The $1000 KABAR

Yeah, it's pretty awesome.

Great story and excellent craftsmanship.

Last Blade show, they were taking orders about one an hour.

$1000 today, $10,000 in a few years......

Not your EDC or bushcraft starter kit......

Moose
 
Gonna bump this one over to Ka-Bar. There's no Becker content here.
 
Cool story behind it, but.. :barf: Just don't like the looks of it. IMO the original handles look a billion times better.
 
I've also heard of stacked marble and other materials like that being used for the handles in those days.
 
I'm sure its a good collector piece and has a good story, but...

omg that is ugly. It reminds me of a BudK knife you can get for $19.99 called the Delta Ops Ranger 9/11 Revenge (or something)
 
Ka Bar could have done infinitely better than this for a $1,000 knife. This knife is hideous. Lets see standard F/U blade and grotesque handle for $1,000? Why didnt they just let Dozier go wild and have him draw up a $1,000 knife for chrissakes? If this is the best Ka Bar can do for a freaking grand then I have GOT to be able to get a design job with them as whoever thought this was a good idea should be fired they can go edit the Bud-K catalog theyd love it there.

Lets see $1,000 Ka Bar. Im thinking ZDP-189 laminated blade steel. Not sure if ZDP-189 can be laminated in tool steel but if it can be then I would go that route. Whichever steel the ZDP is laminated in also makes up the full handle contour matching tang and pommel. If not ZDP then 3V all the way. The knife would be one piece tip to pommel.

High hollow grind, sharpened swedge, narrow and legthen the blood grooves. Blade would be extended 3 quarter to an inch to make room for decent size finger choil and the very end of the blade. Half guard, about an inch and a half of jimping on top for the thumb to grip. Handle will be 2 linen micarta scales held on be 3 nut and bolt sets. Scales will match tang contour perfectly. Linen micarta scales would be chem treated for extra toughness and stain resistance. shape of the assembled handle will be the same as a fresh stacked leather USMC. Scales will be grooved just like the USMC. Pommel is oval and at least large enough for the knife to tail stand.

The blade, half guard, tang and pommel will all be Cerakoted. Blade would be two colors. The flats on the sides of the blade will be a dark color all the ground areas will be a lighter shade. Guard gets cerakoted a metal color. Tang gets cerakoted same color as the blade flats. Pommel matches the guard.

Exclusive custom stampings in the steel on the blade at the half guard. Ka Bar Olean Ny on one side model number and serial number on the other.

knife comes with 2 sheaths a compact one for light carry made by Azwelke and the second more formal sheath hand made high quality leather, rivets and stitching. Both sheaths come with color matched molle tek locks for both. Both sheaths are designed to be able to be belt carried horizontally and vertically. Both sheaths will come with well made leather shoulder harness as well.

Leather sheath will be oiled and finished in a specific color and will have nice Ka Bar specific embossing. Aswelke sheath will have nice Ka Bar stamping.

Knife comes in wood display case, knife comes with a complete cleaning kit.

There...that is your $1,000 dollar Ka Bar that ppl would actually want to buy. The only folks that are going to buy this current $1,000 abomination are wealthy bikers and bi polar doom fetishists that dont know anything about knives. My dream is that Ka Bar will contract Shane Sibert for a couple of designs. His own customs have lots of Ka Bar in them already (check out his Scout fixed blade). He would have a field day at Ka Bar....
 
Its a copy, from original molds, of a ww2 theater knife. Made by the Cheif castor? Aboard a ship. Its not a ka bar design. Its an opportunity to own a much collected theater knife, brand new. "Blood groove" is a fuller, and if I remember was requested to reduce weight, and has nothing to do with blood. I agree the price is high, but that was prob the price they pay to have access to the original mold, and have the mans son? Finish each one by hand. Want to play guess the price on the "new" ek knives they are making. Apparent reproducing historical knives comes at a price. So you should add historical collectors to wealthy bikers and by polar Dom fetishists.
 
I do recall when they were announced last year. An interesting design with historical significance. I'm certain that there are enough history buffs who collect knives to support this effort. I'm not one of them, but I wouldn't insult anyone who did want one to occuply a significant space in their display cabinet or safe. If I could afford to turn my house into a museum (I think my wife is already concerned...), then I'd jump on this to go in the "WW II Pacific Theater" room. But sadly, real life gets in the way and I have neither the money nor the space...
 
okay historical collectors as well. This was a theater knife? There were also many more theater knives that could have been copied. Im sure even in theater other soldiers would see it and think "WTF is that?". Historical significance or not it still looks like it belongs in a Bud-K catalog for $25. Sooooo many other theater knife designs, many modern designers to contract, could have allowed Dozier to go crazy and make it cost a grand. Ka Bars cost to make this knife is pretty darn low compared to a grand. A grand is just insulting. Even if this was a non ultra tacky theater design no old theater knife copy using the basic blade is worth a grand. Hell Ka Bar should buy the design for the Sibert Scout. That knife could be sold for maybe $800 with official Ka Bar stamps and would sell out as it looks like what a 21st century USMC pattern should. Just sold myself on a Sibert Scout venting about that "thing". Off to search for a Scout...enjoy
 
If I ever won the lotto I'd buy two :D

one to keep on a shelf. the other to EDC and beat the hell out of :D

images
 
retzius said:
I'm sure its a good collector piece and has a good story, but...

omg that is ugly. It reminds me of a BudK knife you can get for $19.99 called the Delta Ops Ranger 9/11 Revenge (or something)
Click to expand...
Lol! That's what I thought when I seen it. 😜
 
Yeah, when I saw this I wondered why on earth Kabar didn't use Damascus steel for the blade and/or use brass, or make this knife with a wider tang. For the price you could get much better steel. It is a very cool handle though. I would much rather go with a presentation grade Kabar if I was to spend this much on a knife, and if I am spending this much[/I], the knife would have to have to be made of superior materials. It's more about the performance over appearance for me. It is a good piece for a serious collector though.

I would really like to see Kabar add a newer version of the aluminum hollow handled knife to their product line. I am sure they would sell more than a few of them.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/985728-Old-Hollow-Handle-KA-BAR

The Mark II scabbard would be another great addition to the kabar line, perhaps made out of stainless steel parts for corrosion resistance. I would personally buy one of these if they brought them back into production.
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(On a Camillus MarkII)

Maybe a Damascus steel version of the Kabar with a stacked handle of different material such as a micarta or bone?? I love the Mark I and Mark II designs, but I dislike that the stacked leather handles hold moisture and oils from carry and use. If you have ever disassembled an old kabar or leather handled knife you will see red oxidation and pitting on the tang of the knife. The only thing I hate about the design. I love some of the new products that Kabar is making such as the Kabar TDI (Beautiful knife, made of quality materials, hybrid push knife and legal EDC blade that is both practical and useable as well as a great blade for self defense) It is comfortable and easy to carry too. I kind of dislike that kabar is seemingly making knives that are more geared toward cool designs as opposed to great all around blades, although many of those knives are still made well with good temper. (I am talking about the newer zombie knives line) I would really like to see kabar make some different versions of the old Mark I and Mark II designs with superior materials such as stacked micarta handles in different colors, Damascus variations of the Mark II as opposed to 1095 CRO-VAN, and possibly some defferent materials and patterns for the pommel (maybe a pommel as thick as the Camillus Quartermaster 225Q with checkering on the bottom??)

I guess I am just like one of those when I think of Kabar..
Tuks9tb_zpsi2iwk3je.gif

:thumbup: Still cool though :thumbup:
 
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