- Joined
- Jan 14, 2011
- Messages
- 6
Hi folks, I've been looking for a sturdy knife to haul with me when i'm out hiking and such as a utility/survival knife, and after a bit of research I decided on getting the KA-BAR Campanion! It sounds like a lot of the pro's on this board really like the Becker knives so I'm glad I got what I did (the other one I strongly considered was the Gerber LMF II). I am definitely a novice when it comes to knives. I carry around a Victorinox Fisherman swiss army knife that I love, and have an old Barlow from my father or grandfather, and some generic walmart knives and multi-tools, but I really wanted something I could rely on.
Immediately on opening the box I was impressed by the heft of the knife. It's definitely the most sturdy and substantial feeling knife I've ever held. I popped it into the sheath and it clicked in really sturdy.
Then I tried to get it out. And I couldn't.
So I pull and pull and jam my thumb into the thumb rest on the sheath and pulled as hard as I could... and nothing.
:grumpy:
So then I really get to pulling it and I realize at some point that if it actually DID come free it would probably slice my hand off the way I was holding it.
So I put it on the floor, held tight between my feet and pulled straight up and it popped out of the sheath. I spent about the next hour working on the knife, eventually getting it to pry out with my thumb. My my poor thumb hadn't seen this much abuse since Super Mario Bros on the original NES controller. I was seriously starting to get an awful blister.
So I came and poked around on Google and found this forum and looked around a bit. Eventually I found an idea about using a hair dryer.
About 10-20 seconds of hot air blown straight down the sheath was all I needed to warm it up just enough to expand it. I slid the knife into and out of the warm sheath a number of times and it went easy (for the first time, I didn't have to pry with my thumb!) I could just hold the sheath in one hand, and pull with the other, and it came out!
So now I've got this beauty of a knife. I haven't had an opportunity to test its abilities yet but I thought I'd share my story and a few pics!
Immediately on opening the box I was impressed by the heft of the knife. It's definitely the most sturdy and substantial feeling knife I've ever held. I popped it into the sheath and it clicked in really sturdy.
Then I tried to get it out. And I couldn't.
So I pull and pull and jam my thumb into the thumb rest on the sheath and pulled as hard as I could... and nothing.
:grumpy:
So then I really get to pulling it and I realize at some point that if it actually DID come free it would probably slice my hand off the way I was holding it.
So I put it on the floor, held tight between my feet and pulled straight up and it popped out of the sheath. I spent about the next hour working on the knife, eventually getting it to pry out with my thumb. My my poor thumb hadn't seen this much abuse since Super Mario Bros on the original NES controller. I was seriously starting to get an awful blister.
So I came and poked around on Google and found this forum and looked around a bit. Eventually I found an idea about using a hair dryer.
About 10-20 seconds of hot air blown straight down the sheath was all I needed to warm it up just enough to expand it. I slid the knife into and out of the warm sheath a number of times and it went easy (for the first time, I didn't have to pry with my thumb!) I could just hold the sheath in one hand, and pull with the other, and it came out!
So now I've got this beauty of a knife. I haven't had an opportunity to test its abilities yet but I thought I'd share my story and a few pics!
