Ka-bar Vs more expensive knives

survivor, you cant go wrong with either Strider or TOPS, Mike Fuller of TOPS is one of my best friends and a very honorable man. Mick and Duane are good friends of mine also and all make great knives and they stand behind them. Why the camo? Well, why not! Knives dont have to be boring, and although there may be little actual combat value for a camo knife, who knows, it might make the difference to some soldier someday.

Greg, thanks for the compliments! (You too Andy, where do I send the check?) :) I have to give credit on the Camo to the Strider guys, that is where the idea came from and I have the Strider guys blessing to use their idea. My camo is different in that the dark color on mine is selectively coated Boron Carbide, tough stuff, just under Diamond in hardness. I designed this knife to be KaBar size to take advantage of the great sheaths available.

Great info on the jump stuff, gives food for thought to improve sheath/harness systems. Course I have never jumped out of an airplane before!

Oh yeah, I meant to post this picture earlier for some "thread decoration" :p
 

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Rob, is that your wife? Now that story about you versus the biker bar makes sense!

Greg - I was never able to get the LBV to fit comfortably under a T-10C or MC1-1B harness, I always wound up putting all my magazines into my buttpack and jumping that way. Are you jumping with a T-10 or one of the HALO chutes?

We had some guys that would wear shoulder rigs or thigh rigs, but never for knives, only pistols.

Kevin
 
Yikes! best looking babe i have seen on BF!

Rob if she is your girlfriend/wife/casual aquantance then i think i have discovered my calling, knife makers get all the chicks!

on a knife note, like someone else that posted here, i dont like Kabar handles + Gaurds, But i havent held any of those new impact handled models. From talking with people i think part of KaBars popularity is most people dont know there is anything better.
 
For the prices you have to pay in Australia (and New Zealand for that matter) for a KA BAR, you may as well get the Becker Combat Utility as Spark suggested.

I have owned KABARs and side by side, the Becker CU7 is by far the better knife, just a few small dollars more.

Then again, if you like "tradition" nothing beats a classic KABAR!

Cheers,
 
Ron, seeing the photo you posted reminds me of when FK published a feature series involving gals and knives. Oh did the industry howl! Today it's common place and considered avant guard in both advertising / cutlery stories. Beauties and Blades do go together.

Spark, jumping the MC harness. Haven't blasted a T-10 since '82 or so in Brazil. Had no problem with the LBV other than you have to unbuckle the front and spread the vest to clip the chest. 'Chute is Charlie model round canopy. I am not a HALO god:D

Ref: KA-BARs and stuff - In my interview with Al Mar for Soldier of Fortune many years ago he offered the following. If all you can afford is a bayonet ref: a fighting knife then purchase the best bayonet you can find, sharpen it to a razor's edge, learn how to use it properly, and then only use it as a fighting knife. In Al's experience and opinion such a knife would serve the owner/user well. I've always found this to be sound advice. We tend to get hung up on how much is spent on a knife meant for any particular purpose. We forget many, many folk only have so much they can spend. A KA-BAR properly sharpened and treated for the primary purpose one may have for it will last a very long time and perform quite handily. I have seen KA-BARs that have been taken care of as combat / fighting knives for years - one of these belonging to a highly decorated Navy SEAL (Barry Enoch) - that are as functional and durable as when first issued. I believe Al was spot on in his assessment. Know your need(s), know your equipment, make the best of what you can afford, and develop the skill to use it properly.

GW
 
well....since we're posting pics, here's a combo that will work ANYWHERE.

fdce12d0.jpg


Next Generation Ranger Tomahawk and Next Generation Ka-Bar...
 
The Simonich Raven fighter is my most prized blade in my collection!

It rocks -- I've been doing work with it, both outdoors stuff and fighting. I'm STILL waiting for mpegs taken of me using the blade doing some cutting in a tactical sense. I'll send them to Rob for his site.

Through all this , I've been working on a review that I'll post soon. Everyone in law enforecement and military who has seen and held the Raven have been literally flabbergasted at the design elements and workmanship. Rob, you really hit a grand slam with this design!

Best,

Brian.
 
survivor, if you are joining the Australian Army then you have a whole lot of other things to think about other than what knife.

Basic training, jump training and joining your unit s going to take onto a year. You are pond life until you are fully trained, so I wouldn't do anything that gets you noticed until you have gained the respect and experience. The Australian Army training is top class and will keep you busy enough. A SAK or Leatherman may help you during training by helping you keep your kit in one piece. Ironing board, good steam iron, boot brushes and mud stick to degunk your boots, and a large supply of band aids are more important. Have a good watch. Find out what you do need.

Nothing is more irksome than finding a recruit, any soldier for that matter, falling behind on a run, with kit that isn't on the kit list, unless its expected. Big macho knives will get you a beasting.

Sure later you can take into the field whatever you want, so long as you carry it and it doesn't effect the teams efficiency.

What added value does a top end knife give you? Quite a bit but at a high financial cost. They shouldn't break under heavy use as the steel and heat treatment are better chosen and monitored. The egernomics, blade profile, grind, and sheath should all make an overall better package that is more useful in the field. However, the manufacturers are there to sell knives and in my opinion there are a whole lot of stuff being pushed that quite frankly doesn't have any meaningful advantage to more plain basic designs. Have a knife you can replace because kit does get lost or if overly flashy nicked. You'll just carry it most of the time so don't buy heavy. It also gets a real hammering because you are "army" and can smash stuff rather than build delicate. I liked my Chris Reeve Project as it worked and at 200 plus $ is as rich as I'd want to go.

There are only four knives you might need:
SAK or Leatherman.
Folder, medium, with a keen edge.
Utility robust seven inch to replace your bayonet; if allowed.
Big whacker, like issued golock, machete, kukri or something similar. You'll be carrying it. Brawn over brains.

Buy a DMT diafold sharpener as then you can sharpen anything. Don't do anything issued unless ordered to do so.

Best of luck.
 
Interesting thread.

What goes on in Australian Army training that does not with the US Army? I understand the Aussie forces are very small and are thus likely to recieve more comprehensive training, but did you say a whole year to get into an active unit? I thought basic was 6 weeks, do they all get jump school or what?
 
tallwingedgoat, if its anything to go by over here then it takes about a year to get established into your unit. Basic is something like 16 weeks, then some time off, then specialist training of about 8 weeks, then another break. Into your unit with unit training, then theatre training and then you might have another specialist course to make yourself more useful. It doesn't take long to fill a year.

Sometime in the second year you'll be considered trained to the point where you should be able to do something without needing to be told and then you'll probably be off onto another course to get a stripe. The rank system and training is very different to the American one. Its very difficult to compare because every nation has their own little ways of getting to the end result.
 
GREENJACKET Basic training is correctly 6 weeks but it dos take 8-12 months before you are a fully functioning rifleman. I wasn’t planing to carry anything fancy while I am training except a multitool and a folder. Fancy knives and rigs are for when I finish all my training.

P.S. thanks for advice ;)
 
Alrighty.

The deal with the Aus Army is that you go through 6 weeks basic, then straight on to training for whatever path you chose....this takes anywhere up to over a year if you go into sigs, and less if it is not as technical.

Survivor, you CANNOT take anything with you into basic at Kapooka. Not even scissors or a multitool. My leatherman went into the box in the NCO's office and I got it when I came out.

This is pretty wacky seeing as how they give you a bayonet (which you must not sharpen but have to keep clear of rust)

Hope you have fun. Its a challenge, but good fun.

lorax.
 
So far everyone has talked about the standard 1095 Ka-bar. What about the Next Generation Ka-bars ? One model is made with D2 steel.
What about that knife ? While it is more expensive than the basic Ka-bar, the price is still far more reasonable than the customs.
 
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