Hey Everyone:
Thanks for the responses.
Nozh2002:
Those pics look fantastic. In fact, they look so good I'd be afraid it'd get dirty, dinged or stolen! They look expensive too...
Smash05:
I'm not worried about having my knife declared contraband. My CO and Sgt are each bringing M1911's and said bring whatever you want (except for plants, animals, explosives and poisons)-but don't expect us to repair it, maintain it or feed it.
I'm leaning toward Dan's idea: ka-bar 1095 steel, maybe serrated instead of plain. maybe leather sheath or plastic. Does serration really make add/detract much performace? It seems seration would be a B!#$*ch to sharpen!
Besides, if ka-bar's have been good enough for millions of other guys for 60 years it should be good enough for me. Dull, cheapish, practical. Remember, I'm not a knife collector like you guys.
Thoughts?
Well I have review on my website from Red Beret (Russian Specnaz) and his conclusion is - nothing is better then good old KaBar.
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Denise answered to my request on Russian guns.ru forum (Russian kind of blade forums) wrote his opinion on KaBar1217:
Good day Vassili!
What I learned about KaBar USMC from Vitaly who used it in Chechnya:
The balance of knife splendid, with the given mass and the length of blade does not peck by nose absolutely. Excellent property for the hand-to-hand fighting. But if you move it just a bit to place pommel between last two fingers - balance will sharply change and you may chop holding it very secure - for camp kind of jobs.
About grip for the battle I will say one: pure duels on the knives in the battlefield is very rare. The use of a knife for removing the chasovoy (the one who stay on alert guarding something), when you do not have special weapons is justified. And KaBar manages this task just wonderfully. The tip of the blade is very durable to the break. The geometry of blade wonderfully is suitable for the splitting impacts from bottom to top, also, at the side inward. Motion here is circular and knife with sharpened clip point enters in a target as an awl.
Grip because of double-sided guard can be both blade upward and blade downward, but takeing into account geometry and width of blade more effective is blade downward grip. This difference from NR-40/43 (Russian WWII battle knives) which is used by a blade upward with the straight grip, which gives the wide split wound in spite of narrow blade. The chopping impacts of KA- bars make simply amazingly, not only because of the mass, but also the grind, in the contribution it does not stick with the impact because of flat grind.
Steel is sharpened very easily. Not razor sharp, but it shaves hair, yes even this sharpness not really required. In general we uses knife for camp kind of works, in this regard KaBar excellent knife. As far as for food, here we are using small, well-made and cheap multitools. This for purposes of hygiene - diarrhea is very common thing in Chechnya you known: -), and to cut by knife by which cut dirty ropes, let us say sausage - it is fraught, even if we wash out.
About battle score Vitaliy does not say anything in detail - he indicated only that there are nothing better than KaBar for this matter on his opinion. Both of as about 110 kg of weight and 185 cm tall so that knife does not seem heavy for both of us, to as hard to understand when some say that this knife is heavy as a crowbar - who are they, children of urbanization?
It is concern of guard, with this balance double-sided guad - just right! One-sided may just looks better. To my opinion Philippines grip here will not work, as well as reverse grip, after all blade is heavy and it will a little bring in, but with straight grip - this guard just excellent.
Handle leather in the cold weather it is simple the blast! Barely cools palm. It did not rot at all. Leather sheath were orange in the week became dark brown. Also they did not rot, only a little shrink from drying. Coating went away, but some layer remained. It rusts moderate, edge cutting periodically must be resharpened even if we do not use it, otherwise rust eats it rapidly, but this if rain or very strong humidity, otherwise it is all OK.
Is short this just right knife for the rough, wide paws of the round-faced green and krapovy berets (Red Berets)
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With the respect Denis.
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Thanks Vassili.
P.S. Here my picture of KaBar:
