Branching Out

williamsld8

williamsld8

Joined
Sep 19, 2010
Messages
226
Well I'm not sure how all these clubs and little circles and whatnot work here ( The blank Mafia, The blankheads, etc. ;) ) But I have yet to branch away from Kershaw's and Buck's in my collecting/working. Well Moose I'm taking you up on your invite from my thread in General Knife Discussion, and here I am. Looking forward to my next purchase, which will be the KABAR in the window down at the PX. And after that, a Becker. And I thought juggling two brands was getting pricey. Boy am I in for a hurtin'. :D
 
Welcome to the Kabar forum, william, glad you stopped in.

You can't go wrong with a 1217, my friend. Its been in business too long, to not be a very versitile knife. And as far as toughness, a million Marines can't be wrong. :D

One of the best things about getting hooked on KA-BAR knives, is that none of them are going to break the bank. So, you don't have to worry about desire over shadowing the wallet.

Moose
 
Finally found the invite you mentioned. I have to say, the USMC knife is a fantastic deal. For around 45 dollars, you get a fast fighting knife that can do a wide variety of different tasks. Sure, there are "better" knives out there. But better values are going to be hard to find. It's a favorite among most of my friends, although I'm not sure if it's my favorite large fixed blade. Durable as heck too. I spent a bunch of time throwing mine, and it got beat to heck, but tip is fine, and it sharpened up very easily.
 
I've never used, or even held a KaBar (other than my BK2). But I have been in contact with their customer service department, and can say that I was quite happy with my experience.

From what I hear, the USMC is what other knives dream of growing up to be.
 
ocnLogan said:
I've never used, or even held a KaBar (other than my BK2). But I have been in contact with their customer service department, and can say that I was quite happy with my experience.

From what I hear, the USMC is what other knives dream of growing up to be.
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At least when they were kids. :D I got my first one from an Uncle that served in Korea. We were going hunting, and that was the knife he gave me, beat to hell, and lookin' rough. I loved it. Used it. Eventually broke it. I have issues with breaking things. The name Moose was not a term of endearment, when I got it.

We shall have to see about changing that status of you never holding one, Logan.

Moose
 
Was that the knife that you broke after splitting wood for 3 seasons for your stove? If so, that still lasted you quite a while.

And the first forum contest you had here about stories about KaBars... I thought about telling a nice long sob story about never owning one, but always wanting one(making that my story), but decided that would have made the thread less meaningful.

And moose, I figure its just a matter of time before I win one of these here contests. Hopefully some time before next camping season (as this one is about to end, its getting cold now in the mountains) I'll have some new steel to play with :).

To stay on topic, I keep hearing great things about the stacked leather handle of the USMC. I hear its one comfortable knife, and its a lot lighter than some of the other knives like the BK2.
 
ocnLogan said:
Was that the knife that you broke after splitting wood for 3 seasons for your stove? If so, that still lasted you quite a while.

And the first forum contest you had here about stories about KaBars... I thought about telling a nice long sob story about never owning one, but always wanting one(making that my story), but decided that would have made the thread less meaningful.

And moose, I figure its just a matter of time before I win one of these here contests. Hopefully some time before next camping season (as this one is about to end, its getting cold now in the mountains) I'll have some new steel to play with :).

To stay on topic, I keep hearing great things about the stacked leather handle of the USMC. I hear its one comfortable knife, and its a lot lighter than some of the other knives like the BK2.
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No, the one that broke after being the wood stove knife was my 3rd one that I broke. The one my Uncle gave me got broke earlier. Its not that they break often, it just when I beat them beyond the breaking point.

I've had a few knives break on me. Most recently a Phatbob, and an ESKabar. I like to know the limits of the stuff I carry. And what happens afterwards.

I've been told that I abuse knives. Its true. I don't go all Noss on them, for sure, but like I said, limits, gotta know where they are.

I've put alot of knives through the mill, the 1217 has by far, taken more abuse from me than any other knife. Mostly, because when I got my first one, I didn't know you could abuse a knife, gun, or gear. I was young, and I made alot of mistakes. Still do.

But I know how to care for them, and do take care of them, but its also the reason I buy two of everything. I would post up my reciepts of knives bought if I could, but I don't keep them. Be a big damn pile if I did.

Some lessons are better learned, like, the first deer I ever shot and dressed by myself. I took that Kabar my Uncle gave me, and buried it up to the hilt, and went down the belly in a sawing motion. I was puking shortly after that first plunge, but I finished it. Made a mess of things too. I never did that agian, lemme tell ya.

Moose
 
So if you don't mind giving an example or two, how exactly do these knives end up being broken? Are you putting them in vices and then yanking on the them with the handle roped to a pickup? :cool: Because that's the image I'm getting.
 
well, I'm no expert, but I know of at least one of those breaks. I may or may not have any correct information, but will say it anyway. Moose uses a wooden stove at home (or something like that), and he uses knifes to split the wood for said stove. He used the USMC to split wood for the stove for 3 seasons, and sometime during/before/after that last season, the tang broke right around where it goes into the handle. If I'm not mistaken, the that is usually where they break (unless you break the tip off somehow).

I'm intrigued to hear how the others broke though.
 
ocnLogan said:
well, I'm no expert, but I know of at least one of those breaks. I may or may not have any correct information, but will say it anyway. Moose uses a wooden stove at home (or something like that), and he uses knifes to split the wood for said stove. He used the USMC to split wood for the stove for 3 seasons, and sometime during/before/after that last season, the tang broke right around where it goes into the handle. If I'm not mistaken, the that is usually where they break (unless you break the tip off somehow).

I'm intrigued to hear how the others broke though.
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This,

100_1353.jpg


Everyone of them, the exact same way.

Its from batonning. I'll get to a tough spot in some wood and either the knife goes through the wood, or it breaks at the handle. Every handle has bent at an angle before breaking, and I can just about tell you from the vibrations, when its gonna break.

I attribute it to poor technique when bashing steel through dry, dense, tough woods. One was in mesquite, another in ash, and the one in the picture was red oak.

All of them served me for years without fail, long before they broke. I'm 33, I've broken 3 1217's. I got my first one when I was 10 or 11. Second one when I was 18. The last one, I was 29. I've owned others, but I buy them in two's. Most wind up as gifts. I recieved my first one as a gift, its the knife I like to give the most.

Great knives, all the way. Tough as hell. I would/have bet my life on them many times before, and will even more. I have 4 more coming in the mail.

All this talk, made me want to restock my gift shelf.

Moose
 
So, it seems like an excellent knife, but maybe not for lots of wood processing. Out of curiosity, how large were the pieces that you were splitting when they broke?

I've been looking for a large knife for batoning, and while I love the classic looks on the USMC, it doesn't look like its quite the knife that I'm looking for.
 
ocnLogan said:
So, it seems like an excellent knife, but maybe not for lots of wood processing. Out of curiosity, how large were the pieces that you were splitting when they broke?

I've been looking for a large knife for batoning, and while I love the classic looks on the USMC, it doesn't look like its quite the knife that I'm looking for.
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The mesquite was about 4" in diameter, but that shit is tough as wrought iron. Not sure about the ash, it more triangular shaped, but I had about 2" of the blade tim sticking out. And the red oak was about the same as the ash.

I think you missed the point, Logan, these knives took tons of abuse before they broke. Processing tons of wood? Yeah, they've done that. I do abuse knives though, as my friend John recently pointed out. So, yar, 1217's are one badass knife.

Moose
 
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