Anyone here use a KA-BAR?

[Hoodoo]

Hoodoo, wish you had not shown your moded one. I really like the look of that. Have you changed the bevel, or edge on it? Understand that one of the mods needed to make it useful.

Yes, I got rid of the secondary bevel and gave it a very acute convex so the edge is fairly thin. It bites into hardwood well.

 

[MartiniDave]

I've had a Ka-bar USMC Bowie for about 25 years now. It used to be used for fenland duck shooting trips, when I would shove it in the bank of the drainage ditch, under my foot to stop me sliding down into the cold water whilst waiting for the duck to flight in. I know that should be bad for the blade, but in all honesty is held up pretty well, keeping a keen enough edge for rudimentary hide building. It's also had a lot of use building pigeon hides, chopping stalks of sprouts etc etc. Since finding out about "bushcraft" I've adopted finer knives like the Moras, Woodlore & Helles for most of what I do, but the olk Ka-bar (mine is actually a Camillus) still gets used to supplement the smaller blades for some heavier chores.

I think I might "borrow" Hoodoo's modification to the cross guard, it looks like it could make the knife handier.

Incidentally, I also use a Dozier-KaBar folder as part of my shooting kit and find that to be a bit of a gem, it takes a good edge, holds it well and is robust enough to just wash in good hot water to get rid of blood and gunge.

I guess there just isn't "one knife" that does it all. Never mind, that's a good enough reason to buy a few!

Dave

 

[Minotaur]

Yes, I got rid of the secondary bevel and gave it a very acute convex so the edge is fairly thin. It bites into hardwood well.

Nearly ever time you read of someone using them, they have changed the edge.

I guess there just isn't "one knife" that does it all. Never mind, that's a good enough reason to buy a few!

Reason? Is it sharp, bright or shiny not good enough now? Damn, next its Kermit the Frog's birthday will not be a good enough excuse for a beer.

Sometimes I feel like Golem, want precious, my precious. Salesmen look at me very strangely.

 

[Tengu]

I think we should remember that for the great mass of humanity, a sharp bit of metal is all they are going to get.

If an old master was let in an art store, do you think he would worry about grinding up chemicals?

 

[sargey]

Me either. In fact I avoid it like the plague, but a survival blade has to have a fighting ability to do its job for me. I also think that a big knife can do the job of a small knife, but not the other way round, so if you going to carry one it has to have a certain size and strength to it.

quite a few of the moderating staff are quick to take the micky out of some of my apparent taste for "larger" knives. but i actually disagree with that concept. it has always seemed to me that relatively, it's generally harder to do small jobs with a big knife than the other way round. small knives can do what big knives do, it just takes a bit longer.

the increase in productivity and a much underated concept called "slicing" makes larger knives well worth having!


cheers, and.

 

[Ronnie]

I agree. When I'm in the kitchen I use a single knife to do almost everything - even the fiddly stuff. It's a big Sabatier with a 6" blade. When I'm in the wilds I like a big knife too.

 

[Xunil]

... the increase in productivity and a much underated concept called "slicing" makes larger knives well worth having!

I think that slicing fell out of favour years ago when folks discovered that it was the latest thing to beat the tar out of their knife with one piece of wood in an attempt to split another with it.

While they are doing this I normally split kindling and firewood aplenty in mere moments with a 'proper' knife or small hand axe if I have one with me. No doubt the batoners feel morally superior or feel otherwise rewarded for their efforts.

One thing I cannot understand for the life of me is that even if batoning works, why would you risk your most valuable of tools in that way ?

On a leisure trip it's inconvenient if something goes wrong - on a serious trip it could have very real impact.

I have seen knives, including some very expensive customs, broken when batoning with their respective owners looking genuinely amazed (not to mention more than a little upset) that this could ever happen. More and more folks are asking for knives of RC61 and harder - it's a just a matter of time...

Brush clearance, hide/shelter building, firewood etc can be done far more efficiently with a large knife than a small one and, let's face it, skinning small game and birds is easier without a knife at all. Just yank and you're done - no faffing...

I tend to carry a small knife that I seldom use and a larger one that is used for just about everything. Go figure...

 

[Jacknife]

I apologize for the TV crack. Knee-jerk reaction that shouldn't have been typed. Last post in this thread, the last word is yours.

That get's you some respect in my book. Good for you.


Very interesting blog. Just spent a couple of enjoyable hours reading it. You've a talent for it, keep it up.

http://oblio13.blogspot.com/

 

[santaman2000]

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.

Actually the KBAR was adopted because it was more of a utility knife than a fighting knife and as such was more"GI Proof." The real fighting knives are of a dagger or stilletto design(prior to the KBARs adoption the Marine Corps issued mostly those designs including the 1917 Trench Knife, The Model 3 Trench Knife and the British Commando Dagger) while the KBAR is in the classic Bowie design and is meant as a general pupose knife. It can be used to cut, slice, dig, hammer and pry open crates and generally be abused without breaking. Yes it is too large for most peolpe but if you check them out online they offer a shorter 5 inch version. That said most of us don't need more than a three and a half inch lockblade such as the Buck 110. I am a hunter but I suppose I am biased toward more classic designs like the Bowie as opposed to specialized blades such as skinners. I generally carry the same knife in the bush that I carry on a hunt and in my toolbox or horseback expeditions. Whatever knife I use for larger work, when I get to skinning, carving, cutting vegetables I usually go a lockblade or pocket knife. Have done so for over 45 years now. For chopping I've always had some sort of hatchet or machete although now I'm leaning more toward tommahawks as their length and hooked shape also make them good lifters under the bails of hot pots and dutch ovens.

 

[santaman2000]

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

New ones go for $45 and up in the US now. Ontario Knife Co. makes a usable version a bit cheaper but without the spit and polish KBAR puts on theirs (KBAR is a brand name and not realy the designation of the knife although that is the current slang). I expect the price in the UK would be about the same number in sterling due to import costs and VAT. That is if you can get one there. My understanding is that it has been banned from the UK. Look up KBAR.com for there full line of products, likewise for Ontario Knives.com.

 

[santaman2000]

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.

The Pilot survival knife was adopted around WWII (the same time as the KBAR). Actually the Rambo knives copied it, not the other way around.

 

[santaman2000]

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

They still make the classic stacked leather handle but they also offer a kryton handled madel now.

 

[santaman2000]

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.)

Buck is a good company with a lot of good knives, have been for decades. However the steel in the KBAR type and the survival knife is actually their best strength. It's 1095 carbon steel. The steel of choice for decades until someone thought of making knives of stainless. Unfortunately stainless is made to take the abuse of being thrown around in a tackle or tool box but doesn't sharpen easily. I've not only been bush-whacking, hunting, fishing and logging most of my life (so I'm fairly well aquainted with knives and blades) but 20 some odd years of my working life was as a metalsmith so I'm also fairly aquainte with metalurgy. 1095 carbon is still the steel of choice for tool grade steel; it's reasonably close to #1 tool steel which is what files and saws are made of. Granted they wear out more quickly than stainless but it is after all a tool and can be replaced. That said I still have the same cheap carbon steel machete that my Dad bought in Panama. Between he and I we have put more than 65 years of hard use on it and it shows no real wear.

 

[santaman2000]

Spoken like someone who watches a lot of TV.

When I retired I gave away my knives, flight helmet, flight jackets, flight suits, ALICE pack, utility uniforms and whatnot, mostly to kids. Is that good enough, or do you need notarized statements from them and a copy of my retired ID card? I noticed an E-tool in the basement recently, would you like it?

Why did you give away government property instead of turning it back in?

 

[santaman2000]

Many opinions have been given on this thread including several of my own. The one thing we need to remember though is why we like bushcrafting (at least why I like it and some of you will identify with me I'm sure). Simply being outdoors is a large part. So is being self reliant while balancing the with being in the company of like minded people. But like any enjoyable pursuit I like both knowing that I am reasonabley competent while also being challenged by new experiences. That includes my ability to choose and use my equipment. I'm comfortable with all the knives I've ever used but.....!!!! I always want to try a new one! To sum up why we do this; we do it to have fun! BTW for the member who said he has a KaBar made by Cammilus; stop using it immediately! Cmmilus went out of bussiness and though they have since returned, they no longer make these knives. They are still fairly common but I expect in a decade or so their collector value will far outweigh any other value they might have. If you really like the KaBar type and want to keep using it then get one from KaBar or Ontario Knife Co. and put away your Cammilus. Same applies to Pilot's Knife or Utility Military Pocketknives from Cammilus. And above all, have fun in the bush and thinking about the bush.

 

[Alfredo]

I used a Ka-Bar 1217 on a regular basis for 1 year on the woods, both for hard and light jobs. Due to the dimension, it's more prone to the chopping and batoning, but it's a good tool and a good general camp knife at the end. Handle it's also really confortable, and the steel (1095) it's not bad at all. I love mine. Alfredo

 

[hog]

Not a Ka Bar but..

Still a great knife.

 

[3bears]

Not a Ka Bar but..

Still a great knife.

oooooooooh now that's not 1/2 bad, much sorter blade than my mate's KA-BAR, what is it? I like the hammer pommel, this would make a fair diving knife in SS

 

[hog]

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.

Respectfully disagree, its a general utility knife, time tested and trusted, will do all the tasks required in a camp and then some.Cannot see how it would lable one as a tender foot, are we all to carry Moras and Woodlore look alikes to conform to be in the 'Bushy Club'.

 

[santaman2000]

oooooooooh now that's not 1/2 bad, much sorter blade than my mate's KA-BAR, what is it? I like the hammer pommel, this would make a fair diving knife in SS

It's the old style Pilot's Survival Knife (or in military nomenclature: "Knife, Pilot's survival") It was the standard knife in aircrew survival kits from WWII until about 2 or 3 years ago and I believe they're still packing then until supplies are exausted. It's still being made by Ontario Knife Company but Camillus no longer make them. Ontario Knife Company also offers the new version with Kraton handle. They're not especially expensive