Opinions on the Kabar Fighting Knife

aXed

aXed

Joined
May 1, 2002
Messages
190
I just recently purchased a Kabar and I was wondering if it will be as good as I want it to be. I know that the steel is pretty good and it's been around for a while (since WWI?) but I would love some details and reviews.

What steel does it have? How far can I push it? What are some specific functions it has?

thank you!

aXed
 
aXed,
Check out Battle Blades, there are a lot of opinions there on that knife. Also, welcome and enjoy!
 
aXed, welcome to the Bladeforums. ;)
I bought my Black Ka-Bar a few months ago, and it is an extremely versatile knife in my opinion. The steel is 1095 high carbon, I believe, so it is subject to corrosion along the edge if you're not careful. It is easy to sharpen, IMO.

Before I knew better, I had stored mine in its' leather sheath, without any rust inhibitor, and tiny rust spots formed along the edge. With the problem resolved, and some Tuf-Glide on the edge, my Ka-Bar is like new again. The epoxy coating should protect the rest of the knife.

As long as you know when to stop before use becomes abuse, your Ka-Bar should serve you well for many years to come.:D
 
Hopefully this will be of help.
I'm a Marine Reservist, own 2 kabars and have used them a lot.

There are two version of the Kabar:
- the Kabar Brand commercial kabar
- the USMC Milspec knives made by Camillus or Ontario

All are made of 1095 steel.
Commercial knives RC is 56-58. Milspec blades are 54-56 RC.
The commercial epoxy finish does not scratch off easily.
The military ones are parkerized and easy to scratch.
The military ones have a poorer fit and finish. The Ontarios are especially bad.

Now for use.

The Kabar brand came shaving sharp out of the box.
The Camillus required a little touching up.
They are both easy to sharpen and take a great edge.
Military knives have a higher grind than commercial knives. This combined with the spotty heat treatment makes the Ontarios prone to tip breakage. The Camillus is fine.

The back edge works great on your magnesium firestarter.
The biggest problem is the leather sheaths. The tips seems to fall apart quite quickly. The Kydex sheaths are much sturdier, but they are very noisy, especially when they rub against dirt or branches.

The knife is fine for belt carry, but too long for upside down carry on the Load Bearing Equipment. After using both the Kabar and Camillus fullsize knives, I am getting a Short Kabar so I can carry it on my LBE.

Hope this was helpful to you.
 
wow, you guys are amazing!

yes, that definitely helped. i'm very happy with the hair shaving sharpness of the blade (let's just say my arms are bare now), but i was just worried about what would happen to the edge after i take it camping.

thanx a lots!

aXed :cool:
 
I've heard that it's not full tang though...is this true?? if it isn't full tang I think that might make a big difference in how hard you can push it...

Anyway aXed are you seriously gonna use it?? I heard that you were quite the doos!!!
 
oh really BOK choy, maybe you should stop being such a kaffir. i can and will use my Kabar for lots of purposes (wait till end of june... grrr...)

nehoo, you're the doos and i'm gonna puke in your tupperware full of knives :barf:

aXed
 
I no very little about knives. I did investigate this very question some months ago. If you check with Kabar, you will find they do not make a military spec combat knife and have not had a contract for many years.

The term "kabar' is generic for this type of blade so that is where the confusion arrises.

I have both a Camilus and a black Kabar. I was intereted to see the difference between rockwell hardness one poster recorded.

I do not believe the Ontario is the equal of the Camilus. Read here and you will find Ontario spotty with Quality control. They are a good value for the money. The camilus has been called the knife of this style the others must compare themselves to. I think this true.

The Kabar is heavier. The Camilus balances better, and is faster.

Depends what you want in a fighting knife.

munk
 
BOK, both the Kabar brand and the military ones are full tang. You can see the tang through the pommell.

The only ones that are not full tang are the 'Spec Plus' Kabars made by Ontario (not to be confused with Ontario's military blades). This should clear up any confusion.
 
Spartanman,
Thanks for the tips. I had no idea the Kabar was 1095 - I love that steel! I'll definitely be picking up one of those now.

Tim
 
Shane 45,
The answer to your question is no, just send me an email.
aXed,
The short answer to your question to your question is that the Kabar will begin to fall short the harder you use it, this is from personal experience. It is a good knife for the $'s, sharpens great, dulls easily, and won't handle significant abuse well. I would buy another for memories sake only. My best initial recommendation would be a Becker CU/7. I forgot to ask you if you are Military? This is where my experience comes from. If you are planning on becoming a Grunt, try the Becker for starters. Again, try the Battle Blades forum, pg.2 I believe, lots of reading there. Good Luck!
 
thanks for your reply

no, i'm not in the military

the reason i got it was because i wanted a good fixed blade for my collection worth its money and my friend, this doos, recommended the Kabar

i'm not planning to put it through too much abuse, but i can't be certain of what will come my way though, probably just mild camping sort of thing

aXed
 
hi axed

how are you doing? imo, the ka-bar is a great knife for the price.
enjoy using it on your camping trip.
btw, how's lans?;)
 
Hey Guys....

The Kbar is a tried and true knife....

Is it the knife for you ???

That all depends on your budget and what you plan on doing with it....

As far as a full tang goes..

I'm not sure if you can classify a Stick Tang as a full tang,,maybe i'm wrong...

For me personally I dislike stick tangs.They are the weakest link in the knife along with the way its fastened to the handle. which brings up my other dislike, the handle. Round leather stacked,,is not my favorite...

For a heavy use knife,,there are far better options, several of which I'd pick up and take before I would a K-bar.They do have a quality about them,,one being their history....

It all boils down to ,,is it going to do the job you want it to do.. If it does,, then well,,,,its the knife for you...

ttyle

Eric...
 
I have a Kabar brand fighting knife which I have had since I was 18. Im now 39. I used it when I was a reserve infantry man and I have used it on many camping trips. Works just fine. Its still in pretty good shape. I was given a Case brand USMC fighting knife. Any body know anything about these. I believe its a copy of a prototype they submitted to the war department. This one was made in 1992.
 
A friend of mine broke his in Vietnam. He was beating on it with a ball peen hammer, cutting razor wire out of the tracks on his APC! Short of that they are pretty tough.

Did I mention he was a Marine?:D
 
I've used my Kabar (brand) knife for camping over the last 7 years. It's taken quite a bit of abuse over that time and is still in great shape. The washers of the handle are tight, tip intact, and even the epoxy coating looks pretty good. The 1095 steel will spot with rust but is easy to clean off and keep very sharp. Amazing knife for the $28 I paid.

The leather sheath is OK but I'm looking for a replacement. Any ideas?
 
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