Ka-Bar's EK 45

[exRonin1949]

Just received it Saturday- not bad, having ordered it the previous Thursday, through Amazon.com...

"Impressed," is too moderate a word, concerning this knife... Like all Ka-Bars, this exudes quality. No, it's not as "pretty" as my Boker Sykes-Fairbairns, but it is definitely a fighting knife that is affordable to most who need a serious fighting knife- which we all know, is anything Ka-Bar- including my favorite utensils, my chop-sticks, sporks, and bottle opener...

Probably I'm preaching to the choir, but at sixty-nine, I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Ka-Bar fan-geezer. I like everything about it- except...

Like many Bowie knives I've owned over the years, the "false edge" was razor sharp, enabling a wicked-bad back swing, able to eviscerate the evil small tree, or, if things went pear shaped, an uninvited "guest." Never had it happen, but was always ready... We weren't issued Bowies, so the "common" straight edge had to do...

Everything about this knife is perfect, except for the dull false edge. After Christmas, I'll dig out my Work Sharp Ken Onion electric sharpening system, and give it a few licks. If it's then capable of cutting paper thin, see-through, roast pork, it'll be just fine...

Now for those of you who have not enjoyed their plastic sheaths, with those pestiferous locking bumps, use a Bic fire lighter, and gently warm the plastic just below the cross guard. Again, gently, force the scabbard, at the point of warming, down. Just a few degrees, as you want it to still engage the cross guard. Like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, not too little, not too much, but j-u-s-t right... When you're satisfied with that compromise of ease of extraction, with still reliable retention, you're there... I've done that with all of my hard to use plastic sheaths. It works, and is cheaper than buying a new sheath...

You've heard people extoll the virtues of Ka-Bar, Becker, EK, and more... You'll get no argument from me.

Ka-Bar, when there are no do-overs, and the reality of life and death are not fiction...

Have a great and safe, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

 

[zzyzzogeton]

The false edge is false for a purpose - so they can be sold in those states where daggers are illegal and daggers are defined as being "double edged", meaning the spine is sharpened at least somewhat. (Based on various legal decisions by courts. Some places use "symmetrical blade geometry" as part of their dagger definition.)

When Kabar first reintroduced the 1219C2 back around 1976 as the model 1217, the swedges were sharp. Razor sharp. Sometime in the early 80s (IIRC the timing), the swedge became a false edge to eliminate the "sharpened spine" part of the equation from the dagger definition.

Overall, I guess Kabar knew anyone who wanted one could easily sharpen up the clip point. By my own take on the matter, if someone can't sharpen the clip/spine on the nearly sharp dull edges, they might not ought to pack a double edge knife.