Kabar good for whittling?

F

Flipaddiction

Joined
Apr 3, 2016
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Hello men and women of Blade Forums! I am new here, as I have recently been bitten by the knife bug. So far I have acquired a Kershaw Oso Sweet and a full size Ka-Bar USMC knife. I would like to know if the Ka-bar would be good for whittling. Thanks in advance :)
 
The knife will definitely care some wood pretty well, but large knives really aren't ideal for whittling.
You should check out the Mira website if you really want to whittle, because they have so many option including specialty knifes for whittling.
 
Hickory n steel said:
The knife will definitely care some wood pretty well, but large knives really aren't ideal for whittling.
You should check out the Mira website if you really want to whittle, because they have so many option including specialty knifes for whittling.
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Thanks for the quick reply! I don't even know if I am going to whittle with it yet. I still need to work up the courage to even use it. It is so beautiful, I would hate to see it have scratches. I will probably get over it soon though, because eventually I like my knives to have battle scars :)
 
Flipaddiction said:
Hello men and women of Blade Forums! I am new here, as I have recently been bitten by the knife bug. So far I have acquired a Kershaw Oso Sweet and a full size Ka-Bar USMC knife. I would like to know if the Ka-bar would be good for whittling. Thanks in advance :)
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Your Ka-Bar would not be a good wood working knife. It would do in an emergency, but it is too big and the grind far too obtuse to be ideal. You run the risk of really hurting yourself whittling with a fighting knife, control would be an issue.

Folding whittling knives, Case makes a number of them, you might like the carbon steel variety. They are not terrible expensive.
Flipaddiction said:
....I still need to work up the courage to even use it. It is so beautiful, I would hate to see it have scratches. I will probably get over it soon though, because eventually I like my knives to have battle scars :)
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In the beginning stages of knife ownership, they are ALL to pretty to use, but I can assure you, you will like how your Ka-Bar looks no matter what. If you want to keep it as a safe-queen, there is no shame in that. But, if you want to use it....USE IT! There is beauty in that just as well!

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Thanks for the reply Kohai! Well, I guess whittling is off my list of things to do with my new Ka-Bar. And yes, I will definitely get to using it eventually. I can't wait!
 
Good whittling knives tend to have more handle than blade, and full, round handles. Of course there are exceptions to every rule, I've done far more whittling with a swiss army knife than anything else, and its far from ideal. some of the smaller moras make a good cheap whittler.

Knives are tools to be used, and the scratches are stories to be told.

enjoy your Ka-bar, and make sure you have a first aid kit handy when learning to whittle.
 
Flipaddiction said:
Thanks for the quick reply! I don't even know if I am going to whittle with it yet. I still need to work up the courage to even use it. It is so beautiful, I would hate to see it have scratches. I will probably get over it soon though, because eventually I like my knives to have battle scars :)
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Ahhh the new knife I don't wanna scratch it syndrome...we've all been there at some point...easiest fix is to go buy a $200 knife that you won't wanna scratch up...then suddenly the $70 knife becomes viewed as a user to prevent using and scratching the $200 knife....then you just keep progressively going up in price and eventually as time goes by you won't hesitate to beat on your sub $500 beater knives lol.

In all seriousness thou its a knife, it's meant to be used, and those scratches will add character to it.
 
Flipaddiction said:
Thanks for the reply Kohai! Well, I guess whittling is off my list of things to do with my new Ka-Bar. And yes, I will definitely get to using it eventually. I can't wait!
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You CAN whittle with it....its just not made for that, so it doesn't do it well.

Kohai nailed it...get a Case Whittler.
 
There is a thread in the traditional knife sub forum right now about whittler recommendations. I use a case med stockman, and a cold steel mini tuff lite. Mini tuff lite is an inexpensive little knife.
 
onojoe said:
There is a thread in the traditional knife sub forum right now about whittler recommendations. I use a case med stockman, and a cold steel mini tuff lite. Mini tuff lite is an inexpensive littler knife.
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Great little knife, I have the bigger version. Can't beat the price, and the blade is so ideal for using the tip. One of very few Cold Steel knives that I have no complaints about.

Talk about nice bang for the buck, the Case 035 Medium Stockman with chrome-vanadium blades and yellow synthetic covers is a CRAZY great deal at about 40 bux, will do anything that needs to be done, not as specialized as say a Seahorse whittler, but imo, much more versatile without giving up much.

After quite a long time of looking, picked up a US made Camillus Boy Scout Whittler last year for around 60 bux and just got another one on the auction site for under $40.00. These are also an exceptional deal SOMETIMES, but they often push over 100 bux when condition is close to minty. I had wanted to get one over 30 years ago at Scout camp, but couldn't afford it.:(

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
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The Cold Steel Tuff Lite is not a bad whittler and inexpensive [~$30] (as mentioned above). What Bobby3326 is essentially true from my experience. As you go up in price, the less expensive ones become users. Or some simply use them all regardless. I try not to buy knives anymore that I am not going to use unless it is something special like an elephant ivory traditional, and then I'm hesitant to use it. After you sharpen it the first time, it's a user regardless.
 
Yes. Over in the Ka-Bar sub forum there is a thread on 30 days use of the Dog Head version. He used it for everything; food prep, carving/whittling ... a rather good read, to be honest.

That said, a Ka-Bar would not be my first choice. I prefer the Ontario 499 "Jet Pilot Survival Knife" or the Ontario 498 "Marine Fighting Knife" (same as a Ka-Bar Marine Fighting Knife, but the Ontario version is built to Mil Spec, (the Ka-Bar isn't) and cost half the price.

Also, I do not care for Ka-Bar's parent company, Cutco. I will buy nothing made by Cutco or their affiliated companies.
 
If I was you get a mora bout 10 bucks and whittle with it as the kabar is made for fighting
 
what ever you use , just make sure that you personally can sharpen it. sharp edges are essential to good controlled whittlin'. and push away from yourself as much as possible, you can't always, but when you can do so. much safer, he says from repeated experience. (apparently some lessons i need to learn over and over:) )
thanks, Neal
 
Kabar for wood carving? Sure, but Only if it's really sharp.
 
You can do rough stuff like tent pegs with most knives.

Detail carving requires a toolkit of it's own though.

Saws, drills, flat chisels, skew chisels, detail knives, gouges etc.
 
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