KA-BAR USMC Full Size -- Love or Hate?

My grandfather was a marine in WWII in Guadalcanal and he had a knife very similar to that. From the few times that I could get him to talk about it , it sounded like he was hip deep in it over there. I know that knife served him well in some rough spots. I can only imagine that manufacturing, steels and what not are much better now.

I am kind of disappointed I dont own this type of knife. I need to add it to my bucket list, I dont think I could sneak another fixed blade past the wife just yet. :)
 
I got one as a kid (still have it), I used it a decent amount.

I remember it came with a crap edge and took FOREVER to get an edge on it but it stays sharp once you get an ege on it.
 
Yeah, no denying the KA-BAR's greatness. I remember when some of my buddies were drawing a storyboard for somethin' or another back in highschool, and when a knife was involved... each and everyone of them had drawn something that looked similar to a KA-BAR. It's certainly become quite the icon.
 
Samael said:
Good question, but you've been around for a while and I'd expect that from you.

Answer: I'm not really sure, I got in a load of trouble when I suggested on the Randall forum that it was welded. Apparently it's something close to that, but not exact. And nobody got into the nitty-gritty details.

Regardless, the fact remains that they must be doing something right, since they've been making them since the '60s and they haven't had one fail yet. Really.
Click to expand...

You got me interested.

I went to Randall's site and it mentions "silver soldered". A quick google search showed that it might in fact be "silver brazed". Brazing and welding are different because welding melts both the joined metal and the filler while brazing melts only the filler. However, the end result is very similar.

This is an interesting article about welding vs. brazing:
http://machinedesign.com/article/when-brazing-beats-welding-1209
 
I do quite a bit of silver soldering around my shop and it's very strong joint, if done correctly. I've primarily used it on threaded or tongue/groove joints, though.
 
Yah, I've asked the shop foreman, Scott Maynard (who is on my friends list, by the way), just exactly what they do, and have not gotten a satisfactory answer. Trade secret, maybe, I dunno. Regardless, it works.
 
Oddly enough the last time I handled one in a store the handle did seem too small. Getting too used to Busses and Spyderco Militaries.
 
I'm digging the foliage green one. Anyone got one of these?

Ka%20Bar%20KB5011S%20Foliage%20Green%20Hard%20Sheath.jpg
 
Part of my gear in SERE school and 'Nam.

Have always had one around since.

Outstanding utility knife for camping chores along with something smaller for the finer work.

Cleans a pretty big fish too, then cleans up in a bucket of water.

My current one is a Camillus, as I think my in-country carry was too. I think my survival school "ka-bar" was Remington. Same pattern though. Never noticed much difference in performance, though colors vary.

I need another, as my oldest son has laid claim to my Camillus. Maybe I'll get one that says Ka-bar this time. Don't really care. Mil-spec is mil-spec.
 
Junk. I had one. Camillius made. Dropped it onto a concrete floor from about 4' & the end cap broke off. Just a crappy spot weld holding it on. After that, it was toast anyway, so i used the knife to pry a thin wooden box lid off & snapped the tip off at about 1.5" up. Junk. Since that day, I look for a full tang that is visable around the handle, with no welded on end cap. I have pryed some serious stuff with my Becker BK-2 w/no issues. It is good for stories & presentation & would probably do well for it's intended purpose of dispatching an enemy soldier, but there is no way in hell i would trust my life to that thing. In fact, i feel so strongly about it, i feel that the USMC KaBar & the US Army issue bayonets are a slap in the face to our troops, & i was one. What they need to issue is an OKC RD-6 or something similar. Should be at least 1/4" thick blade IMO, A Becker BK-7 in 1/4" would be perfect.
 
I've owned 3 at various times, and I've sold them all. I love the looks and feel of the knife (IE: I think it's cool), but I've never found it to be a practical blade.
 
I have had an Ontario leather handled Kabar for quite some time, had it professionally convexed, and it works great. just got a next generatuion kabar after reading about Chuck Karwan and his modifications to his Kabar. I like the nextt generation even better, better grind, better grip, better sheath. Some said his mods are incorporated into the Next generatiom, yet I would love to see photos of his mods, if anyone could direct me.
 
I own two and have broken two. Batoning is evidently NOT something you should do with a stick tang knife.

If you ask me, they're just okay for the price. And I think a bit overrated, honestly. There's a bit of a national pride thing with the knife, it being so representative of the USMC. Kind of clouds peoples judgement.

The Ka-Bar is a decent knife. You can do better for the money.
 
TwinStick said:
Junk. I had one. Camillius made. Dropped it onto a concrete floor from about 4' & the end cap broke off. Just a crappy spot weld holding it on. After that, it was toast anyway, so i used the knife to pry a thin wooden box lid off & snapped the tip off at about 1.5" up. Junk. Since that day, I look for a full tang that is visable around the handle, with no welded on end cap. I have pryed some serious stuff with my Becker BK-2 w/no issues. It is good for stories & presentation & would probably do well for it's intended purpose of dispatching an enemy soldier, but there is no way in hell i would trust my life to that thing. In fact, i feel so strongly about it, i feel that the USMC KaBar & the US Army issue bayonets are a slap in the face to our troops, & i was one. What they need to issue is an OKC RD-6 or something similar. Should be at least 1/4" thick blade IMO, A Becker BK-7 in 1/4" would be perfect.
Click to expand...

:eek: Looks like you may have had a fluke.
 
It's a great knife and a classic for a reason. I own the Camilus version and have beat on it for probably 25, maybe 30 years. It's still going strong. My son has the KaBar version and loves it too, though you couldn't prove it by this photo... :D

20110205_dc_d03.jpg


---

Beckerhead #42
 
I just got the 7" tanto version with leather handle and plastic sheath, model 1264. It has a higher flat grind, thicker guard, better sheath and maybe the tang is wider but I'm not sure.
 
TwinStick said:
Junk. I had one. Camillius made. Dropped it onto a concrete floor from about 4' & the end cap broke off. Just a crappy spot weld holding it on. After that, it was toast anyway, so i used the knife to pry a thin wooden box lid off & snapped the tip off at about 1.5" up. Junk. Since that day, I look for a full tang that is visable around the handle, with no welded on end cap. I have pryed some serious stuff with my Becker BK-2 w/no issues. It is good for stories & presentation & would probably do well for it's intended purpose of dispatching an enemy soldier, but there is no way in hell i would trust my life to that thing. In fact, i feel so strongly about it, i feel that the USMC KaBar & the US Army issue bayonets are a slap in the face to our troops, & i was one. What they need to issue is an OKC RD-6 or something similar. Should be at least 1/4" thick blade IMO, A Becker BK-7 in 1/4" would be perfect.
Click to expand...

If you had one that the butt cap was spot welded on then it was broke before you got it.
Camillus nor the KA-BAR brand itself ever spot welded the butt cap on, they first used a screw on threaded pommel and when that was deemed unsatisfactory they changed to the current pinned on pommel.
KA-BAR uses now what they refer to as a half or 3/4 pinned pommel, it doesn't go all the way through, but on the Camillus versions it did go all the way through.
 
What's not to love? Carries the heritage of James Bowie, the USMC, WWII, and American manufacturing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top