Need help identifying possible KA-BAR knockoff

J

Judge Dredd

Joined
Mar 17, 2009
Messages
3
Hello and thank you in advance for your response. I recently purchased what I believed to be a classic KA-BAR USMC stamped 7 inch partially serrated 1095 marine combat knife online on ebay from what I believed to be a respected and trusted seller with perfect feedback on over 10000 items.

Now I may just be completely out to lunch and paranoid here, but something felt wrong as soon as I took it out of the box and looked at it, and when I later compared it to the exact same knife I already owned (straight edge)

For one, I cant help but notice the different shape of the handle, especially at the end where it joins the pommel as well as a different sized cut in the leather and and steel where it joins the bladeguard. Also the edge of the knife is much thinner overall (not including serrations) the bloodgroove is a slightly different shape and depth, and the top edge of the knife above it is also several millimetres shorter. All of that as well as the general overall feel, heft and look of the blade, as ive carried and used my own for many years and something seems different about this one, even the look of the countours and the USMC/Olean NY stamp itself.

I sent the same to him and this was his response Hello,
Noted all the details and agree that CP is sometimes slow however overall they do a pretty good job.
Getting back to the comments about the knife, yes there could be some differences between the knife you have the the current model. The best people to answer this question would be Kabar knife company itself as they may have done some modifications though the years.I buy all my knives directly from KABAR and any changes done to this knife throught the years could be explained by them.I purchase all my knives directly through the factories and they would be more than happy to answer any questions.
Please keep me in the loop after your contact with them and would be more than happy to hear theit side of the storey.
Many thanks,

I took some pictures of them side by side with my blackberry (so sorry in advance for quality) please give me your honest opinions and tell me what you think, whether im right or just crazy.

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img00137201105161911.jpg


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Looks pretty genuine to me. Kabars vary slightly in appearance, depending on when they were made. At one point, they all shipped out with sharpened swedges, now the swedges are all unsharpened, for example.

So, yeah, you're just crazy. I'd say they're both the genuine Olean-made article.
 
Judge Dredd said:
So all new kabars made in Olean these days look like that? I am kind of shocked if thats so.
Click to expand...

That's not what I said, but that is possible. Even if that is the case, why is that shocking? It looks pretty much identical to both of the leather-handled Kabars I've owned (not to mention your old one), except for the colour of the handle (and the serrations, of course). There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with that knife...
 
The shape of the pommel is very interesting. None of the kabars I have seen have that shape of pommel. Mine does not. I bought mine in the past couple of years, so its pretty recent. That doesnt make it fake though. The fuller also seems wider than mine, or your older one.

Still, if the merchant is trusted and is supplied by kabar, I would trust that.
 
Thanks for all your input guys, and yes CSRevenant that is one of the most striking details that I noticed right away and sort of raised my alarm bells.

I am going to attempt to contact KA-BAR directly with the pictures I took and my concerns and see if they might be able to identify it for certain as one of theirs or an imposter.
 
Contact Ka Bar. There is just something off with it. I just bought a new one for a friend and that pommell looks just plain wrong. I have owned several since leaving the Corp,. and never seen one like it. As for it having the right stamps.... well that is pretty easy to fake, but there is just something off with it.
 
The pommel doesn't look correct to my eyes. The fuller on the blade also looks different on the serrated one. There are a lot of VERY good fakes on the market nowadays. Go the Becker forum and find Tooj. He's the senior engineer at Kabar and he'll have the definitive answer for you.

It's a dumb question, but is the serrated marked "Kabar" on the other side of the blade?
 
CSRevenant said:
The shape of the pommel is very interesting. None of the kabars I have seen have that shape of pommel. Mine does not. I bought mine in the past couple of years, so its pretty recent. That doesnt make it fake though. The fuller also seems wider than mine, or your older one.

Still, if the merchant is trusted and is supplied by kabar, I would trust that.
Click to expand...

I purchased a KABAR less then a year ago from a respected merchant, and the pommel is the same as the one OP is questioning. I have no doubts that mine is genuine.
 
I looked at a couple at Bass Pro Shops today, and their pommels seem more like your older knife. Now, who knows how long Bass Pro has had those knives?

Priced at $89.99, I imagine they've been there for a while. :rolleyes::thumbdn:
 
do you have any pictures of the mark side (KA-BAR side) and of the pin (where the butt cap is attached?
 
Judge Dredd,

Do not worry. You have the real deal KA-BAR.
Approx 2 years ago we implemented a new CNC handle turning machine in the Assembly area along with different black spacers. You have one of these. When we change because of new technology, we are sometimes not able to totally reproduce the old look of the product. I personally think the gradual radius of the old pommel looks sexier but we had a lot of rework and other issues with the old handle turning procedure so we changed.
Hope this helps.

Best Regards,

Paul Tsujimoto
Sr Eng
Prod Dev and Qual
KA-BAR Knives
 
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