- Joined
- May 21, 2011
- Messages
- 3,132
Hi all,
Somewhere last year I got on a traditional pocket knife binge. I bought a few used ones off the bay, mostly to test out several traditional knife patterns at low cost, yet made in the US. I'm not really sure if Ka-bar still produces any traditional knife patterns other than the Doghead series?
Anyway, here's an overview... Top to bottom: Ka-bar 1100 large stockman, Ka-bar 1026 jack knife (swell end?), Ka-bar 1019 Peanut, and a Ka-bar 1071 small stockman (? yet the body has a different shape than the large one).
Blades opened:
The largest blade came with a pretty bad walk and talk, it's a blade that was well loved and well used by the previous owner(s?) and it probably served them well. Seems like this one has carbon steel blades, where the other I suppose are stainless (maybe not the Peanut though). It's too far gone to be a good user now, because of no snap, quite a bit of wiggle and the like but it did make me appreciate the pattern.
The 1026 is my most used of these 4, I really love it. Like in all four of these, the quality isn't top notch, but for me as a user, the size is just right for pocket carry, ergonomics are good and well... it cuts! The fake stag is what makes these appear somewhat low quality, imo. Not a lot of pins usually, so it starts to warp. But for a user blade, I really can't complain. Nothing can knock a simple Opinel out of my pocket, but I REALLY appreciate the 1026 for its versatility in such a small package.
The Peanut is no difference, I carried that one quite a lot over the past few months as well. Very versatile, everything I like about it is present in the 1026 as well, yet I prefer the ergonomics of the latter.
The small stockman is more of a novelty for me. I like having it, but I don't find it very useful. It could be a good office knife: opening letters, cleaning nails, maybe even cutting up some small fruits or something.
My favourites are, as you might have read, the two two-bladed knives in this small collection, here they are again:
And here's the 1026 making a tiny featherstick.
So all in all, even though these knives aren't top of the line (don't think they were made in that regard either), they definitely are great users and I find them to be a charming part of Ka-bar history. If you see them on the exchange or on the bay in a usable condition at a good price, I'd definitely recommend picking one or more of these up.
I'm curious as to who has these and still uses them? Which patterns do you have and use?
Hope you enjoyed!
Cheers,
Jerry
Somewhere last year I got on a traditional pocket knife binge. I bought a few used ones off the bay, mostly to test out several traditional knife patterns at low cost, yet made in the US. I'm not really sure if Ka-bar still produces any traditional knife patterns other than the Doghead series?
Anyway, here's an overview... Top to bottom: Ka-bar 1100 large stockman, Ka-bar 1026 jack knife (swell end?), Ka-bar 1019 Peanut, and a Ka-bar 1071 small stockman (? yet the body has a different shape than the large one).
Blades opened:
The largest blade came with a pretty bad walk and talk, it's a blade that was well loved and well used by the previous owner(s?) and it probably served them well. Seems like this one has carbon steel blades, where the other I suppose are stainless (maybe not the Peanut though). It's too far gone to be a good user now, because of no snap, quite a bit of wiggle and the like but it did make me appreciate the pattern.
The 1026 is my most used of these 4, I really love it. Like in all four of these, the quality isn't top notch, but for me as a user, the size is just right for pocket carry, ergonomics are good and well... it cuts! The fake stag is what makes these appear somewhat low quality, imo. Not a lot of pins usually, so it starts to warp. But for a user blade, I really can't complain. Nothing can knock a simple Opinel out of my pocket, but I REALLY appreciate the 1026 for its versatility in such a small package.
The Peanut is no difference, I carried that one quite a lot over the past few months as well. Very versatile, everything I like about it is present in the 1026 as well, yet I prefer the ergonomics of the latter.
The small stockman is more of a novelty for me. I like having it, but I don't find it very useful. It could be a good office knife: opening letters, cleaning nails, maybe even cutting up some small fruits or something.
My favourites are, as you might have read, the two two-bladed knives in this small collection, here they are again:
And here's the 1026 making a tiny featherstick.
So all in all, even though these knives aren't top of the line (don't think they were made in that regard either), they definitely are great users and I find them to be a charming part of Ka-bar history. If you see them on the exchange or on the bay in a usable condition at a good price, I'd definitely recommend picking one or more of these up.
I'm curious as to who has these and still uses them? Which patterns do you have and use?
Hope you enjoyed!
Cheers,
Jerry
