your hand:


6) I already said the sheaths were...nothing to write home about, but there's an interesting difference between 'em. The BK13 sheath looks like this:


Sure, the 13 rattles a bit in the sheath BUT, it's locked in tightly and you can hang it down your neck without having to worry it'll fall out. The lock-up is TIGHT behind the finger guard. This is what the sheaths of the Chinese made blades look like though:


It's those small humps that are supposed to keep the blade in... Well, I'm sure it'll hold the Ka-Bar in place, but the Dozier for example is a tad heavier and definitely does not feel secure in its sheath. Hence, I wouldn't let that hang from my neck at all...


This thread will still be updated along the way. I still wanna know how they do in the kitchen. Maybe even how all of them open an envelope. We'll see where this goes.

A short summary: I miss the Snody :grumpy:. No on the Acheron. The rest will serve you well, most impressed by the Piggyback and the Dozier (from the Chinese made ones), but the BK13 trumps them all so far.

Cheers,

Jerry
 
It's weird though that you find your preferences oh so quickly. Found the Snody. Not gonna tell where it was, it's really ridiculous... Anyway, quick update!

You'll see why I really, really like the Snody design and carried it quite a lot lately. First off, I get that the dollar sign is the maker's mark, but I do think it's kinda cheesy.
However, the knife itself just feels right. High hollow grind, nice deep cuts with almost no effort:



And the main thing I really preferred in the bk13, namely the way it makes you grip it with just a few fingers, is present in pretty much exactly the same way in the Snody.


The deep choil for your index even gives a lot more space than the one in the bk13. The relative height of the knife versus the length also gives surprising solid grip on a knife this small (and take into account that it's a skeletonized blade, no handle scales for improved grip or anything). Yep, I really, really like that Snody design.
 
I've got a Snody Administrator that I paracorded and it greatly improved the way it feels. I'll have to post a picture later. For the money it's a neat little neck knife.
 
Galeocerdoshark said:
3) The Ka-bar. Nothing special. Doesn't bite as deep as the Piggyback (or the Dozier or the BK13). But it's OK. Seems like the grind is not as hollow as on the others? Not really sure, maybe it's my perception due to the coating. The extra reach given by the handle is a big plus though. It fills out your hand a bit more, gives more stability. I'm guessing this one will do very well in cutting veggies.
Click to expand...

Hey, I would wrap that kabar handle with some 325 cord of your color preference. Wrap that puppy tight and sno seal the 325 cord. 325 cord would be perfect on that knife and give you a little extra something useful to carry around. It shouldn't change the profile of the knife too much, and it will give you more to grab onto making your cuts more effective. Personally, I would use some black or blue dip plastic (used to coat plier handles) and double or triple dip the handle. I would make sure there was no excess "runs" or "drips" on the bottom. This stuff is removable with an exacto knife or razor, just cut and peel.... This will allow you to remove the handle at a later time if you choose. Then I would wrap the handle in black or blue 325 cord TIGHT, then dip the entire handle in epoxy. This will leave you with the best necker knife you have ever owned. I would do the same to the hollow ground Mk1 style necker as well.
All the best - Zemapeli
Edit: maybe a turks knot or how I see many knives here with wrapped epoxied handles? Many kwaikens have the style I am referring to..:confused:
 
I really hated the handle on the remora. It looked like they had a good sized finger countour then threw on that big, absurdly oversized lump to give it some sheath retention and your finger just slams into that 90 degree angle wall, taking up some very much needed real estate on a small knife, just awful. You guys didn't mind that?
I am having a twilight zone moment. Anyway, I used a dremel to take away most of that and it fit great and still stayed in the sheath fine, so I am really baffled at what the point of that was.
Anyway, the dozier looks like a great little knife, off to check prices!
 
I have a snody administrator and was pretty surprised at how much I like it, there is something about the profile of the blade and the soft steel that let's me get a very keen edge without any real effort, the sheath is the only slight negative about it

I wish the remora was still included with the bigger Beckers, it looks like a good companion knife
 
From what I heard, that was a limited run of Chinese Remoras to test the market. They were well received so they moved production to the US and, of course, are now sold separately.

Most recently, they are now 1095CV instead of 440 which I believe was due to customer requests. I tried to get a 440 last week, per the listing, and a 1095 arrived. No disappointment by any means...just saying, dunno if the stainless can be had at this point. No loss there!
 
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