USN MK 1 or short Ka Bar?

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xing

Joined
Sep 12, 2009
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So I'm looking for a general purpose hunting, camping, hiking, and survival/combat fixed blade knife and I've narrowed it down to these two. I like the ruggedness of the short Ka Bar but am not a big fan of the obtuse grind, which I have heard makes it hard to sharpen. The USN MK 1 has a full flat grind and from what I know takes a wicked edge, but I have some concerns about the durability of the thinner blade and the ergonomics of the thicker handle. Which one do you prefer or why? And before you wisecrackers tell me so, no, buying both is not an option :p
 
xing said:
So I'm looking for a general purpose hunting, camping, hiking, and survival/combat fixed blade knife and I've narrowed it down to these two. I like the ruggedness of the short Ka Bar but am not a big fan of the obtuse grind, which I have heard makes it hard to sharpen. The USN MK 1 has a full flat grind and from what I know takes a wicked edge, but I have some concerns about the durability of the thinner blade and the ergonomics of the thicker handle. Which one do you prefer or why? And before you wisecrackers tell me so, no, buying both is not an option :p
Click to expand...

My Short KA-BAR's are my Pilot's Knife replacement. They are my primary belt knife.

The only problem I see is w/ the small dia. handle and large hands, but the O-rings go a long way to resolving that.

They are lighter, stronger, and better balanced than the Mk I. I also use a Smith's PP1 to set the edge and keep'em sharp. I know... It's a field knife.

The Mk I goes in the pack or is a camp knife, and it is a slicing wonder. But it is not the field knife the Short KA-BAR is.

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GR
 
same stick tang and way better ergo's for everything with the mk1. I have a short kabar that is now my wifes carry up north. She has tiny hands perfect for the tiny handle.
 
All in all either one will serve you well. It just depends on what knife feels better in hand. Brad the butcher both are full tang they just are not full profile tang
 
I prefer the blade style of the Mk1. I love mine, and only wish I would have ordered the leather handled version.
 
the short is a 75% sized copy of the original, including the handle -- the Mk1 has a larger (and more comfortable) handle, more substantial tang, and I have no fear that the flat ground blade can handle any reasonable use you may need it to do -- and likely some of the unreasonable things!
I had a Mk1 up until this weekend when it was passed on to a buddy's 12 year old son as his first "real" knife.
 
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