A KA-BAR Swabbie becomes an addition to my collection...

PocketKnifeJimmy

PocketKnifeJimmy

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Aug 4, 2013
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A little musical chairs with my knives had to be done to find a home for my new KA-BAR Swabbie... But, in the end, it fit right in with my eclectic collection :)
It's cool to now have a Kabar Zomstro and Kabar Swabbie to represent Kabar's venture years into the world of Zombie slaying implements :)

This is only one of many displays that house my "Man Gadget Collection"... But, even this display has representations from quite a few companies:

KA-BAR, of course! (NY USA)
Camillus (NY USA)
Craftsman 50-60 yr old barlow (NY USA)
Case (Pennsylvania USA)
Otter (Germany)
Umbrella? (France)
Canal Street (NY USA)
Buck (Idaho USA)
Ontario (NY USA)

As for what I think the Swabbie is, a large knife, short sword, or a machete?... Imo, it is simply a large knife. I guess calling it a short sword would not be wrong either. But as for being a machete... Not the case, imo.

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GIRLYmann said:
Very nice and what an inspirational wall hanger, I might add!
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Thank you! :)
The majority of items in my collection do in fact reside in my home as "wall hangers"... But, most of them are fully functional, (some miniatures and such being the only exceptions). Even the KA-BAR "Zombie" knives are made to be fully capable of legit use, their gimmicky portion aside.
I do have a few items that I've liked being in my collection enough, that I have purchased duplicates of them. This KA-BAR Swabbie will likely be one of those purchases, since I have a neat idea in my head on how I may display one all by itself :)
 
Aye Matey! The swabbie it is, arrr...
Essentially a very eye catching design
If not a highly dramatic conversation piece it makes ;-)
It's sure to make quite an impression!
 
I recently watched a youtube video of a shotshow or knife-show that had a Kabar rep stating that the Zomstro and Swabbie were designed by Toooj (which currently is employed by the Ontario Knife Company). It seems Toooj (Paul Tsujimoto) has left his mark in the knife world while working for these two firms... Awesome! :)
 
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Well, another KA-BAR Swabbie made itself into my home today. In the past I have purchased some items that I've felt owning two, or even three of, was the thing to do. The KA-BAR Swabbie has become one of these items. Anyhow, I'm planning on setting up another display in the near future, and the game plan will entail this Swabbie to not share it's display with any other knife. The gears in my head are in motion, but it will likely take a few weeks in getting around to accomplishing this project (when I can find some time to truly dedicate myself to it). I was planning on maybe leaving this one with the "toxic green" colored handle scales... but, the extra black set that comes with them wound up winning again, I just can't get cozy with that neon green, lol!
Of course, for posterity, I will simply store the green set (and the other accessories) inside the knife's original box :)


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I rounded up what things I needed during the week to get my display project idea in motion, (for my second Swabbie specimen). I worked on it this morning before heading out to the gym, then returned home and finished it all up. I like how it turned out. It's simplicity in design, but effective at being a cool way of representing KA-BAR''s "Zombie" merchandise era :)

The metal sign, just like the knife, is made in the USA :)

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Here is a 2011 (or maybe 2012) picture of my first encounter with KA-BAR Zombie Knives and KA-BAR Zombie Knife tin sign. It was just a photo op that a local sporting goods store let me have with them. Those were at the time a new thing for KA-BAR, and were made in Taiwan. A couple/few years later, they went to USA production.
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PocketKnifeJimmy said:
I rounded up what things I needed during the week to get my display project idea in motion, (for my second Swabbie specimen). I worked on it this morning before heading out to the gym, then returned home and finished it all up. I like how it turned out. It's simplicity in design, but effective at being a cool way of representing KA-BAR''s "Zombie" merchandise era :)

The metal sign, just like the knife itself, is made in the USA :)

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Pretty dang cool !
 
So, while perusing some knives online, I ran across this pic. It seems to be a logo used by Ontario on their Old Hickory line of knives. Hmm... It almost looks like a KA-BAR Swabbie! Maybe Paul Tsujimoto (Toooj) got his inspiration for the Kabar Swabbie from this Ontario logo (Tooj had worked at Ontario before working at Kabar, and is currently with Ontario again) ;)

All kidding aside, when one looks deep into old USA knife companies, and their history, they are amazingly very intertwined to one another. I find it all very fascinating, and it's one of the reasons I enjoy collecting knives so much :)

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I was perusing the web, and decided to check out Ka-Bar's clearance section on their website. Well, I know the Zombie merchandise heydays had ended a short time back, (hence Ka-bar's closeout prices on their Zombie knives), but the Swabbie had still been in their inventory up until recently. That's not the case anymore, Ka-bar no longer has them. Their Zombie Knife metal sign is also listed as out of stock. Their remaining fixed blade Zombie knives are the Tanto, the Zomstro, and the War Sword. So, there are still some goodies left to take advantage of :)
 
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PocketKnifeJimmy said:
I was perusing the web, and decided to check out Ka-Bar's clearance section on their website. Well, I know the Zombie merchandise heydays had ended a short time back, (hence Ka-bar's closeout prices on their Zombie knives), but the Swabbie had still been in their inventory up until recently. That's not the case anymore, Ka-bar no longer has them. Their Zombie Knife metal sign is also listed as out of stock. Their remaining fixed blade Zombie knives are the Tanto, the Zomstro, and the War Sword. So, there are still some goodies left to take advantage of :)
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As long as they still make the BK9. :thumbsup:
 
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