Looking over the various entries in this thread, I genuinely want to send my 1217 to someone for customization. I want the guard and buttcap refinished in a brass coating, the tang finish stripped and polishing, and the stacked leather washer handle replaced with contoured, alternating layers of clear plexiglass, solid brass, aluminum, and red plexiglass washers. I want it to look like a theatre knife.
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- Thread starter gundude73
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Charlie,Are you able to have a go at doing these mods yourself?
Personally I would make a new guard and pommel from solid brass as opposed to plating.(would look more theatre made to me)
I have done heaps like this in the past and look just like what you describe,or variations of.
Stripping the blade is easy,I dont touch the tang unless I need to.
On a handle with transparent pieces though,strip the lot,but clear coat the tang before final assembly.
Making up the handle spacers is easy and a good way to use up leftovers from other projects if you have them.
If you dont have bits laying around,finding them is half the fun.
Give it go,dont rush it and enjoy the experience.
"Happiness is not something ready made,but what we make with our own hands." -Dalia Lama.
I'm afraid not.
Charlie,Are you able to have a go at doing these mods yourself?
Personally I would make a new guard and pommel from solid brass as opposed to plating.(would look more theatre made to me)
I have done heaps like this in the past and look just like what you describe,or variations of.
Stripping the blade is easy,I dont touch the tang unless I need to.
On a handle with transparent pieces though,strip the lot,but clear coat the tang before final assembly.
Making up the handle spacers is easy and a good way to use up leftovers from other projects if you have them.
If you dont have bits laying around,finding them is half the fun.
Give it go,dont rush it and enjoy the experience.
I've wanted to do it myself, but I lack the facilities for shaping brass, cutting plexiglass and other related materials, and smoothing them out. I'd have to buy everything without first knowing what I need, and invest the time and money into getting skilled in using them.
It's sound advice. But I hate what I produce because it's always so inadequate. To this day I've never been able to make a single thing that I've ever been even somewhat proud of.
Found some Ka-Bar pics I thought I had lost due to extortion bucket.
Some pics may have been posted before,cant remember.
Either way,hope you enjoy them!
New 1217 I rehandled a while ago.
D2 goodness,have done a few like this.
I really should knock out a few more of these!
1219C2 Guard marked Camillus
Rehandled with new leather washers.
Sheath is a newly made reproduction a mate knocked up for me just for this knife.
(Hope the mods let this one go through to the keeper even though it is not a Ka-Bar)
Some pics may have been posted before,cant remember.
Either way,hope you enjoy them!
New 1217 I rehandled a while ago.
D2 goodness,have done a few like this.
I really should knock out a few more of these!
1219C2 Guard marked Camillus
Rehandled with new leather washers.
Sheath is a newly made reproduction a mate knocked up for me just for this knife.
(Hope the mods let this one go through to the keeper even though it is not a Ka-Bar)
Stay tuned!
In the new year I hope to be doing more custom handles on Ka-Bars.
The plain edge D2 will be among those.
Tanker 1/66
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Tanker 1/66
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Thanks Tanker.
I dont have a 1266,but will be on my list to rehandle,when I find one.
A mate uses one for a Pig sticker,says it works very well.
He especially likes the grip of the kraton,but maybe I could convince him stag/leather would be better!
More D2 goodness! Not made be me but I did supervise the maker.
Sheath is a basket weave pattern I had in my spares box.
It has been restitched(by hand),and also has a longer strap to fit the handle.
1219C2 Guard Marked USN KA-BAR from mid 1944-45.
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were did u get the guard or did you makeThanks Tanker.
I dont have a 1266,but will be on my list to rehandle,when I find one.
A mate uses one for a Pig sticker,says it works very well.
He especially likes the grip of the kraton,but maybe I could convince him stag/leather would be better!
More D2 goodness! Not made be me but I did supervise the maker.
Sheath is a basket weave pattern I had in my spares box.
It has been restitched(by hand),and also has a longer strap to fit the handle.
1219C2 Guard Marked USN KA-BAR from mid 1944-45.
Tanker 1/66
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Tanker 1/66
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I keep thinking about a 1266 with an elk horn handle Oh my!!!!
Caine,The brass guards I make from 3/4 by 1/4 inch thick bar stock.
Start with a piece about 2 and a half inches long.
Drill and square out the hole for the tang.
Slide it on to tang,then all the rest of the handle pieces.
Once the glue is dry,I shape the guard with round files and sandpaper.
No two are the same as they are shaped by hand.
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Tanker,I only do these as a hobby of sorts.
I like the challenge of doing these every now and then,but to do it everyday would make it less fun.
The 1266 would look good with stag,but I would most likely do something different.
Some years ago I did a 1245 with a handle that made the whole knife look like a mini samurai sword!
It had a polished blade,brass blade collar and 1/8th steel oval guard(looked like a slightly squashed wagon wheel).
Handle was black gutted paracord over rayskin and a steel pommel.
Unfortunately I dont have pics of that one.
The handle suited the far east style of blade,the 1266 would as well I feel.
More D2 goodness.
Unfortunately this one didnt last long.
The guy I made it for wanted to "test it".
He used a three pound hammer to drive the knife tip first into a tree about three feet of the ground.
Then put his foot on the knife to use it as a "climbing aid".
The knife flexed a fair bit,then snapped.He weighed about 250lbs!
As he fell,the remaining piece of blade in the tree sliced his leg open from ankle to knee up the bone.
As he was leaving for hospital,he told me the knife was junk and wanted his money back!
Unfortunately this one didnt last long.
The guy I made it for wanted to "test it".
He used a three pound hammer to drive the knife tip first into a tree about three feet of the ground.
Then put his foot on the knife to use it as a "climbing aid".
The knife flexed a fair bit,then snapped.He weighed about 250lbs!
As he fell,the remaining piece of blade in the tree sliced his leg open from ankle to knee up the bone.
As he was leaving for hospital,he told me the knife was junk and wanted his money back!
Tanker 1/66
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Oh come on zanu that is down right pornographic!!!!Circa 1990 1217 with parkerized blade.
Even though the powdercoating is tougher,I like the way the park wears on these older versions.
Thanks Tanker,she is that!
Kinda like a sexier version of the Dogs Head!
When I got this blade the tang had been cut off at about an inch forward from the pommel.
So I had to have a bit of a think about how to do a handle on this one.
Then I remembered a Randall 5-6 I had fixed up with a "Bradford Angier" type handle,
so I though I would do something like that,only with stag.
(I hope to be doing at least another "mk1" like this.)
Note the slightly offset (towards the spine) blade markings.
I have seen this on both these parked blades,and the post '91 powdercoated ones.
I really like these offsets as it allows me to put a choil into it without cutting into the markings.
The current blade stamps wont allow this as they are big enough for Mr.Magoo to read without his glasses!
Below is a 1991 version I recently rebuilt.
Nothing too wild in these mods,just a higher blade grind,like the current version.Slices a LOT better now!
Choil put in as well,makes sharpening a little easier,and eliminates the recurve which I hate.
An extra washer in the rear,just to tighten up the originals,which had shrunk a little.
Shes tight,scary sharp and good to go.
Relics_and_rags_co
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So I bought a MK1 recently I used it one time and the tip had a slight Bend to it after I used it and the knife is dull as shit. Not like the Ka-Bar's I used to have when I was younger. The coating on the blade also started coming off after about 2 minutes of use. Nothing too bad and I seem to have gotten the tip straightened out but the quality is just not there anymore for Ka-Bar.
