Oh no, not another kabar thread . . . .

D

D R E

Joined
May 25, 2000
Messages
591
Its been a few days since the last kabar thread so I thought its time for yet another. A few pictures this time around.

Progression of Camillus 1219C's from top to bottom.
  • Top knife is the Navy version from WWII - tang marked.
  • Second knife is from Vietnam time period.
  • Third knife is 70-80's manufacture.
  • Last version is commercial before they shut their doors.

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Top knife is from a Vietnam era SEAL - Team II
Bottom knife surplused out of Marine's armory

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No rabbid kabar folks? Post some picts of your well-worn Mark 2's. Any kind will do. :)
 
This is my late 1930's KA-BAR that I love dearly. According to the folks in Olean, this was a design that they discontinued when the war hit in favor of the combat-style you guys have :)

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Very nice hunter you have there Noah. If you are interested in restoring, see if Bark River has some time in their busy schedule. That Ka-Bar will look like new. They have done some nice work on cleaning up old style hunters of all makes and sizes.

There are also very talented sheath makers who could come up with a period correct leather sheath.
 
How about a look alike?

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This is a Conetta I found on Jefferson Blvd while riding my CBR this past spring. Great knife for the shape it's in. Wish it could tell a story though...;)
 
D R E said:
Very nice hunter you have there Noah. If you are interested in restoring, see if Bark River has some time in their busy schedule. That Ka-Bar will look like new. They have done some nice work on cleaning up old style hunters of all makes and sizes.

There are also very talented sheath makers who could come up with a period correct leather sheath.
Click to expand...

Thanks! Really, as neat as it is that the knife is that old, I don't think I WANT to restore it. If I did, I wouldn't want to use it anymore :P. Since I took that picture, the leather washers of the handle finally broke apart too much for the Duct Tape to hold together, so it needs rehandled, but I think I'll go with a nice hardwood for that. As far as the sheath goes, I can make one of those myself now--the blade cover in the picture was one that I made in about 10 minutes when I got the knife at the age of 16, haha.

~Noah
 
I was actually going to make a new thread for these questions, but it looks like it'll be easier to just slip them in here heh.

What are people's experiences with Ka-Bar's leather? Specifically the sheaths and handle material. I'm dying to get my hands on a Kabar but all the retailers seem to be sold out of the Kydex sheaths so I figured I would just go with a leather one and pocket the difference. Mainly concerned about durability, accessibility, security, carry method, etc? And how slippery are the leather handles when wet, compared to Kraton?
 
Kenix said:
I was actually going to make a new thread for these questions, but it looks like it'll be easier to just slip them in here heh.

What are people's experiences with Ka-Bar's leather? Specifically the sheaths and handle material. I'm dying to get my hands on a Kabar but all the retailers seem to be sold out of the Kydex sheaths so I figured I would just go with a leather one and pocket the difference. Mainly concerned about durability, accessibility, security, carry method, etc? And how slippery are the leather handles when wet, compared to Kraton?
Click to expand...

They're pretty good. The handles hold up very well and the sheaths are pretty well construction. The sheaths do wear out eventually but they're easily refind to replace.
 
Kenix said:
I was actually going to make a new thread for these questions, but it looks like it'll be easier to just slip them in here heh.

What are people's experiences with Ka-Bar's leather? Specifically the sheaths and handle material. I'm dying to get my hands on a Kabar but all the retailers seem to be sold out of the Kydex sheaths so I figured I would just go with a leather one and pocket the difference. Mainly concerned about durability, accessibility, security, carry method, etc? And how slippery are the leather handles when wet, compared to Kraton?
Click to expand...

The govt spec'd leather sheaths aren't that bad but the commercial models are made of very thin leather. It depends on what environments you will find yourself in. The Navy initially issued the Mark 2's in leather sheaths and they disinegrated quickly. Keep in mind alot of these knives were used by UDT/divers and were constantly immersed in salt water. Someone had a great idea to come up with a hard style sheath like the bayonets came in. Those worked quite well for wet conditioons and were used extensively in Vietnam.

Today, there are so many options to go with. Kydex, leather, custom leather sheaths, nylon, whatever tickles your fancey. Consider the nylon sheaths by Spec Ops, Blackhawk or Eagle. The one pictured below is a Coyote Brown Blackhawk large.

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[/QUOTE] This is a Conetta I found on Jefferson Blvd while riding my CBR this past spring. Great knife for the shape it's in. Wish it could tell a story though...;)[/QUOTE]

The Mark 2's by Conetta are interesting for the collector. They are true Vietnam issue since they were made during the war and were a relatively small contract. They all went to the govt. Quite rough in their finishing but certainly very servicable.
 
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