Guys, I fell in love again. I had my eyes on the USN Mk1 for a while now, but resisted with stoicism. About two weeks ago, I decided I had to have one and ever since I can't let out of my hand.
I won't go into details, maybe just saying that (as measured on my ruler) the blade is 12.8 cm (5in) long and about 4 mm thick at the guard. I will refrain from commenting on Ka-Bar and their 1095 Cro-Van, everybody knows the quality of both the company and the steel. However, I can't resist and have to post some pictures and comment on them.
So here she is, dressed and undressed:
This a knife is from another era, definitely aimed at utility more than combat and from what I read it soldiered on from WW II into the Vietnam War. No surprise there, I find it precisely "just right" for a general purpose knife. My initial option was the version with the plastic sheath and synthetic handle, but the warmth of the leather sheath and especially the leather washers just won.
The sheath may need some maintenance, it is oiled from the factory (I won't add "well made" since Ka-Bar doesn't need any advertising) and even if a bit thin looks sturdy enough. I couldn't help it and rubbed some wax in (just cold) and it went all in. I also put some Velcro felt over the snap button back just to protect the leather washers. The handle has a barrel shape, slightly squished sideways making a perfect weld with the hand. In my medium sized hands it fits like it grew out of my own palm. I hope the good people at Ka-Bar didn't design this knife with my specific hand in mind (I wish!) so probably it will feel the same to many other. The guard is small, but again "just right": your index will not slip on to the slicer but your thumb will easily reach forward for some extra pressure.
The blade itself is flat ground and has enough belly to cut wonderfully. The spine is not sharp so it will most likely not throw sparks from a ferro rod (haven't tried) but allows for help from the thumb for more pressure. It also has a bit of a false edge for about a third on the back and a thinned out tang so batoning may be okay but I would stay away from it. Then, at 5in of blade there not much heavy batoning going to happen anyway. People do abuse their USMCs, very few fail at the guard (apparently), so the USN Mk1 should be fine too. As a slicer, on the other hand this knife is a joy. It came very sharp from the factiry so if you want to take it straight into the woods, you're all set. Personally I went with it a few times over the hard Arkansas stone but that was just because that's what I do. I guess many other knife nuts do the same whether needed or not with a new knife. For me, it just makes it "mine." I repeat, not needed for the Ka-Bars.
I still have to take the knife "out" - so far it has only seen my backyard and my "test sticks" but it has performed wonderfully. The coating is still intact and I have a reluctance to mess up my new toy. But soon I will and then I'll be back with more praise. Thank you Ka-Bar.
I won't go into details, maybe just saying that (as measured on my ruler) the blade is 12.8 cm (5in) long and about 4 mm thick at the guard. I will refrain from commenting on Ka-Bar and their 1095 Cro-Van, everybody knows the quality of both the company and the steel. However, I can't resist and have to post some pictures and comment on them.
So here she is, dressed and undressed:
This a knife is from another era, definitely aimed at utility more than combat and from what I read it soldiered on from WW II into the Vietnam War. No surprise there, I find it precisely "just right" for a general purpose knife. My initial option was the version with the plastic sheath and synthetic handle, but the warmth of the leather sheath and especially the leather washers just won.
The sheath may need some maintenance, it is oiled from the factory (I won't add "well made" since Ka-Bar doesn't need any advertising) and even if a bit thin looks sturdy enough. I couldn't help it and rubbed some wax in (just cold) and it went all in. I also put some Velcro felt over the snap button back just to protect the leather washers. The handle has a barrel shape, slightly squished sideways making a perfect weld with the hand. In my medium sized hands it fits like it grew out of my own palm. I hope the good people at Ka-Bar didn't design this knife with my specific hand in mind (I wish!) so probably it will feel the same to many other. The guard is small, but again "just right": your index will not slip on to the slicer but your thumb will easily reach forward for some extra pressure.
The blade itself is flat ground and has enough belly to cut wonderfully. The spine is not sharp so it will most likely not throw sparks from a ferro rod (haven't tried) but allows for help from the thumb for more pressure. It also has a bit of a false edge for about a third on the back and a thinned out tang so batoning may be okay but I would stay away from it. Then, at 5in of blade there not much heavy batoning going to happen anyway. People do abuse their USMCs, very few fail at the guard (apparently), so the USN Mk1 should be fine too. As a slicer, on the other hand this knife is a joy. It came very sharp from the factiry so if you want to take it straight into the woods, you're all set. Personally I went with it a few times over the hard Arkansas stone but that was just because that's what I do. I guess many other knife nuts do the same whether needed or not with a new knife. For me, it just makes it "mine." I repeat, not needed for the Ka-Bars.
I still have to take the knife "out" - so far it has only seen my backyard and my "test sticks" but it has performed wonderfully. The coating is still intact and I have a reluctance to mess up my new toy. But soon I will and then I'll be back with more praise. Thank you Ka-Bar.
