- Joined
- Apr 21, 2012
- Messages
- 1,138
Its been done a million times, but another opinion never hurts.
Intro:
I've had my Kraton handled plain ol' Ka-Bar for about two years now and beat the snot out of it in the summer humidity of thePine Barons of southern NJ, and the unforgiving winters of the Adirondack Park of NY (through more miles of paddling and hiking than I care to remember) and Ill be the first to admit that it has its drawbacks but that does not change the fact that this is still an amazing knife.
Construction and Quality:
Overall build quality is above standard for a production model knife, and considering that you can get this knife for under 50 dollars (including shipping) that is a feature increasingly uncommon among other knives in its price range. Everything is shipped snug, even, and sharp out of the box and two years of hard use later its still solid as a rock. The materials (with an exeption of the Kraton) are simple and strong good old 1095 steel takes an edge and keeps it well (as long as you keep it oiled). Detailed specs of the knife can bee found here:http://www.kabar.com/knives/detail/26
Feel and Useability:
I won't lie its not the most comfortable handle in the world but the Kraton provides a sure grip even when wet or greasy and the design of it is idiot proof no chance you're going to slip onto the blade but you can't really call it ergonomic its more hand compatible than comfortable. While the back hand guard makes choking up difficult it is possible and while I haven't tried it myself I am told you can clean game with it with a little technique. It comes from the factory with a blunted swedge (which I later changed with a little work with my Lansky jig) and this will affect batoning a little but it's still perfectly doable. As for light chopping it actually worked pretty well, it has just enough length and weight to limb things up to two or three inches in diameter without a whole lot of work, but its no substitute for an axe or large knife.
Conclusion:
so what you have when you really look at it you have a knife that doesn't really excel in any feild-craft duties. Thats fine, for a few reasons.
1 it was designed as a fighting knife, it is built to kill people not skin game.
2 it is also fully capable of doing all those field-craft tasks but Its like using a traditional push mower to mow a football field; It'll do it but its not the best tool for the job.
3 the thing's damn near indestructible (where as a Becker would be literally indestructible) Its one of those classic designs that just keeps on going, and there must be a good reason for that. If you take care of it It'll last more than a lifetime.
Should you buy it?
I'd say a definite maybe. If you are looking for a bushcraft knife there are better candidates, If you're looking for a tactical or deployment knife, there are stronger options. If, however, you want a knife with a classic look that will take a punch in the face and ask for more this is your knife. If you want a knife that won't fail any task its this knife. It might not top the charts in any one thing but it does a on par job with most of them.
As it looks out of the box
My knife pre Adirondack adventuring (and my vintage Buckmaster for some reason, don't remember why)
And lastly, post ADK hard use and hand guard mod
^I sanded out some of the pine tar and balsam sap that was stuck in the blade coating, figured I'd clean 'er up before I parade her around.
ps. this is the knife I grab when I don't know what I'm going to be doing when I go out, I usually have my BK-14, my Gerber axe, and my Estwing hatchet in my gear when I go out into the woods, the Ka-Bar gets by with a little help from her friends.
Intro:
I've had my Kraton handled plain ol' Ka-Bar for about two years now and beat the snot out of it in the summer humidity of thePine Barons of southern NJ, and the unforgiving winters of the Adirondack Park of NY (through more miles of paddling and hiking than I care to remember) and Ill be the first to admit that it has its drawbacks but that does not change the fact that this is still an amazing knife.
Construction and Quality:
Overall build quality is above standard for a production model knife, and considering that you can get this knife for under 50 dollars (including shipping) that is a feature increasingly uncommon among other knives in its price range. Everything is shipped snug, even, and sharp out of the box and two years of hard use later its still solid as a rock. The materials (with an exeption of the Kraton) are simple and strong good old 1095 steel takes an edge and keeps it well (as long as you keep it oiled). Detailed specs of the knife can bee found here:http://www.kabar.com/knives/detail/26
Feel and Useability:
I won't lie its not the most comfortable handle in the world but the Kraton provides a sure grip even when wet or greasy and the design of it is idiot proof no chance you're going to slip onto the blade but you can't really call it ergonomic its more hand compatible than comfortable. While the back hand guard makes choking up difficult it is possible and while I haven't tried it myself I am told you can clean game with it with a little technique. It comes from the factory with a blunted swedge (which I later changed with a little work with my Lansky jig) and this will affect batoning a little but it's still perfectly doable. As for light chopping it actually worked pretty well, it has just enough length and weight to limb things up to two or three inches in diameter without a whole lot of work, but its no substitute for an axe or large knife.
Conclusion:
so what you have when you really look at it you have a knife that doesn't really excel in any feild-craft duties. Thats fine, for a few reasons.
1 it was designed as a fighting knife, it is built to kill people not skin game.
2 it is also fully capable of doing all those field-craft tasks but Its like using a traditional push mower to mow a football field; It'll do it but its not the best tool for the job.
3 the thing's damn near indestructible (where as a Becker would be literally indestructible) Its one of those classic designs that just keeps on going, and there must be a good reason for that. If you take care of it It'll last more than a lifetime.
Should you buy it?
I'd say a definite maybe. If you are looking for a bushcraft knife there are better candidates, If you're looking for a tactical or deployment knife, there are stronger options. If, however, you want a knife with a classic look that will take a punch in the face and ask for more this is your knife. If you want a knife that won't fail any task its this knife. It might not top the charts in any one thing but it does a on par job with most of them.
As it looks out of the box
My knife pre Adirondack adventuring (and my vintage Buckmaster for some reason, don't remember why)
And lastly, post ADK hard use and hand guard mod
^I sanded out some of the pine tar and balsam sap that was stuck in the blade coating, figured I'd clean 'er up before I parade her around.
ps. this is the knife I grab when I don't know what I'm going to be doing when I go out, I usually have my BK-14, my Gerber axe, and my Estwing hatchet in my gear when I go out into the woods, the Ka-Bar gets by with a little help from her friends.
