Ka Bar quality?

I've actually been pleasantly surprised by Ka-Bar's quality. Their sheaths are pretty much the same as everyone else (which is far from best), but their knives have had good fit and finish without exceptions - and I have many of them.

shipwreck said:
bozec.75 when it comes to knife quality, I go with the motto that the character played by Robert Deniro lived by in the movie Ronin : "If there is any doubt there is no doubt" there are just too many good knife companies that dont disapoint or in fact surpass your expectations. If you got burned why give them your business again? You cant find something of equal value and better quality than a kabar?
Click to expand...

Actually, I would like to know even just one knife company that has never put out a knife with fit & finish flaws or even actual performance affecting defects. Cold Steel? Nope. Strider? Nope. Busse? Nope. Fällkniven? Nope. Spyderco? Nope. Benchmade? Nope. Buy enough knives, and eventually you'll be "disappointed" with one or more products, even from the best of the best. The difference is in how these disappointments are handled by the company. The good ones will have a warranty that covers such things and will make you happy.

Honestly, I would consider it flat out stupid to stop buying knives from any company that happened to sell you a knife with some kind of a defect. Because, if you did that, and actually bought a lot of knives, eventually there would be nowhere to go at all.
 
See, that's the point, I wasn't "burned" by ka bar. My knife has a defect, even though it's probably over 20 years old, and they are willing to rectify the problem. If I had gotten a bad response, I'm sure things would be different but then I'd only question the quality of their knives.
I wasn't expecting to have the knife replaced, and the ease with which they offered to do it impressed me. There was no bickering, or having to even send in a picture. It was a simple "We will be glad to replace your knife for you under our warranty. Please send your knife to us at the following address and we will promptly take care of it for you" response.
That's an actual cut and paste of the letter I received. Who could ask for more?
 
bozec.75 said:
See, that's the point, I wasn't "burned" by ka bar. My knife has a defect, even though it's probably over 20 years old, and they are willing to rectify the problem. If I had gotten a bad response, I'm sure things would be different but then I'd only question the quality of their knives.
I wasn't expecting to have the knife replaced, and the ease with which they offered to do it impressed me. There was no bickering, or having to even send in a picture. It was a simple "We will be glad to replace your knife for you under our warranty. Please send your knife to us at the following address and we will promptly take care of it for you" response.
That's an actual cut and paste of the letter I received. Who could ask for more?
Click to expand...

Fully agreed! Sounds impressive, especially from a company as large as Ka-Bar. :thumbup:
 
Uneven grind lines. Looks like they stopped and started. Mine came near flawless (when minutely examined, the angles of the grind were not perfectly symetrical).

It isn't in perfect shape anymore. I love using it. I may even quit abusing it.
 
bozec.75 said:
See, that's the point, I wasn't "burned" by ka bar. My knife has a defect, even though it's probably over 20 years old, and they are willing to rectify the problem. If I had gotten a bad response, I'm sure things would be different but then I'd only question the quality of their knives.
I wasn't expecting to have the knife replaced, and the ease with which they offered to do it impressed me. There was no bickering, or having to even send in a picture. It was a simple "We will be glad to replace your knife for you under our warranty. Please send your knife to us at the following address and we will promptly take care of it for you" response.
That's an actual cut and paste of the letter I received. Who could ask for more?
Click to expand...

If it's over 20 years old it's probably made of a different steel than the current 1095 cro-van. I would keep it and just buy one of the newer ones. Of all my knives and i have them from just about every maker i can think of my ka-bar's have the least defects... I have always praised their attention to detail in their products even the leather from the ny knives has always been top quality.
 
You know, I'm a little tired of the, as Curt Schilling recently put it when speaking about sports writers, "know-it-alls who are wrong 90% of the time."

This forum also has its share of "experts" like that, and you have to take what they say with a grain of salt.

For my money, Ka-Bar makes damned fine knives. Cold Steel makes damned fine knives. Buck makes damned fine knives. Spyderco makes damned fine knives.

And yes, Randall makes damned fine knives, and I am proud to own quite a few od them. So do lots of other reputable makers. But you don't have to spend your monthly house payment to get a good blade.
 
Bozec~

Since you seem to have an emotional investment in this knife that would be lost if you sent it in for a replacement, I wonder if Tom Krein might not be willing to consider regrinding it. He grinds full flat side from spine to edge on smaller folders and has recently posted pictures of his work on the Maintenance and Tinkering forum. It looks like he would only be able to grind from the bottom of the fuller to the edge and possibly that would not take out the whole hollow grind, but it might get rid of your grinding defect and give you a much sharper knife in the bargain. My guess is that your problem with not being able to get the knife sharp is also due to a bad hollow grind.

I certainly can't speak for Tom but perhaps you could e-mail him and ask about feasibility and cost. If he took the job on for you it would leave your knife with bright and shiny sides that would probably be out of character but you could give it a vinegar bath or something else to tone it down. I imagine this would cost as much as buying a new knife or more so it would only make sense from an emotional attachment perspective, especially if KaBar is willing to give you a new knife for the cost of shipping your old one to them.

:cool:
 
I got a ka bar mule and the large bowie.The mule the worst aus8a blade I've ever used soft as hell not tempered or heat treated right.Large bowie good for the price.
 
My short ka-bar is great. I have even abused it and it keeps going. Fit and finish is great for a production knife.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top