KA-BAR usmc

S

sixheads

Joined
Feb 1, 2007
Messages
86
Hi, all,

Does anyone one have a Ka-bar usmc short review? or link to a review? I am thinking of getting the long 7 inch blade otr the 5and a quarter but would like some opinions on the knifes?

My only fixed blade is a spyderco rock salt and i love it but it is a little pricey to be diggin in the ground with hacking in the back yard or just heavy dirty use and i want a beater fixed blade.

I like the Ka-bars cheap and tough i hear.

Thanks
 
I have the short version. Its one of the few knives that I'd trust my life on. I overpaid for it at a local military surplus, but its still worth it. Its a TOUGH field knife. If its good enough for the marines, its good enough for me.
 
the 5 in is agreat little hunting/camping fixed blade. I have both and if you are going to use it hard ad you said with any sort of chopping get the 7 not the 5. Price is damn near the same.
both are good but sounds like a 7in is more to your liking.

If you want a shorter blade that can handle your abuse go for a Becker/kabar BK-2. Same steel and company, great designs.
The thing is called the becker train wrecker for a reason. Massive .25in thick with a wide drop point. Kydex as well. It weighs a pound but doubt you could break it, like a modern hand axe. Reasonably priced as well.
 
Totally agree. I've been beating the crap out of mine for years and can't complain yet. Best "bang for the buck" out there in the knife world.
 
with the fullers & tang design 7 in. ka-bar is lite for size 12 oz.--12in. in length. i believe the new ka-bars from ka-bar themselves are alloyed from cro-van which is some improvement over regular 1095. for a dirter i would'nt spend x-tra for the d2 version. i do prefer the d2 for my b.o.b.
 
Get the plastic handled one instead of the leather washer handle. The leather washers eventually rot and fall off. At least, that's been my experience in the Everglades.
 
sidecutter there is treatment for leather however i do'nt have that info. too much is made of the rot situation since many 10000s of theser marched in island campaign of ww2 marines. certainly extended immersion in h2o & poor corrective follow up can be a problem. i was in marines in 1959 & many of issue ka-bars were from korea & ww2. our custom makers in large dont use much of this , i guess its due to the unitarian appearence. fallikniven uses oxhide which is supposed to be almost rot free. personally i like the feel of the synthetics.leather is not inherently a problem since many 100 yr. plus holsters & saddles are in circulation.
 
sidecutter said:
is there any leather treatment to prevent this ? sealer ? :confused:
Click to expand...

Here's my treatment...Micarta....:thumbup::D

KaBarmod004.jpg
 
DennisStrickland said:
leather is not inherently a problem since many 100 yr. plus holsters & saddles are in circulation.
Click to expand...

That's very true, but not all leather is created equal and not all leather treatments are created equal. I've also had the leather washers on Estwing hatchets rot and separate. Maybe it's because of where I lived for so long. The Estwing handles have a hard varnish coat and I don't see how you could treat them without removing that coat. And what else would I have done to them to keep them from rotting that a hard varnish couldn't do?

All I'm saying is every Marine Ka-Bar I've ever seen used in the Everglades eventually had the handle rot off. I'm sure thousands of people over the years have had varying mileage.
 
Seems like this ground is pretty well covered, but I too love the Short Ka-Bar. I have both it and its full size brother and find them both to be great, functional knives. It's been a while since I logged in, and I've slipped back to basic status since then and can't seem to find the search button. But if somebody paying could run a search for me, I did do a mini-review of the short Ka-bar when I first got it.

Lagarto
 
Thank you ill start with the short one and get the large one later. I would probably use a small hatchet for chopping. The small one is probably more useable in camaping situation were sheepole might not be as scared.
 
sixheads said:
Hi, all,

Does anyone one have a Ka-bar usmc short review? or link to a review? I am thinking of getting the long 7 inch blade otr the 5and a quarter but would like some opinions on the knifes?

My only fixed blade is a spyderco rock salt and i love it but it is a little pricey to be diggin in the ground with hacking in the back yard or just heavy dirty use and i want a beater fixed blade.

I like the Ka-bars cheap and tough i hear.

Thanks
Click to expand...

I carried one in the field in Vietnam. Was made by Camillus, I think. The thing was indestructable.

Bill
USMC 1965--1968
 
I think Ka Bar is fine knife. It has great steel that's very easy to sharpen. If you want a diggin and hacking knife. It will not cut very well.

Here is a review of the "toughness" of Ka Bar compared to other knives. Take it for what is it worth.
http://www.knifetests.com/

God Bless
 
OK so don't pound on it with a hammer. :rolleyes:

Aside from that it will serve pretty much all your needs. I don't normally dig with a knife, if I did, I would not be afraid to do so with a KaBar.

One thing that a couple of the fellas have done that you might want to think about doing is they cut off the top guard so you can get your thumb out over the blade to give you better control when you are doing fine work.
 
I think of the Ka-Bar as a cheap fun knife.

The Becker is the cheap heavy beater knife.
 
check out RABII's fixed blade for sale thread right away man!!!!
he has your knife with a leather sheath unused for half what you will pay anywhere. If I had not already bought one for the wife I would snag it.

sent you a message
 
You all may want to check out Ka-Bar's other knives that are more utility oriented rather than combat oriented. Good stuff, and better designed for most tasks, in my opinion.
 
I have a shorty and used it for years as my fall hunting/field knife. Cleaned my deer, dug out arrows, cut away small limbs and briars, whatever. Did everything I needed and I never felt under-knifed. The only thing about it left to be said is that the handle runs a bit on the small side. That didn't affect me personally but if your hands are large it may bother you.
 
i got the small one and love it i will get the big one next, I did not get the serrations. I like Spyderco serrations and have yet to find any otherones worht buying on a knife.

The ka-bars are great.
 
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