- Joined
- Jan 1, 2011
- Messages
- 953
Well there's no denying the Zompocalypse is near, even Tooj has fallen victim to the Undead horde. Moose saw fit to help a few of us out by issuing some serious Zombie-slaying equipment, and fortunately a brand new Kabar ZK War Sword found its way into my hands.
Ok, all zombie kidding aside, I've long wondered what the new ZK lineup from Kabar would be like. Apart from the obvious gimmicky concept behind them, was it a real, practical blade, that could handle the type of stuff I expect a KaBar blade to be up to? Well from first impressions, absolutely.
This knife is a beast. It has a 9", flat ground blade made of SK5/1085 steel, finished with a black, slightly textured coating. It has the ZK biohazard logo stamped prominently on the blade, and of course those toxic green scales. A nicely jimped thumb ramp leads up to a very square, sharp edged spine. The handles share similar, if not identical in design to the Adventurer series from Kabar, which includes the Potbelly and Baconmaker (Which the included Archeron neck knife shares a similar blade with). The handle design is interesting, but feels a little clumsy in all but a forward position grip. The blade has a recurve along the edge, the spine has a more subtle recurve to it which creates a pretty interesting blade shape, reminiscent of the Greek Kopis short sword. The balance lies just at the forward tip of the handle slabs, making the knife feel quite maneuverable, but still has the heft to make a great chopper. The edge was very sharp out of the box, and I had no problems shaving hair off my arm.
While the Toxic Green handles are certainly an eye catcher, the included Black slabs tame the knife quite a bit, and you're able to appreciate the overall design a little easier. Once the black slabs are on, the knife looks like it means business, whether as a very large tactical knife, or as an awesome camp knife. I've personally kept one of each, the black on the outside so it doesn't stand out like a sore thumb when carrying it, and the green on the inside cuz it's neato looking.
The sheath is actually decent relative to what I expected, which was garbage. The liner holds the knife nicely, with a notched center where the top of the handle slab slips in. The outer pouch/stuff sack/duffle bag is HUGE. It will indeed hold a can of beer, or in this case, Cherry Coke. The drawstring is toxic green also, and there is a large velcro square on the front to mount your favorite Morale patch. The back of the sheath sports Molle style straps to act as attachment points for pack or vest carry. Also on the reverse is the green ZK logo as well.
I have to say, the huge stuff pouch on the front seemed a little over the top, and I couldnt see much of a use for it, I decided to cut the pouch off, to slim down the sheath and make it a little practical. Just before I was about to do this, the drawstring came out of the stitching, rendering it useless anyways. The Archeron parasite knife was sharp and up to the task of removing the outer pouch. I like the way it looks now, cleaner and more streamlined.
From my initial handling of this knife, it looks like it will make an excellent chopper, and the girlfriend has already claimed it as her own. It's perfectly suited to her, light, comfortable and has lime green scales! I'll definitely be playing around with this one on the next camping trip, and I'll make sure to let you guys know how it performs.
Ok, all zombie kidding aside, I've long wondered what the new ZK lineup from Kabar would be like. Apart from the obvious gimmicky concept behind them, was it a real, practical blade, that could handle the type of stuff I expect a KaBar blade to be up to? Well from first impressions, absolutely.
This knife is a beast. It has a 9", flat ground blade made of SK5/1085 steel, finished with a black, slightly textured coating. It has the ZK biohazard logo stamped prominently on the blade, and of course those toxic green scales. A nicely jimped thumb ramp leads up to a very square, sharp edged spine. The handles share similar, if not identical in design to the Adventurer series from Kabar, which includes the Potbelly and Baconmaker (Which the included Archeron neck knife shares a similar blade with). The handle design is interesting, but feels a little clumsy in all but a forward position grip. The blade has a recurve along the edge, the spine has a more subtle recurve to it which creates a pretty interesting blade shape, reminiscent of the Greek Kopis short sword. The balance lies just at the forward tip of the handle slabs, making the knife feel quite maneuverable, but still has the heft to make a great chopper. The edge was very sharp out of the box, and I had no problems shaving hair off my arm.
While the Toxic Green handles are certainly an eye catcher, the included Black slabs tame the knife quite a bit, and you're able to appreciate the overall design a little easier. Once the black slabs are on, the knife looks like it means business, whether as a very large tactical knife, or as an awesome camp knife. I've personally kept one of each, the black on the outside so it doesn't stand out like a sore thumb when carrying it, and the green on the inside cuz it's neato looking.
The sheath is actually decent relative to what I expected, which was garbage. The liner holds the knife nicely, with a notched center where the top of the handle slab slips in. The outer pouch/stuff sack/duffle bag is HUGE. It will indeed hold a can of beer, or in this case, Cherry Coke. The drawstring is toxic green also, and there is a large velcro square on the front to mount your favorite Morale patch. The back of the sheath sports Molle style straps to act as attachment points for pack or vest carry. Also on the reverse is the green ZK logo as well.
I have to say, the huge stuff pouch on the front seemed a little over the top, and I couldnt see much of a use for it, I decided to cut the pouch off, to slim down the sheath and make it a little practical. Just before I was about to do this, the drawstring came out of the stitching, rendering it useless anyways. The Archeron parasite knife was sharp and up to the task of removing the outer pouch. I like the way it looks now, cleaner and more streamlined.
From my initial handling of this knife, it looks like it will make an excellent chopper, and the girlfriend has already claimed it as her own. It's perfectly suited to her, light, comfortable and has lime green scales! I'll definitely be playing around with this one on the next camping trip, and I'll make sure to let you guys know how it performs.
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