The Ka-Bar Story

I'm glad they have continued to develop designs, I hope they can find some room to offer upgraded steel options.

I know it's hard to beat their 1095crovan, (for non-stainless), but personally I think a sprint run 1217 using m4 should sell out easily.
 
Thanks for posting...enjoyed that a lot.

74 years ago today, my Dad was with thousands of other Marines on Iwo Jima, carrying exactly one of those Ka-Bar's. He brought it home and it was unfortunately lost in 1957 in a boating mishap. MANY times I have thought of that knife and wished I had it. Bought a new USMC model 20 yrs back, similar but not the same.
 
I don't have time to watch this yet. Here is my K-Bar that I bought in the 70s.

O4M3fRa.jpg
 
Wow! If only every cutlery company can come out with corporate videos this long!
Not only was it informative but it was a joy to watch too.
its always a blast to hear stories like these,
especially so when the film production quality is much better than expected.
OP thanks for post!
Ka-bar fidelis always :-)
 
very true, ... enjoyed it a lot
I'm curious, is their model 1217 still the leader in terms of sales? Or most popular or has that moved onto other models?
 
Thanks. Enjoyed watching that. An old stacked-leather ka-bar fighting knife was one of the first knives in my fledgling collection. Have owned and used many others since but it'll always have a special place in the mix.
 
The Ka-Bar folk just don't make knives - they are into knives.
Good people, good company!
 
I bought a Ka-Bar at a surplus store back in high school when my buddies and I first got our licenses and would head out to the primitive camping site in our cars.

That knife chopped, dug, cut, poked unruly legs back into the burn ring. It just worked. I still have it kicking around.

I bought a 1271 last year with an Amazon gift card. Every bit as cool as the classic model, maybe a bit "meaner" looking. I stripped the epoxy off the blade and cobbled together a leather sheath. I like it a lot. A plain edge with classic leather stacked handle would be a slam dunk imho.
 
That is a great story and a very good narrative. I was given a new KA-BAR knife by a fellow who was with my son in Iraq and came to visit a couple months later. My son and three others were killed in an ambush on their Humvee, several others including that guy were wounded. Oh Wow moment.
 
USMCPOP said:
That is a great story and a very good narrative. I was given a new KA-BAR knife by a fellow who was with my son in Iraq and came to visit a couple months later. My son and three others were killed in an ambush on their Humvee, several others including that guy were wounded. Oh Wow moment.
Click to expand...


Thank you for his service. That is not enough, but it is all I can think to say.
 
Someone tell me what's the deal with this knife's blade sitting lower or higher on the handle, when seen from the side. It's offset and not very consistent.
Search for kabars pictures and its all over the place. Look at fullmetals picture. That thing is dislocated. How can the hidden tang not be in the same place? Is this on purpose or just messed up? Old kabars don't seem to have this issue.
Video is awesome btw :thumbsup:
 
Last edited:
Very informative video and well done. I particularly enjoy learning about the history of American knife companies. Maybe Buck and Case need to make a similar video.

I don't own a classic "Ka-Bar" knife. Probably need to own one.
 
Nice video!! I have a Tanto blade Ka Bar and I love it.... super sharp and well balanced. I would like to own a fighting knife some day or boot knife.
 
I bought my first Ka-Bar at the Airborne PX on Ft Bragg when I was 19. There used to be a "knife guy" that made his rounds selling knives and sharpening them on a grindstone. That knife is what taught me how fast 1095 can rust. I mostly cut 550 cord with it until I got a Gerber multitool then it became more of an ornamental part of my LBE. I later gifted it to a guy in my team who got orders to PCS to Vicenza.

Kinda wish I had that knife still but I regretted the serrations on it almost immediately. I "upgraded" to a non-serrated 440C version that I kept for quite a while until later gifting that one as well. I still have a D2 one sitting around. I think I may pick up another 1095 one at some point.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top