how tough is a kabar fighting knife?

I

imacf90

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Oct 15, 2009
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135
i was thinking of getting one but i'm not quite sure if i want to yet. how durable is it really? if i were to baton with it or chop with it will it break? does the edge hold up well?
 
They're great tools, quite strong and reliable. People have been using the same design hard for years with great success.
A full tang blade design is obviously going to be stronger than a hidden/stick tang like the Ka-Bar, but for all intents & purposes I highly doubt you'll notice a difference. There has been the odd report here and there about someone's Ka-Bar breaking (usually due to some serious abuse), but considering how many others use the same knife with no problems, the Ka-Bar has a pretty darn excellent track record.
I've got one, and it's one of my favorite fixed blades to take into the woods.
 
Danjal said:
http://www.knifetests.com/

Try checking there. Im not sure how it rates up on this site, or how they look at this guy, but he destroys knives... and you'll see what it takes to do so.
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Kind regards,

Jos
 
Bored Marines abused their KABARs all throughout the Pacific in WWII.

The reason you've heard of the KABAR name is because Marines were happy enough with theirs to bring them back home.

Yours should hold up during real use.
 
imacf90 said:
i was thinking of getting one but i'm not quite sure if i want to yet. how durable is it really? if i were to baton with it or chop with it will it break? does the edge hold up well?
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Every 'knife guy' should have one , you wont be disappointed !

Good , proven carbon steel , American made , time tested design.


Tostig
 
get the ka-bar made product. although the ontario & camillus have to meet goverment specs i think the ka-bar is finished better. 4 yrs. in marines & i never saw one broken. not the toughest or best edge holder but for the price it's hard to beat.
 
Nothing is "indestructible." I've seen Ka-Bars that have been destroyed - it can be done. But for the price, I don't think there's a better buy out there today.
 
Due to the tang only being half the height of the blade, i wouldn't use a regular ka-bar for batoning and heavy chopping. Should hold up to just about anything else though.
I wonder why my Black Tanto has a larger tang and not the regular ka bar model... also, the guard is much sturdier on the black tanto.
I do however much prefer the regular ka-bar blade to the tanto's weirdass double grind.
 
I've seen the tang fail on a 1217, but always in a situation where it's been used as a pry-bar (lateral stress), and not in a batoning situation. I'm not saying it's impossible, but I don't think I'd worry about that too much if you actually baton properly.
 
I have my USMC issue, circa 1969, and didn't know it wasn't full tang. It feels like one long chunk of steel with the hard leather grips.

I love it though - it "feels" indestructable. I've never messed with it much except to fool around with it a bit, make sure it's oiled up and stuff.

At the price I see them offered for (mid $50's), I'd say one is definitely worth having in a collection of fixed blades. Just for nostalgia if nothing more.
 
I've broken two stick tang Ka-bars by batonning hard wood. In my personal experience, they don't hold up to real abuse. If you're really going to abuse it, get something with a full tang.

If you're not going to beat the hell out of it, go ahead and get the Ka-bar.
 
I have a Case brand USMC knife. Tough as nails, and has given good service in the woods for years now.
 
I took one to Maine for a week and batoned soft wood as well as hard wood. It did great and held up fine. After the trip, it could still cut paper (barely, but it could)
 
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