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53K views 44 replies 31 participants last post by  AST/JEST/SERE/USNRet 
#1 ·
The Famous KA-BAR! A great addition to your B.O.B. My latest knife review on this Classic tool for survival. Thanks for watching~

 
#12 ·
Also, man you thanked 0 people in all your posts? Great contributions.
Speaking for myself, I chose to not thank (or scold if that's an option here) anyone due to me seeing as it could be "political". I don't want to encourage some and/or discourage others (by not recognizing them). Wisest thing I've ever learned is to treat everyone equally.

Can't speak for anyone else tho and my POV may be all FUBAR'd. Won't be the first time.... ;)
 
#20 ·
Sootch00, I like the way you think! The KA-BAR IS one of the best fighting knives ever made... Kinda the AK of knives if thats not too corny? Really though it is simple, stout, very well shaped, compact enough to be really portable yet large enough to be a serious weapon in a fight, and has stood the test of time!
I currently have something as Iconic in my BOB, The Buck special edition...

Very close and never leave home in an emergency without it :thumb:
 

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#31 ·
I have a USMC KaBar and another just like it with the Kraton G handle and a Buck 119. All three are great knives. Don't know if they are good for fighting because I use a knife more as a tool than a weapon, I have to cut alot of stuff while in the woods, but so far a person hasn't been one of them.
 
#21 ·
I have a KaBar and love it. I think the regular sized Kabars are monster sized. A bit too heavy to have on your hip all day long. I went with the smaller sized one. Just big enough to be a fighting knife. Very simple grip, but works well. Haven't used it a ton, but still it very sharp. It needed a light dressing when I got it, but only a few passes to make it very good.
 
#24 ·
DBR - your modification to the blade sounds much like what I ended up doing to my Kabar 30+ years ago after a friend managed to break 1/8" off the tip. I filed it down to a straight line from the top of the clip to the "new" tip - then sharpened it. It has worked out quite well.
 
#26 ·
Interesting video, Thanks!

This is one of the few knives that I've never been afraid to use as a tool. Have always had one since my Boy Scout days, through the military, and now down on the farm. I'd put the KABAR right up there with the SAK, 1911, and 870 as some of the most useful icons ever made.
 
#27 ·
This Ka-Bar is a good field knife or survival knife and I have had one since my days in the Corps. However for a "Street Blade" it is too big. I prefer a good small Kershaw open assisted 3 inch blade for the concrete jungle. I prefer small blades due to the quickness and good control it gives me. Plus I can conceal a small blade if I have to just by tucking it behind my wrist in an ice pick grip and crossing my arms.

Remember you don't need a big knife to cause serious damage to the human body. Attacking the neck is the best option since it gives you quickest results and it is the least covered body part.
 
#36 ·
I'm not a KA-BAR 'hater' but there's certainly better knives out there for the same money. The one in the picture was bought at the MCRD Exchange right after boot camp graduation. I carried it for over 10 years as a 0311.

The knife next to it is a much better field knife IMO, it's a RAT 7 also by Ontario.

In my time in I saw many broken KA-BARS, you have to be careful with that thin tang and fine point. They do take a good edge, 1095 steel is a good steel for a general purpose knife. They will rust if your in salt water, we did a lot of 'combat swimming' and the knives would rust under the grips till the tang broke if you didn't squirt them up with WD40 regularly.

I've been to two 'Riddles of Steel' with James Keating, but took a Bagwell Bowie both times, KA-BAR's aren't really 'fighting knives' IMO. They are too lightly constructed and about half as long as a fighting knife needs to be. What they are is a utility knife that would make a good back-up weapon, but that could be said of any good field knife.

There's a BIG difference between 'knife fighting' and fighting with a knife, most knife attacks are ambushes, not blade to blade duels. The more I trained with blades the more I valued my handgun! :cool:

Take care,
 

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#40 ·
KA-BAR's aren't really 'fighting knives' IMO. They are too lightly constructed and about half as long as a fighting knife needs to be.
A 14-inch blade wouldn't have been too useful to a WWII Marine in a small foxhole. The Japanese were known to jump in those holes at night. Marines needed something lightweight, easy to wield, and fast in the hand. KA-BARs killed more than a few Japanese soldiers, according to the memoirs I have read.
 
#37 ·
I carried the same USMC issued KaBar in combat that my grandfather carried in the island hopping campaign of the Pacific, my dad carried the same one in Vietnam as well.

It's been to war with 3 generations in my family and is probably my most prized possession.
 
#41 ·
It is not a necro if it is still on the front page right?
I love my Ka-Bar. I picked up mine from MCAS Miramar back in 2001-2002 time frame. it was a special edition one that was made in 1998. they had it on sale to get rid of it. I can personally attest that you can butcher a doe with one in a pinch.
 
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