kabar "variations"

Silver Needle

Silver Needle

Joined
Jul 14, 2014
Messages
5,802
My new Kabar bk16 came in over the weekend - woohoo!

When putting the tan handle scales on, I noticed something was a little odd about the blade, from the belly to the tip. I did some looking online and found Dexwithers' thread from January and realized my 16 is the variant that is missing some belly...

Sadly, from reading the old Kabar Quality Control thread it doesn't seem like I have any options. It doesn't bother me enough to try to sell it or modify it, but it will bug me every time I use the knife.

I think I got a sense of the general concensus, but are we really ok paying for a product that may come to us as a slightly different, and uglier, version of what we thought we'd get?

Does anyone have a variation of a different model Kabar?
 
I have a couple that are pretty imperfect. If they are within tolerances, I'd be interested indeed to know what the tolerances are. I still like them though.

I like Becker knives. But I don't believe the whole "can't be beaten for the price" thing is true anymore. It used to be. None of the knives I've bought since the old QC guy left have been the same. I had an 11 that was basically recurved, and another that had an edge that was ground way crooked. Both were replaced by the dealer. Those were really bad but I've kept others that weren't too bad. They work and are similar enough to each other that I'm happy with them.

Sometimes it works out favorably. I have an 11 that has the best factory tip of any knife I've ever had. Wouldn't give that one up for anything.
 
How long ago did the quality control change?

My 9 has crooked jimping on the thumb ramp and this doesn't bother me. My 2 has an unevenly ground tip and isn't the end of the world. I'm a freak and for some reason the blade shape on my 16 is something I feel like I'll dwell on.

I had the knife ordered through a brick and mortar store. If they were willing to exchange it for me, what are the chances I'd get a good one?
 
Depends on the store. I know GPKnives will bring the knives that are in the back out to me and let me pick the exact one I want when I go in there so I have never had any of the issues that other people report.
 
The store didn't stock the 16, so they ordered for me... that's how this whole thing started.

Does anyone have a feeling that most 16 owners are satisfied? Will ordering another one get me what I want or is it still a gamble?
 
I think most are satisfied. I can't imagine the number sold annually, but based on the number of happy owners here, I'd guess the vast majority are just fine.
 
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