Anyone here use a KA-BAR?

[Bigfoot]

Hi folks,

I am not what you would call an avid collector of blades but I have a small collection of military type knives and one I have always liked is the USMC KA-BAR. I love the feel of the compressed leather handle and the weight feels good in the hand, albeit balance is not perfect. Designed as a utility knife (and also a killing weapon), I appreciate it's a tad too large for "normal" bushcraft type work but I wondered if anyone here had used one on a regular basis and if so I would love to hear your feedback and thoughts on its practicality or otherwise.

I have never used mine but have often wondered what it would handle like when out on a wild camp. All comments appreciated.

 

[Oblio13]

It's a cheap fighting knife, impractical as a camp or utility knife, and carrying one will brand you as a tenderfoot. If you want to skin, carve, cut vegetables, clean fish, etc., get a Mora. If you want to chop, buy an axe. If you want to stab people but don't have much money to spend, then a Ka-bar might be for you. Although a pistol, machete or stick will beat it in a fight.

 

[woof]

Well i've never been in a knife fight, so i bow to Oblio13's experience, but they seem very popular over on bcusa. It may be the military connection, but any knife is surely usable, just that some designs are better.
I have always wanted one, and recal seeing them at armsfairs in the 70's, but they were a £5, so never did get one.

Rob

 

[JonathanD]

They are a decent knife. I know a few experienced people that use theirs regularly. They don't care how other people may brand them as they could probably do more with their KaBar than most people could do with a Mora. Each to their own. They aren't for everyone, but they certainly have their place in the bushcraft scene.

 

[Landy_Dom]

I carried an Ontario Pilot Survival knife (similar but 5" instead of 7") right through my scouting days and it did me just fine. Whittled tent pegs, gutted fish, chopped food...... A little Rambo looking but then this was the 80's

Dom.

 

[Xunil]

You could adopt the attitude (as I do) of not giving a flying fig what others may choose to think about you based on the kit you carry and just use what you like.

Folks were (very successfully) doing outdoorsy stuff with Ka-Bar and similar military knives for donkeys years because for quite a lot time they were the only tool that was familiar and readily (and cheaply) available.

The double guard gets in the way of some carving tasks but you can work around that by adjusting your technique – some guys I know have removed the top lug of the guard which also solves the problem very nicely.

The knife is right on the edge of being a little big for general camp work but (very handily) more than big enough so that you don’t need to carry a hatchet, so although there are some trade-offs it is one of those tools that can do everything, if you adjust your approach.

Relatively inexpensive, takes and holds a good edge, big enough to handle small axe work and, with the right technique, you can also carve with it they tend to last forever and so I have no problem with them or with anyone who uses one. Thumbs up from me

I met a guy in America two years ago who was half Cherokee and a huge bear of a man. He was living a semi self sufficient lifestyle and constantly carried a Ka Bar knife as his tool of choice – he had a lot of experience with it during years in the armed forces and he naturally gravitated to what he knew best in his civilian life. He is one of the most knowledgeable people I have ever met on the subject of foraging and actually living for long periods in the outdoors. His kit was almost all ex-military, but he was on a different level to most in how he used it and I am pretty sure that the last thing on his mind was what others might think of him.

I don’t currently own or use a Ka Bar but I have in the past and the chap I gave my last one to is still merrily using it some five or six years on.

One final point: the stacked leather handle doesn't like getting soaked, so make sure you keep it out of severe weather or treat it with something before you go out.

Have fun

 

[woof]

I carried an Ontario Pilot Survival knife (similar but 5" instead of 7") right through my scouting days and it did me just fine. Whittled tent pegs, gutted fish, chopped food...... A little Rambo looking but then this was the 80's

Dom.

I remember these at the fairs aswell, came in a sheath with a sharpening stone, and a leg tie down ?.

Rob

 

[Oblio13]

... Ontario Pilot Survival knife ...

Marginally more useful than a Ka-bar, but still not a practical or good knife. Same design limitations, and the steel is of exceptionally poor quality. Like most military equipment that's unlikely to be used for it's designed purpose, they're made by the lowest bidder.

Both of these knives have achieved a kind of cult status that they don't deserve, sort of like Harley Davidson motorcycles.

(Twenty years in the Marines, first infantry, where I was issued a Ka-bar, then pilot, where I was issued an Ontario. Gave both away. At survival and SERE schools, everybody wanted to borrow knives from those who had bought better ones on the civilian market. I had a Buck and a Kershaw. Still have them around somewhere.)

 

[Squidders]

Don't worry about being labelled a tenderfoot Bigfoot - As far as I know, nobody set up an international bushcraft police and standards agency to decide who is a tenderfoot or not, so if you fancy using one give it a go and form your own opinions. Leave self proclaimed experts to their soap boxes and enjoy your interests without fear.

 

[sargey]

the boys from natural bushcraft did a cracking review on a kabar a while back....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1C-l5vRqByk&feature=related

the kabar is reputed to be a development of lester? marbles' "ideal" hunting knife.

perhaps it's not quite ideal really, it's not exactly a whittling knife is it? that big crossguard does get in the way a bit, and the sharpened clip can be more of a hindrance than a help. both of these last faults are easily remedied. i believe hoodoo has some good pics of the mod's he made to his.

on the plus side, the kabar's only 4mm thick, which combined with it not having a full tang, means it's surprisingly light for such a big knife. i've got a few full tang knives that just suck the heat out of your hands in the cold weather. no full tang means it's easy to keep using without gloves in the winter. the edge retention isn't fantastic, it's a bog basic carbon steel blade. but once it's been reprofiled, it is easily sharpened. it does have a nice pointy point.

there really isn't much that you can't do with a kabar and a bat if you've a mind to.

http://www.olive-drab.com/od_other_edged_kabar.php

if someone was setting out to buy a camp knife, i'd certainly steer them somewhere else. but if you've got one, or come across one that you don't mind modding, it can be a satisfying project. uncle ray says: bushcraft is about looking beyond the obvious, and seeing the possibilities.

cheers, and.

 

[ekaphoto]

Its funny the rection you get with Ka Bar. People either love them or hate them. First of all the person using the knife is more important thn the knife. The KaBar, like any knife has strong points and weak points. I have used them a bit in the woods. Overall they will get the job done. While they will skin a critter a small pocket knife is better for skinning IMHO. As for cutting veggies etc round camp they work well. The Steel is basic 1095 carbon steel, not fancy but it gets razor sharp and sharpens easly. Is it the best? No but again IMHO bushcrft is about enjoying the outdoors with what you have not with the best gear you can buy.

 

[3bears]

a friend of mine keeps a ka-bar on hand most of the time, though it's one of the Tanto tip type I find the blade a little bit long for my own use, but it's a crackingly made knife.
The only big draw back to it in my opinion is that it looks a bit too 'tactical' and could draw a lot of attention and hard to answer questions if you got lifted. I've found people tend to be a lot more accepting of a more traditional type BC knife ( wooden handle, shortish blade ect) than a more military type looking one, well in my experience anyway!

 

[Bigfoot]

Thanks for all your replies, folks, much appreciated.

I tend to use my Mora clipper for general stuff but I do fancy giving the KA-bar a whirl sometime. It reminds me of a fairly biggish knife I had as a boy scout (back in the days when no one would give a second thought to lads having a knife dangling at their side ) so maybe it will bring back memories. And if anyone thinks I'm a tenderfoot, then no big deal, I'm not that sensitive

Cheers all.

 

[satosato]

I have two USMC, one small one big and I "convex" them for my campings, I like them and quite happy to use them when there are others around. I find them safer to use because of the finger guard.

http://www.youtube.com/user/virtuovice#p/search/2/r6UuNJ51wi8

 

[Minotaur]

It's a cheap fighting knife, impractical as a camp or utility knife, and carrying one will brand you as a tenderfoot. If you want to skin, carve, cut vegetables, clean fish, etc., get a Mora. If you want to chop, buy an axe.

?

Ok, so you have a knife modeled after the Bowie. A bowie style blade was the choice for nearly all outdoor people in the US. In fact for a while it was the knife. It is only recently that the Mora has started to gain favor.

Also you can infer from Nessmuk, that they carried a second knife for small tasks.

If you want to stab people but don't have much money to spend, then a Ka-bar might be for you.

Could a Moderator please confirm whether I can point out why this person needs to learn what they are talking about?

Although a pistol, machete or stick will beat it in a fight.

Ditto above. Please, pretty please!

Have said it before, if I can take one knife it would be a Ka Bar. If you like, and it feels right, use it. Be interested to see what you use with it? See no reason why you could not use it in a Nessmuk style set up as the large blade.

 

[Xunil]

?

Ok, so you have a knife modeled after the Bowie. A bowie style blade was the choice for nearly all outdoor people in the US. In fact for a while it was the knife. It is only recently that the Mora has started to gain favor.

Also you can infer from Nessmuk, that they carried a second knife for small tasks.

Be interested to see what you use with it? See no reason why you could not use it in a Nessmuk style set up as the large blade.

That brings an interesting point up - in the blackpowder days the standard was a large belt knife and a smaller patch knife - the patch knife was always kept super-sharp and (often) used solely for one purpose, while the large knife was used for all camp chores and 'other mischief'.

It was very common to carry a small/large knife combo and many would also have a friction folder as well as an axe, depending on what they were getting up to

I remember reading in a mountain man article years ago about an account of someone heading into the Canadian (I think) interior and he was criticised for, among other things, only having one knife.

As you say, a Ka-Bar could easily be used as the larger knife in a Nessmuk trio style.

 

[Ronnie]

 

[Oblio13]

?... A bowie style blade was the choice for nearly all outdoor people in the US....

Only in the movies.

The archetypal knife on the American frontier was basically a kitchen knife. If you Google "Green River" you'll get the idea. ("Green River" was what the British trade knives stamped "GR" were called.) Even these were larger than ideal for our purposes, as we are unlikely to fight many Indians or skin many buffalo.

I'll poke this Bowie-Knife-Love hornet nest one more time: At the beginning of the Civil War, it was fashionable for new soldiers heading off to war to be photographed with all their accoutrements, and Bowie knives were almost universal. By the end of the war, after four years of outdoor living experience and very serious fighting, they had almost categorically been discarded. They weren't worth their weight.

 

[Hoodoo]

Only in the movies.

The archetypal knife on the American frontier was basically a kitchen knife. If you Google "Green River" you'll get the idea. ("Green River" was what the British trade knives stamped "GR" were called.) Even these were larger than ideal for our purposes, as we are unlikely to fight many Indians or skin many buffalo.

I'll poke this Bowie-Knife-Love hornet nest one more time: At the beginning of the Civil War, it was fashionable for new soldiers heading off to war to be photographed with all their accoutrements, and Bowie knives were almost universal. By the end of the war, after four years of outdoor living experience and very serious fighting, they had almost categorically been discarded. They weren't worth their weight.

This is a pretty simplistic (to say the least) recounting of the history of the bowie knife. But I think as long as it suits your agenda, you will believe anything. More power to ya. But pseudo arguments that people will call you a tenderfoot (this has nothing to do with the knife--nor is it likely to be true for that matter), or the army guys all wanted bucks or kershaws (my brother was a marine in Vietnam and loved his kabar but like most military that come from diverse backgrounds, he was no knife eggspurt--and speaking of bucks, the 110 is a baby bowie design that was one of the most popular modern American knives) or the civil war soldiers threw theirs away, or the steel is crap (really? 1095 is not as good as buck 420HC??--tell that to TOPS) are pure hyperbole. Let's face it, you are trolling here. Don't you have anything better to do?

 

[ekaphoto]

Only in the movies.

The archetypal knife on the American frontier was basically a kitchen knife. If you Google "Green River" you'll get the idea. ("Green River" was what the British trade knives stamped "GR" were called.) Even these were larger than ideal for our purposes, as we are unlikely to fight many Indians or skin many buffalo.

I'll poke this Bowie-Knife-Love hornet nest one more time: At the beginning of the Civil War, it was fashionable for new soldiers heading off to war to be photographed with all their accoutrements, and Bowie knives were almost universal. By the end of the war, after four years of outdoor living experience and very serious fighting, they had almost categorically been discarded. They weren't worth their weight.

I don't think you "get it" about what bushcraft is about. It is about the knowledge of the person, not the gear they carry. If you don't like the KaBar then don't get one. BTW the Bowie knife was very very popular on the frontier. It was named after Jim Bowie that was killed at the Almo and was a favorite of outdoorsmen for years. The "Marine KaBar" is slightly modified from a very popular hunting knife of the late 19th and 20th century. Comparing civil war soldiers photos and extrapliting that to what people carried in the out doors is a bit of a streach. BTW I grew up in the outdoors and for any serious expidition into the wilderness I recommend at least two knives for several reasons not the least of is that if you loose one you have a backup.