srk AUS vs srk San Mai vs Ka-Bar vs Ka-bar Next Gen...help me out pls!

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stmed

Joined
Nov 27, 2010
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My guess is I can't go wrong and to a degree the difference will be in the price but what are your favorites? Probably won't be my go-to for camping, mostly use the BK2 and LM for that, but I wouldn't mind bringing one out for a try. Really thinking more for my first fixed fighter. Is San Mai worth the extra vs the AUS? Is the 440A on the next-gen superior to the 1095? Anything I should really focus on?

Many thanks!
 
Neither are true fighters. They're great all-purpose tactical/ combat blades. I doubt the san mai SRK offers much performance over the AUS 8 SRK, especially for the $30 price hike. VG1 is good stuff but I doubt you'd notice the difference in usage. The SRK is a stout, well-rounded no BS fixed blade.

The Ka-Bar is one inch longer with a slightly finer tip. The original is a classic & all but the Next Gen is better overall. Modern materials & no upper guard in the way of your thumb. The steels involved here aren't nearly as critical as the other features. 1095 is much tougher & holds an edge better than 440A but isn't stainless & will rust without care. Ka-Bar does a good heat-treat with all their steels so I bet that 440A performs far above most blades in that steel.

In my opinion it's between The SRK in AUS8 & the Next Gen Ka-Bar for $80ish unless you want the satin finished SRK with laminated VG1 for $20 more. The Ka-Bar is an inch longer with a finer tip. The SRK is the better prybar of the two with a tougher tip. Other posters will be happy to reccoment other knives in the same general range, I'm sure, so...how's a custom fixed fighter for $125 sound?
http://www.grecoknives.com/whisper_ct_with_satin_finish.htm
http://www.grecoknives.com/

Here's my first fixed fighter: http://www.lawranceordnance.com/the_q_store/knives_ontario/sp6.php (blow up the picture).
It can be had for around $50ish shipped, the handles feel great, the back edge is sharpened, & I like 1095 a lot for a big fixed blade. Ontario generally kicks ass for fixed blades on a budget & deserve a look. Hope this helps.
 
stmed said:
My guess is I can't go wrong and to a degree the difference will be in the price but what are your favorites? Probably won't be my go-to for camping, mostly use the BK2 and LM for that, but I wouldn't mind bringing one out for a try.
Really thinking more for my first fixed fighter. Is San Mai worth the extra vs the AUS?
Is the 440A on the next-gen superior to the 1095? Anything I should really focus on?

Many thanks!
Click to expand...

The intent of San Mai is to provide a stainless steel with high edge retention and the toughness of non-stainless. The outside layers provide toughness. That is useful for a chopper but IMO is wasted on a fighter.

The 1095 and 1095 Cro Van alloys that I have used and tested have held an edge better than 440A. And they are tougher. But the 440A requires less care. For a fighter, I'd guess you could flip a coin.
 
I would choose the kabar over the srk as a fighter..1095 version. But why not pay a little more and get the D2 version which is even better?
 
Thanks all. Jeff that sp6 is a good looking knife. Your description of "all-purpose tactical/ combat blades" is probably what I should have described as what I'm looking for. I should say that I'm slightly biased toward stainless since I already have the BK2 in 1095. I do wish they had the next gen in stainless as I like the handle config better without the upper guard. I guess I'll head off to try and find them live to see how the SRK Aus and Ka-Bar original feel in my hand. I like the extra inch on the ka-bar but like the idea of the aus steel and slightly tougher build of the aus.

Thanks and welcome any other opinions!
 
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