KABAR MK1 problems?

B

BryanInOregon

Joined
May 19, 2013
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I was at the gun and knife show in Portland yesterday talking to a dealer that had KABARS ESEE'S Becker's etc and asked him if he had a MK1 when he starts telling me not to buy one cause the have problems he couldn't explain what these "problems" were. I have read many reviews on this knife and will pick a couple of them up. My assumption is that since he did not have a MK1 and was trying to sell me a short KABAR that he was full of sh*t. Also judging by the fact that he had two tables of good knives and TEN OTHER TABLES OF JUNK he was just trying to make a sell. So my question is has anyone heard of these mystery "problems" with the MK1 or was he just a jack a*s? Also he went as far to say that KABAR stopped making this knife until they could fix the "problems"
 
I'd say he was wanting to make a sale. If you did buy one and had a legit problem, there isn't a better company than Kabar that would stand behind their product and make it right. I'd just steer clear of that guy.
 
Yeah I didn't buy anything from him. I have several Kabar/Becker knives and am more than happy with all of them.
 
depends if you consider an awful point-of-balance a problem or not.
i tried hard to like it, liked the sheath and the knife seemed very solid and well made.
but the far rearward POB put me off, and i gave it away after a couple of days.
 
Personally I like it as a "petty knife" for the woods and in other active settings. For many fine control tasks a more rearward balance is advantageous.
 
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Pretty sure the guy's just messing with you. I was just using my Mk. 1 yesterday to carve a spoon (and failed) and after 4 or so months there is no problem with the knife. Some may consider the rat tail tang a weakness but it's still a plenty strong blade.
 
First off... it's a great knife.

That said, out of the box, the leather handled 2225 is glass-bottle slick. Add to that a handle-heavy balance and the knife can be... problematic.

Both, w/ a little... fixin', can be resolved.

Wire-brush and Sno-Seal the handle, it is then chem-proof and very tactile.

If you want to spend a few minutes w/ a sander, the balance and handling can also be improved w/ a little work on the pommel.

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Great knife.




GR
 
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I have one. It's a solid knife and anyone who thinks they aren't is either full of crap or got a lemon and didn't give Ka-Bar a chance to make it right.

I'm working on shaving down the pommel to fix the balance issue.
 
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they tend to fail if you bit them with a brick or use an angle grinder... :D
 
The Mk 1 is a solid knife and a great slicer. I thinned out the handle and duplicated the finish on the leather. Garandimal has shown everyone how to modify the pommel and make the Mk 1 a great little knife. Any dealer who can't back up his statements pro or con should be avoided.
 
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Another huge fan here. Never had even the slightest problem, and feel the balance is fine for my needs. The guy reminds me of the knife snobs at a local chain store who tried to sell me on 'the rat tang will break' line. Kind of a hard sell to me, as I own a MkII that lived in WW2 then has seen hard use for 70 years. No problems with that one either. Just hard to not love knives like that.
 
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Hey man I've got nothing but good to say about my mk1. Very solid and good looking knife. Carried on multiple hiking trips and hunting trips. This past weekend I had to use it to baton firewood to get dry wood(not very big on batoning but it worked perfectly). The batoning also scuffed up the blade coating a tad but gave it some character:). This stick tang held up fine and the blade is still just as sharp as before. I keep mine oiled and take care of it when not in the field and in return she treats me well in the field. Really glad I have this knife(gifted to me by grandfather).
 
i love my mk1 its plenty stronf if you use it as a knife and not a prybar axe or hammer!!
 
I hope there is no problems with it! lol Mine will be here tomorrow!
I am thinking that I am gonna do that mod that Garandimal did. Very sweet indeed!!
 
Dexwithers said:
I hope there is no problems with it! lol Mine will be here tomorrow!
I am thinking that I am gonna do that mod that Garandimal did. Very sweet indeed!!
Click to expand...

Yeah. I'm grinding the pommel on mine too but I don't have a shop or anything so I have to free hand it with a dremel. It's taking forever. I'm gonna put it on hold for a few weeks until I drive up to OR to test for a job and visit my dad who has a benchtop grinder and belt sander. I'm also going to grind down the back of the guard a little so it's more comfortable when I choke up on it.
 
bigghoss said:
Yeah. I'm grinding the pommel on mine too but I don't have a shop or anything so I have to free hand it with a dremel. It's taking forever. I'm gonna put it on hold for a few weeks until I drive up to OR to test for a job and visit my dad who has a benchtop grinder and belt sander. I'm also going to grind down the back of the guard a little so it's more comfortable when I choke up on it.
Click to expand...

Yea I think a belt sander is your best bet. I'm probably gonna use my Work Sharp. Then finish by hand with just some good ole sand paper.
Is yours the Leather or the Kraton? I got the leather so probably gonna mod that too?
 
Dexwithers said:
Yea I think a belt sander is your best bet. I'm probably gonna use my Work Sharp. Then finish by hand with just some good ole sand paper.
Is yours the Leather or the Kraton? I got the leather so probably gonna mod that too?
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I have the Kraton. I have tried the worksharp with the course belts and it's even slower than the dremel. But I'm shaving my pomel down a lot. I'm taking it down to the same diameter as the back of the handle where it flares out to meet the pommel. I'm doing that all around except for the forward edge going the same direction as the edge of the blade. That part I'm leaving the original diameter. Then I'll round off the pommel and smooth it out. Then I'll strip the coating.
 
bigghoss said:
I have the Kraton. I have tried the worksharp with the course belts and it's even slower than the dremel. But I'm shaving my pomel down a lot. I'm taking it down to the same diameter as the back of the handle where it flares out to meet the pommel. I'm doing that all around except for the forward edge going the same direction as the edge of the blade. That part I'm leaving the original diameter. Then I'll round off the pommel and smooth it out. Then I'll strip the coating.
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Sounds good. When your done, I'd love to see some pictures. Are you using the Dremel Sanding drums?
 
Dexwithers said:
Sounds good. When your done, I'd love to see some pictures. Are you using the Dremel Sanding drums?
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The only one I had wore out a while ago so I'm using a small grinding drum. It's kinda worn out too. Maybe that's why it's taking forever...
 
bigghoss said:
The only one I had wore out a while ago so I'm using a small grinding drum. It's kinda worn out too. Maybe that's why it's taking forever...
Click to expand...

You can pick up a whole pack of the sanding drum replacements for cheap. They have two different grits I believe.
 
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