Which is best the Kabar,Case or Ontario Marine knife?

Camillus was the first to make the kabar. Case actually designed the kabar in 1942 but was not given a contract due to the fact that they could not produce knives quick enough. Camillus was the largest manufacturer of the kabar, along with 3 other company's including union cutlery, which later became "kabar" during the war. Ontario has held the longest contract with the u.s military, and is the only knife company contracted by the military today. Kabar was not to first to make the kabar, in fact the company kabar came after the kabar knife. Union cutlery ,one of the 4 knife manufacturers during the war changed their company's name to kabar, which today is now owned by cutco. But all in all these knives are all made in the u.s and made well, and it all comes down to preference. But in my opinion I own case, kabar, and ontario, and I think Ontario is the best. Ontario even makes the case xx usmc knife. So two of these knives you have listed are both made by Ontario. Camillus, ontario and kabar, have all made the kabar for the military and have all done a good job, but i think it's safe to say that considering all the testing the military does on its knives and the long contract that Ontario has held, that Ontario makes the superior kabar style knife, otherwise they wouldn't have had a military contract for over half a century. Some people don't like the black coated leather, but honestly I think it proves more durable and longer lasting then other kabar style knives. Anyone who has seen an old kabar with a standard leather handle has seen what happens to unprotected leather on a knife that has seen action and use over time. Not to mention what happens to leather when it gets wet ? It dry rots, which was a big issue on slot of the older knives. In my experience the Ontario can also handle more abuse. But when it comes down to it, these knives were all made in the tristate area, and probably hired and fired slot of the same people, and shared ideas, and bought steel from the same company, so all these knives are well made and dependable, and they all follow the same specs and design, I just think Ontario has perfected it and made their knife to last longer and be more durable. If you served in the military and we're issued a kabar style knife, anytime after world war 2 it was an Ontario. Ontario is one of the oldest and best knife company's in the world.
 
Last edited:
I had a Camillus years ago and was very pleased with it. I lost it on an outing and never got around to replacing it.

I would replace it with a Kabar if I was getting another one.
 
When it comes down to it, they are all the same knife, but it's about which one is going to last the longest, and that is the Ontario. Ontario uses a better coating on their blade, and their leather handles won't dry rot. I mean the military tests all of these knives and has stuck with Ontario for over a half a century for a reason. Simply because Ontario is more dependable and doesn't have slot of the issues other knife company's did.
 
It's all about preference, because like I said all of these knives are made with the same steel, and design. It all comes down to which black coating you prefer, or how round you like the handle, or if you like your handle plain leather or coated leather, that's the only real difference, I have just had better experience with the Ontario.
 
Either of them are just about perfect soldier knives. Affordable, tough and great design for there purpose. American icon in my mind. I only have Expedia ce with KaBar but my cousin who was issued his and used is a Camillus and is still going strong on his farm after 20 years of use active and 10 years active farm duty. 🔪🔪
 
I have Ka Bar and Ontario Spec Plus fighter,I d give preference to Ontario due to better grip than Ka Bar,edge retention is very similar on both,same with re-sharpening ability.Spec Plus fighter is a wee larger blade and due to more aggressive angle of its tip and live sharpened secondary edge it have better piercing ability.Also I find Ontario to be better in slicing, cutting due to better refined edge.Don't have any Case.
 
I'm not saying kabar and camillus won't last, they are all pretty much the same knife, I just like the coating, and handle on Ontario more, and I think the Ontario will hold up better over time. The case is more like the kabar, but despite being a case knife, the knife is actually made by Ontario for case. So if you have a case, your still using an Ontario knife.
 
The one main reason I prefer the Ontario, is that the Ontario has kept the same quality. But kabar costs almost double the price of Ontario, and the kabar you can buy today is much different than the kabar tlwhich was used in the military. The kabar used in the military was made by union cutlery, kabar today is owned by cutco. My father has both the old and new kabar and the knives feel quite different. The old kabar has a better coating on the blade and the blade feels stronger and heavier on the old one. I just don't think that the kabar usmc fighting knife is worth twice the price of Ontario by any means and if anything it's quite the opposite. I just don't understand why people want to pay twice as much for the "kabar" brand. People are under this false idea that "kabar" brand is the original military knife but this is not true. Union cutlery was the first to actually stamp their knives with the kabar logo and later changing their company name to kabar, but these Knives have been refered to as kabar, before "kabar" was even a company. The original military kabar, was made by 4 different companys, mainly camillus. Union cutlery was just ONE of the 4 companys. So really the "kabar" brand is no more of a real kabar then the others, yet they are able to price their knives at a higher price, because of the name. The soldiers in the military had referred to these knives as kabar, since 1942, but kabar didn't become a knife company until around 1952 or something. All in all, case designed the original kabar in 1942, but other company's we contracted out to make it, camillus being the main one. And union cutlery being second to camillus.
 
Alot of the hype and history, of the kabar knife is based off a number of different versions of the knife made by a number of different company's. People in the military referred to the Ontario, camillus, kabar, and all the others as the same knife calling them all kabar. So the stories about the quality, toughness and dependability you have heard about the kabar, could be in reference to a number of Knives or knife companys, but the brand kabar receives all of the credit, due to them having the "kabar" name. In all actuality, most of the stories about the quality and toughness of the kabar come from Vietnam era, but during Vietnam the military issued Ontario not kabar, so most of the great things you have heard about the kabar, have actually been about the Ontario. The only time the military actually issued "kabar" brand knives was the first half of world war 2, and union cutlery, who later became "kabar" brand, was just one of 4 knife manufacturers, and they were second to camillus as this time, so "kabar" was only one of the knife company's, who made the kabar knife during world war 2 and they weren't even the biggest manufacturer. There were only actually a couple hundr d thousand "kabar" brand knives issued during the war, but over a million camillus were issued. So what I'm saying is that, the chances of a soldier having actually been issued a kabar brand knife during world war 2 was maybe 1 out of 4. So this goes back to me saying that most of the history and great things you have heard about the "kabar" are more likely in reference to camillus or Ontario . From the end of world war 2 until now, the "kabar" supplied by the military has been the Ontario 498, not "kabar" brand. So chances are alot of the stories you have heard from anyone who served towards the end of world war 2 until now have been in reference to the ontario 498. Anything before that were more than likely in reference to camillus. Like I said kabar is a good brand, but basically "kabar" brand didn't play a very big role in the military, and alot of the hype about the kabar is actually in reference to other knife companies, mainly Ontario and camillus. Anytime you hear someone talking about a military usmc kabar, don't take it literally, because more then likely they are talking about camillus, ontario, or any of the other knife company's that made the kabar during the war. But over the years due to all of these knives being referred to as the "kabar", the kabar brand has received almost of the credit for the military kabar style knife, but in all actuality, most of the great things you have read about the kabar, are actually in reference to the Ontario or camillus, not the "kabar" brand.
 
Last edited:
The Ka-Bar style blade is passe. You want a squaddie proof field knife get the Glock.

You want some modern iteration of Ka-Bar get a Becker.

Case and Camillus focus far to much of their energy on the low dollar no knowledge crowd to take seriously.
 
I still have my original Viet-Nam issue K-Bar ( read Ontario). However I also have real K-Bar marked knives and a Camillus (K-Bar). Ever time I carry any of them it takes me back to 1968. All are great knives. My original sheath is the belt hanging plastic type with nylon hanger. Newer knives have probably surpassed these but it is hard to argue with a design that has been around for so long and carried by a million service members.
Today a received a birthday present from my daughter of a K-Bar marked 241 (with USMC emblem) Happy Birthday Semper Fidelis. Still a top quality knife. Now I have to get a proper shadow box to display it in.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top