Ka-Bar Swabbie - Cult Sensation of the Internet

Uath said:
Ha!

I just thought of a new video series: You dress up ballistic dummies to look like celebrities, actors, politicians, philanthropists, etc... and then you hack them up on camera, lots of slow motion, blood, brains, and bits of skull flying everywhere; How about Queen Elizabeth II? That would be cool.
Oprah's in the news a lot lately. You could have a special.
You could make them to order, with your boss, mother in law, car mechanic...

Bet you want a Swabbie then.
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Maybe better to just stick with generic "zombies " . If you have a personalized custom effigy that you hacked up sitting around your place and something suspicious actually befalls the person ... just looks bad .:eek:
 
Uath said:
Your right "Puss" is too strong a term for squeamish non-zombie decapitation watchers. Maybe "Weenie," or even, "Pooper." I mean, people risked their lives to make that video.
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If you want to continue with this type of content, please report your thread and ask for it to be moved to Whine and Cheese. If it is to remain if General Forum, knock it off.
 
Never been a fan of the scimitar blade profile. Also can't tell if this thread is a joke or not?
 
Not a joke, but it's hard to be too serious about a knife I haven't touched yet. I do think it's cool that a knife design has gathered this much interest and generated this many videos.
Sometimes things perform differently than preconceived notions would indicate. They just work better than anyone might guess. This knife might be of that type. The manufacturers might have been going strictly for a funky look and stumbled across a winning design by accident. You would logically think a kukri would chop better than this, but it does seem to possess a certain magic. All the YouTube people just LOVE it.

Funny that didn't translate to sales. I can't believe they're discontinuing it.
 
This thread does seem better suited for either prac-tac or w&c, not sure which.

Uath said:
All the YouTube people just LOVE it.

Funny that didn't translate to sales. I can't believe they're discontinuing it.
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You tube mall ninjas loving it does not make this the best knife in the world. In fact, for me, it was useless as an actual knife. It might have chopped well but I have actual choppers and axes for that. My junglas and tglb would baton better. As for a weapon, I'll take a gun any day. As an edged weapon I would take other knives that are smaller and easier to carry or something larger like a machete or actual sword.

For me this was more of a fun novelty than an actual usable "knife". If you want to have serious discussion about it, there you go. Silliness might be better suited elsewhere.

And again, it isn't being discontinued. That happened years ago and it is taking them this long to sell the remaining stock.
 
There's a nice blade hiding inside the swabbie. You just need to cut off the stupid bits.

5iZmS0L.jpg
 
It is a novelty knife, simple as that. Not the most practical tool. It is 1/4 inch thick and weights over a pound and a half. Also, with the ricasso being so big and the knife so big and heavy it isn't going to do any knife tasks well. It is just going to be a chopper and that's it.

You seem new to ZGB. FYI, they are Kabar fanboys. Kabar also sends them the knives to test for free. They rave about anything Kabar.

As far as there being a lot of other reviews I would also mention that these have been on clearance for $60 for some time now. When they wanted full price for them there didn't seem to be much buzz about them. The $60 price tag is tempting for a Youboober to do a review.

I would much rather get the Zomstro if I was going to get one of these zombie novelty knives but still wouldn't expect it to replace my Parangatang as an actual tool.
 
Actually they are only $46 on the KaBar website. I don't like the original profile, but the modified one above looks very functional as a heavy chopper or short machete. Looks like it would be a perfect tool for liming trees.
 
Oh wow, I hadn't looked in quite a while. Man, $45 for the Zomstro sure is tempting. At that price I could just buy one and leave it out in the wood shed for kindling duty. :)
 
Hickory n steel said:
I'm not sure why KA-BAR even bothered with the whole zomnie knives thing, but this seemed like a useable blade at least.
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They did because everyone "bothered with the whole zombie knives thing" for a while there. They were hugely popular and everyone produced a line with zombie green scales. Couple years ago.
 
Ok you guys officially suck. I just bought one of these and don’t know why. I had never even considered one before, but the direct from Kabar price appeared too good to pass up.
 
bearfacedkiller said:
Oh wow, I hadn't looked in quite a while. Man, $45 for the Zomstro sure is tempting. At that price I could just buy one and leave it out in the wood shed for kindling duty. :)
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Just do it. I got the Zomstro on a lark because I thought I would like to grind on it, maybe try some etching. I stripped it and ground down the handle to make it comfortable, then hung it on a nail by my garage door. Every time I need a quick chopper, there it is. I don't need to do more than light to middling brush, usually to just get stuff out of my way or get it in the bin. It works great, I don't have to spend time rooting for anything, and if it dies I don't really care.
 
jstrange said:
Ok you guys officially suck. I just bought one of these and don’t know why. I had never even considered one before, but the direct from Kabar price appeared too good to pass up.
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:p GOTCHA ! Yeah, me is tempted , too ! Even though I already have umpteen better tools , it calls to me anyway . Not this time , wicked sirens' call .;)
 
I just received the knife today. These are my impressions. You'll have to trust that I know what I'm talking about.

You have to hold this knife in your hand. It's magic. I know it's weird looking, like a cartoon, but this is a very good knife. I would call it excellent.
I can't use my right arm well, because I strained my rotator cuff last week (that is total sucko, let me tell you). I had to use my left hand, but all still holds true. I drove the point into a iron-hard dead oak tree and pried it over. No bending and the point didn't break. It pulled out a nice divot. Then I chopped into the tree, giving it all I had. I even focused on a knot. The edge is perfect, no chipping or folding and still sharp. Such is what you expect with 1095 American steel, probably tempered in a computer-controlled kiln.
I bashed with both sides of the blade, the back of it, even the tip. No problem. The powder coat is attractive enough as these things go and pretty durable, though I didn't really put it to the test that much.
This is an unlikely dagger, sure enough, but I drove the point repeatedly into a tree and a sheet of plywood. I even drove it through an old flat screen I was throwing away. It pierces very well. The point is full on-line with the handle, so, if you close your eyes, it still thrusts instinctively. Yes I tested that. It actually thrusts well.
It's a bit blade-heavy, as you would expect for a large bladed knife, but it's responsive. It corrects easily and doesn't pull you too far into the slash. This knife is meant to be blade heavy, but only a bit. The center of balance is just at the choil. A heavier handle would balance it for thrusting, but that would be counter-productive. You can always drape your finger over the guard.
The handle is instincive. You know where the edge is at all times.
I disagree with the people who grind off the top guard. I'm a big thumb planter. The guard is set very far forward. It in no way interferes with the thumb in a saber grip. This is a fighting knife, make no mistake. You have to be able to parry with the back of the blade. Your thumb needs protecting while doing this. I would leave the top guard be. Guards are always a good thing if they don't get in the way of your grip.

I see why it performs so well in cutting tests. For one thing, it's razor sharp, with a full flat grind. For another thing, there are no straight edges. In a natural stroke, it cuts instead of smashes.
If you hold a razor blade between your finger and thumb, you can bend the blade in half. The razor can only cut when it slides across the object (called a draw-cut) not when it presses directly into it. That's why curved swords were so popular against unarmored foe. They didn't stick and they cut at an angle, not smash in a direct line. You tear a phone book in half by edging the pages not smashing it with a hammer.

This knife is magic. It looks like it was designed by accident, but somebody thought outside the box and they really succeeded. Don't listen to people who judge a knife as inferior just because it's different. Obviously they have no imagination, just a rigorous adherence to the mundane. Some things just perform magically well, they just do. You HAVE to feel this thing. It's a dancer.
 
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