Dog's Head Utility-The First Thirty Days

It's still available. Several vendors online carry it. It is model 1317. On Tomars kabars site (BF supporter and one of the Kabar Dealers I use) for some reason the 1317 is not listed in their "site map" but it is listed in their list of knives at the top of each site page as the "Dog's Head Fixed Blade".

Ok thank you. I'm a fan of Tomars!
 
Great thread, just spotted this one... I've given quite a few KaBars to people over the years, a great starter knife for people...
 
this version looks much like the modifications of the Kabar suggested by Chuck Karwan
 
This is great! Why didn't I find this thread sooner? Keep 'em coming. Now I've gotta get a Dog's Head dang it. :D. I love learning new outdoor tricks too. The best review yet.
 
Well after testing in some other threads. It seems I can post text and photos again.

I still can't edit out the double picture post. But we will try and get this thread moving forward this week. I did ask for help in the Tech section. But no joy. Time will tell.

If I can't post here, I'll start a part 2 thread.

Sorry for the delay,
 
Day 13,

Well, let's try and ease our way back into this.

Breakfast,
Oatmeal, yeah!
Can it get anymore boring?


KA-BAR mission, slice some dried apples, and finely chop some walnuts. Add in blueberries, dates, and raisins. Done,



For the record, the Dog's Head makes a really lousy spoon,



A certain sharp tongued Alien Life Form (ALF) used to say, "That's not food, that's what food eats"


More later,
 
Day 13 Continued,

Well for this afternoon's segment, we are going to mess around with a pair of thongs.


Oops, wait, wrong website, different day, make that tongs.


Still working with the tops of the saplings I made the tripod out of. Let's make a quick pair of tongs.


The top,



I batoned off two pieces of equal length. "Self Contained" seeing me working on a project has to jump in and try to help.



Line up the sticks so if they have a natural bow to them they point inward toward each other. Then take the two thick ends and shave a flat spot up roughly an inch and a half from the end. This will keep your tongs from rolling.



Just above them cut a small vee into each stick. This is where the spreader peg will sit. For some reason this shot didn't come out. Or maybe I forgot to take it who knows.


Grab some twine. Y'all carry twine in your packs right?



Start at the top of the tongs again with a Clove Hitch, leave a tittle tail and wrap it in. Wind the twine tightly, down to the edge of the vee groove for the spreader peg. When I got there, I just wrapped it around each tong once from the middle and tied off with two half hitches.



Then work your spreader peg down into the vee groove. Pictured here and above.



For bonus points cut a couple dogs into the end of the tongs so you have some grip. Nobody likes there dogs in the dirt.
 
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Day 14 - Hiking Staff,

It occurred to me back when I was doing the fish spear. I said I worked my staff down into the prongs to spread them out. That not everyone has a hiking staff. So lets make one.

This is the piece of wood left from between the tongs and the tripod.



First, I batoned out a crooked section,



Then I batoned it to the length I wanted. I like mine somewhere between my armpit and the top of my shoulder. I like a little extra length for going down steep rocky grades and navigating streams and swamps. A little extra reach is always nice.

The staff, I have had one in my hand even before I had a knife. I imagine we humans have used these since we walked upright.

For just a piece of wood, it is one very versatile tool. And a smokin' good self defense piece too. Yet it pretty much goes unnoticed by the general public. Walk into your local diner with your staff, no one says a word. Try that with a K-BAR or Becker in your hand.

You could stop right here and have a staff for walking. But I'll tune this one up a bit more.



I just took the knife and started peeling the bark off. This is considerably easier on a freshly cut sapling. Especially in the spring. Due to the amount of water flowing up the bark. This piece has been around for a while so it was a little tougher.



Once you get going it is like peeling a banana. Just slowly and carefully work your way down the staff. Being careful not to go too deep and into the wood.



For those who might be interested. This is a good time to gain some tree knowledge.
https://www.arborday.org/trees/TreeGuide/anatomy.cfm


For our purposes, we just need to be concerned about the outer bark, the inner bark and the cambium. The outer bark is obvious, the inner bark is a softer pliable piece. Almost chamois like.

This is that secret squirrel stuff I mentioned earlier. Use the side facing toward the tree and you have a wet wipe. Use the side facing away from the tree and you have some of the best natural toilet paper I have come across. I don't recommend using it for a wet wipe after the TP function. This inner bark, once dried, can be made into cordage also.
Some trees are better than other for this purpose, so do your homework.


And the cambium layer. This layer sits next to the actual wood. It is where all the action happens inside the tree. I have left it on some staffs in the past. When peeled, it is usually some shade of green. But over night when exposed to the air it oxidizes. The next day it will be rust colored. Almost like a self staining staff.

Once you have the outer and inner bark shaved off. Unless you want a ton of knicks and gouges on your staff. Turn your knife over and use the squared of part of the spine to scrape this layer off. It is much easier to scrape it at this point than to try and sand it off later.



I suppose this is a good a time as any, to point out some of the Dog's Head's shortcomings I discovered so far.

#1. Due to the blade's coating. It doesn't strike a fire steel well at all. In fact it sucks. Yes folks, that's right. If you were out in the wilderness and needed to start a fire by striking your steel on top of your knife, you would most likely die. Ain't happening.

But remember in a pinch there is always the blade side. Yeah, we live another day. Once I am done with my as delivered review, I will most likely strip the coating off and that will help tremendously.


#2. The spine is flat on top. Not rounded like many knives. But not overly sharp like the latest generation of bushcraft knives. The woods knives of today are ground like a downhill ski edge. Both for striking a steel and peeling shavings for starting a fire. There is a down side to a sharp spine. I have actually cut myself on one before. Because I was stupid.

Ok, so there we have it. KA-BAR really dropped the ball on us woodsmen, right?
I am sure there are legions of interweb survivalists whining about the shortcomings of these knives.

Really? Is this that big of a deal? I needed a new one anyway. So I shot down to my very expensive local hardware store. And purchased myself a new flat file. Almost broke the bank, $5.89.

Now if you like blade coatings, just file off a small spot and keep the rest coated. Or just carve in a small vee (there goes the warranty) If you think you would like a sharp spine the full length. Just gently file it like you would a down hill ski edge.

Seems like any self sufficient survivalist/woodsman worth his salt could manage that. But most will cry like a two year old who just lost his woobie instead. Waaaa!

OK, they are the two glaring shortcomings I have discovered so far.


For the sake of full disclosure, this is a 7" knife. It is not a Mora. It's not a tiny 3" fu-fu knife. As the Croc man said,"This is a Knife"


Every knife ever built has some trade offs. I may try and carve a spoon, but I know it will be a challenge. Most folks who carve spoons have crooked knives to finish the bowl part anyways.


This is sort of a personal observation. But for me, in a knife that may actually be used for survival. I like a guard. Sure the guard gets in the way of doing certain tasks. But when you are cold, wet, tired, hungry, and possibly hypothermic. A guard just makes sense. When folks are in that condition, they do stupid stuff.


When you are tired, cold, or even just dehydrated, you grip strength is one of the first things to go. I feel that the benefits of a guard in those situations far outweighs the drawbacks. ***That is just my opinion, and it is worth absolutely nothing***

OK, onward with the hiking staff,

That stuff on the knife is the cambium layer. I find trees fascinating, no moving parts, yet they manage to suck water out of the ground and move it all the way to the leaves on top.



For the bottom of the staff, I like a little point. Just something to give some purchase. I just carved a small cone on the end. No sense in making it too sharp. You will just wear it off driving it in the ground anyway.



The top where you might put your hand, I rounded off into a dome. Even with the guard, I was able to get my index finger out onto the choil without an issue. Allowing me to choke up tight to the edge for this.



You can shave down the knots at this point if you desire. I left them on for some character. I didn't want a broom stick. By scraping the spine of the knife up and down the length of the staff, you get the same effect as using a scraper on kitchen cabinet doors. Baby butt smooth.


And the finished product. I will let it dry out for a few days before wrapping it. It will most likely shrink some. Not the best picture, but you get the idea,



Enjoy,
LV
 
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Today was Grand Jury duty. Out early, home late.

So no pictures.

After 14 days of slicing, dicing, chopping, and batoning. And even some peanut butter smearing. I decided it was time to tune up the edge a bit. It still was far from dull. But I find it much easier to keep knives sharp, than to get them sharp.

So after looking at the edge this evening, and determining all it needed was a little tune up. I whipped out the double sided strop. The one with the green and black compound. 15 minutes later it was better than new.

Cord popping, paper slicing, hair shaving sharp. Not bad after two full weeks of work. I didn't abuse this knife. But I certainly haven't babied it either.

Easy knife to use, easy knife to maintain.
 
LV .... Just want to let you know how I am enjoying this thread. Only day 15, so we are half way there. I'm pretty sure the knife will survive the test period. I have owned a few of these over time, however all were special and embellished and thus never used. This is now on my list for a woods/hiking,hunting carry knife.
Good luck with the jury duty ............. I just can't wait to see how the knife fit into jury duty day. Did you take it with so you could clean the dirt out from your fingernails while there. They may feel the silly need to take that from you at the door or send you back to the truck with it. Give it a shot though.

GREAT THREAD
 
I for one think Ka-Bar should send you a new one after this testing. Bet more than a few of us run out to get one to USE.
 
This has been one of the most entertaining, informative and just fun threads I have read in quite a while. The Ka-Bar is starting to pop up on my wishlist now.
Excellent stuff.
 
Folks, please excuse the gap in coverage.


Jury Duty, life, and even the ridiculous excuse we call a heat wave up here, have all conspired to take me off my game plan.


I will try and pick this up again next week. I actually don't know if I can fill all the remaining days with worthwhile content. How many times can you take pictures of food? Or fires?


On the up side, I have had some time to come up with a few more reasonably interesting projects for the Dog's Head and myself to work on.


My apologies, for not being able to fully document thirty days of consecutive use. I have found it to be more of a challenge than I had anticipated. Of course performing my civic duty hasn't helped.


I am pretty sure, passing through the metal detectors with my KA-BAR strapped to my side or in my bag. Would have given those hyper young bucks in uniform manning the detector cause to get excited.

I have come to the point in my life, where I just try and avoid that much excitement. Preferring instead to roam the woods and enjoy a lower key existence.

Suffice it to say, that even though the woods time has been none existent. I have continued to use the Dog's Head for all kitchen tasks and other non woods related tasks that have come up.

The interesting thing about this whole process. Has been the transition that has occurred.

When I first picked up the KA-BAR, it felt big. In fact, it is big. But it is also well balanced and overall very well thought out. By the end of the second or third day. When you pick it up, especially when it is the only knife you use. That sensation of it being big fades away.

Somewhere around day four or five. It suddenly felt like it has always been in my hand. Like it belongs there. Things happen to both the knife and to the user. It is almost Zen like. Hard to explain, even harder to quantify. Like most Zen related pursuits, it will vary from person to person. My Zen may be someone else's "Are you kidding Me?" I am ok with that.

For instance. The nice coating or polish that KA-BAR puts on their leather handles begins to rough up bit. Allowing for an even better grip. Grip on a knife, any knife, in any situation, is extremely important. The knife needs to be in your hand to work, period. A good grip equals safety, safety equals confidence. Confidence allows me to get things done.


Some of the modern grips, blow this one away. But a grip in a store, or at a knife show, does little to tell a person what it will feel like after making a fish spear. Many knife grips are just too aggressive for extended use. For a thirty second knife fight they may be ideal. For tent pegs, not so much.

Very much like a beavertail canoe paddle. Use it for two or three hours and it seems lacking. Easily overcome by more modern designs and bent shafts. Paddle for six or eight days straight and the beavertail makes much more sense.

The blade coating,
The coating on the blade has held up way better than I anticipated. But it is showing some signs of wear. To be expected. I am not much of a coating guy. One day may be spent stripping it. But it fulfills its intended purpose better than I gave it credit for. This particular coating seems smooth, unlike some I have seen, it doesn't bind in wood or food. I does what it is supposed to do.

The pommel, same applies here. That pointed skull crusher pommel works great for crushing skulls. But it is less than perfect for most other tasks. The Dog's Head Utility, and I believe all the F/Us (I love that KA-BAR uses that term) are wide and flat. Allowing the user to strike them with his or her hand to drive the knife through things without tearing up his or her hand. Very cool.

To me this is a huge benefit. After gathering sticks and twigs, I can use the palm of my hand to precisely split the wood where I need it split. A nice, safe, controlled, way to make items needed for fire prep. Just another thing I really like about this knife. That flat surface does a good job of driving tent pegs too.

No, it's not the modern, ninja, pointed, sharp, angled, beer bottle opener pommel that seems so prevalent today. But it functions in a wider variety of roles then those others. I like it just the way it is, thank you.

To guard or not to guard.
This is another highly contested issue. I have both and use both. I like the guard. It is just an added safety. For me that translates into a slightly more relaxed grip. I can relax a bit and not worry about my hand sliding down onto the blade. With out the guard, you always have to have a snug grip when doing anything that would send your hand forward. The guard has it's trade-offs. You can't get your hand right tight to the cutting edge. So you give up some leverage.

The sheath,
After a few days of use. It begins to break in. That will only get better. I had one rivet on the back that didn't get punched quite right. It had a little sharpness to it. Bad KA-BAR, Bad. I slid the flat file that I will use to sharpen the spine down inside the knife slot, and tapped gently on the back of the sheath with the pommel. Fixed.
 
Slight Rant (alright, not really Slight)
One of my problems with living today. Is the expectations that people have.

This is not directed at anyone here. I have witnessed here and on the Becker forum, people whose skill and imagination, and shear willingness to just do things, dwarfs my own. There are a ton of folks here with the mindset and skills to accomplish anything they set their mind to. Maybe it's most knife people.

My issue is with the folks who expect to have the whole world handed to them. The folks who seek adventure, but will sue your butt off if they get hurt. You know the ones I mean.

The guy who buys a new tent on Thursday. Then goes camping on Friday night. Sets up in a low spot. Gets flooded out. Instead of learning from it. He spends the rest of the weekend whining about how bad his tent sucks. And how "When he gets back to town, he is taking this piece of crap back and getting his money back" Those people. I actually told a guy once, "It's a tent, not a submarine"


This thought process has become a way of life. Here in New York and probably other places too, we used to call those things along the road, guard rails. Until some moron sued the state because they didn't guard him. Now we call them guide rails. This methodology has become so prevalent in our modern society it makes my head want to explode.

Like the guy who walked past several warning signs, climbed not one, but two fences and then fell to his death. His family sued and won a negligence case. People are now suing McDonalds because their kids are fat. Come On!

Where am I going with this. Besides my overt disdain for modern society you ask?

Well I call it the "Hollywood/Life Dichotomy" Write that down, I said it first, and I want the credit. If I ever get famous, you can say you knew me way back when. (Hint, don't wait under water)

The problem today. Is unlike previous generations. Most folks walking around now, do not seem to realize there is a huge difference between Hollywood and real life. They just can't seem to differentiate between the two. It has created a very large problem.

This has become interwoven with today's technological overthrust, to literally create several generations of mindless dweebs. People have become so dependent on so much, they fail to rely on themselves for anything.


I have always laughed at the thought of a Zombie Apocalypse" I mean seriously, who could believe that crap. Then this past winter, I had the opportunity to travel to Casper, Wyoming for a job interview. Which by the way, I did not get. I spent time in four airports, both on my trip out and on my return. Albany, O'hare, Denver, and Casper.


Folks, I'm here to tell ya, the Zombie Apocalypse happened, and we lost! I felt like a time traveler. Returning to my home planet. Only to discover the place had changed so much I didn't recognize it.
 
As for the knife. The military was right in calling it a Fighting/Utility or F/U.


The Military and by default KA-BAR never called this knife a "Survival/Knife" or as they say, "Knife/Survival" There is that slash again. The reason most likely is. The term doesn't or at least should not exist. It makes about as much sense as Reality/Television. Does anyone, anywhere, believe that stuff is real.

I feel KA-BAR is wise in this regard. Because sooner or later. Some Nimrod is going to wander off into the wilderness with his "Survival" knife and die. Then some sleazy lawyer will make a case that it is the knife manufacturer's fault. Because they led him to believe, he could survive once he purchased his "Survival" knife. And he will most likely win.

My apologies to all the sleazy lawyers out there. I know there are some really good, sleazy lawyers. I know a few myself.

Quick lawyer joke.
Do you know the difference between a dead snake in the road, and a dead lawyer in the road? You will see skid marks by the snake!

Where was I?

Oh yeah, the Survival Knife craze. Folks this term is a product of Hollywood and Madison Avenue. It was created to move product, and move product it has. Our pal John Rambo is probably one of the most famous examples of Hollywood starting to blend with reality.

People began to believe that if they had John's knife. They could be more like John. There are two serious problems with this thought process.

First off, owning John't knife won't make you more like John.

The second and more important problem.
John doesn't exist, never has. He is not real. He was a figment of Hollywood's imagination.

So in essence. What we have, is people, many of them. Purchasing a Hollywood prop, and pretending to be a fictional character. Then, they can't understand why their results don't measure up in real life. Go figure.

The Rambo dude and his movies were entertaining to watch for sure. But it was fiction.

I could have made a much more accurate version myself. Striving for truth and realism. We could have called it "Utility Man" Catchy title right?

I could have done many of the things in this review. Maybe cut up some carrots, diced a potato, made a tripod. Maybe even tied the Dog's Head to a stick and made a really cool spear. Where are those stick/spear holes KA-BAR?

I know I know, I am a really poor survivalist. Because the thought of tying the only thing standing between me and death, to a stick Then throwing it at, or sticking it into a moving object that has the potential to run off for miles, never to be seen again. Just doesn't seem like all that good of an idea.

Even the marketing those stupid holes seems a bit ridiculous to me. If you are not smart enough to tie a knife to a stick. What are you doing out in the woods in the first place? Now maybe to cut down bananas, or coconuts, or even apples, I could possibly see that.

Yes folks, my movie would have failed miserably. A box office disaster for sure.

Partly because I don't look like Stallone. Mostly because it would be boring as all get out. Nobody went to see Rambo to learn anything. They went for the action, violence, blood, and gore.

That would have been fine. If they could separate that Hollywood/Life Dichotomy. Over the last few decades this phenomena has only gotten worse.

Somewhere along this path, some bright star. Most likely from Madison Avenue. Got the brilliant idea to stop just using props. And to start inserting actual sellable products into movies and television.

The phrase is "Subliminal Marketing" This is when Biff Rockstud, the star of your favorite series, whips out his Apricot Computer and feverishly works on it to save mankind from reality.

Meanwhile Tammy Toohot, the smoking babe of the show. Climbs into Vicky's Not So Secret bra and panties while looking incredibly stunning with hair, makeup, and lighting. Then fights off a team of ninjas with her Louie Bullion purse. The next day the credit cards light up and the rest is history.


Part of my fondness for KA-BAR. Is the fact that they are very aware of this trend. And they know it is lucrative. They even want a part of the action. They dabble with it themselves. But what I love about their approach is. They don't take it seriously.


Folks, if you haven't seen "Zombie Train" and their other short movies. You owe it to yourselves to watch them. Too funny, hilarious actually, yet at the end, you still want the knife. Good job KA-BAR.


I grew up working hard for my wages. Then some bonehead thought that a guy who could run construction equipment. Might actually be good at selling construction equipment.


Different challenges for sure. But over time I have learned a lot about sales.


One key thing I learned. Almost all sales, are made emotionally. The decision to pull that trigger and buy something is an emotional one.


That is why I don't get caught up in specifications. Yes, they mean something. And yes, they're are important.

But the reason you didn't see them in my review, is simple. They're boring. How many times have we seen a youtube review, of some guy taking a new knife out of a box and talking about the specs. Get outside and get that thing dirty man!


My father use to say "Do something, even if it's wrong, That's how you learn"


I'll leave the steel, tang, length, handle material, debate to others. Because in the end, they will make an emotional purchase just like I did. It may not be the same knife, it may not be for the same reasons. But I guarantee you, it will be made on an emotional level.

The purchaser may then rationalize to themselves, and to others why they made the decision. Quite common actually. They will have charts, and graphs, feedback and reviews. Rationally, it all makes perfect sense. But the actual decision to buy was made with emotions, not intellect.

I have been there, we all have. Some of us recognize it. Others not so much. KA-BAR is no stranger to this. Selling knives because one "Killed a Bear" How much more emotional can you get? Quite possibly the Original Survival Knife Marketing Ploy.

I bought the Dog's Head with my emotions. I saw it, and I liked it. It was a KA-BAR, but different. I like underdogs. Always have. I liked the cute little one eyed pirate dog. It was almost the "Anti-Suvival Knife" I mean, who puts a cute little dog on a big tough knife. I liked that. It just screamed "Under Dog" to me. It tugged at me.

So far, intellectually, my purchase has proven to be a good one. I have had a ton of fun out romping in the woods. Using and testing this knife. It just keeps coming back for more.

I know full well. That if I beat on this knife hard enough, long enough, some day it may fail. But I will have had more fun, learned more skills, done more things, and built more cool stuff. Than the spec weenies who bought a knife so big, and so tough it won't ever break. And I definitely will have had more fun and done more things than the people who won't use their knives because they are afraid they will break them.

When I was a kid, there was even a cartoon called "Under Dog" he was a scrawny looking dog hero. He always took a pounding. I think he was on the ground more then he was standing. He could fly, but not very well. He even crashed into a few buildings.

But he never quit. He always came back for more. He stayed until the job was done. He never set out to be a hero. It's just what happened.

That is how I see my knife.
 
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... snip...
My father use to say "Do something, even if it's wrong, That's how you learn"

...snip...

LV, I swear they must have used that line somewhere along the way in one of those "serials" that accompanied the feature films back in the '30s and '40s. My dad (born 1925) would say the same thing. Also, when someone was waffling about a decision he'd say "Sxxx or get off the pot. You can't do both." Meaning, quit wasting time and decide already, so life can go on.
 
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