Saturday 7 July 2012

Ka-Bar - The Knife Of The Marine Corps

KA-BAR Knives from Common Machine Prod. on Vimeo.

Apropos of not a lot, I saw this on BB this morning and thought one or two of you might like it too. The Ka-Bar is certainly and iconic design, not totally convinced by the claims of 'finest craftsmanship' myself but with a few hours and a few sheets of sandpaper they can be made pretty user friendly. I've had one in the past and would have another one. More Soon SBW

6 comments:

thesecretcamper said...

Agreed, ka bars are nice but could be better. I'd have a bir more faith in them if the tang was a little thicker.

The Suburban Bushwacker said...

Secret Camper

I know what you mean, i often have the same concern myself, but in fairness the scandawegens have been using stick tangs since god was in short trousers and I've never seen one of them commplain that a stick tang has bent or snapped, so maybe, just maybe we are overly concerned?

SBW

Exploriment said...

I wonder whether it gained some foothold in the outdoorsy/camper/canoe-er/hunting/bushcrafty crowd, simply because it was available. How many service members came home with one from the war(s) and when they or their offspring went camping or hunting, that's what they had access to, so that is what they used. "Why buy some other knife? This works, I've already got it, it'll do."

Perhaps not the best knife for the purposes, but given it is a serviceable knife that was available to many, it gained a following amongst outdoorsy types.

The Suburban Bushwacker said...

Exploriment

They certainly are a classic, does anyone do a version with nice steel and a nicer finish?

SBW

Exploriment said...

Yeah I think that is called "something other than a Ka-Bar". Sorry, smart ass answer I know.

I think it is likely made to the specs it is to be grunt proof. A knife that can be mass produced, dig a hole for a mine, snap the bands off ammo crates, ram into the chest of a VC, and keep going.

South Texas Deer said...

but for me its still an idle design knife.