Question concerning the tang on Kabar's Big Brother...

PocketKnifeJimmy

PocketKnifeJimmy

Joined
Aug 4, 2013
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Okay, so I know that Kabar makes their Tanto and Fighter knife models with a wider, (not thicker), tang than what is used on their standard WW2 era based Fighting/Utility knives.
My question concerns the tang on Kabar's Big Brother knife... Does it too incorporate the same wider tang that the Kabar Tanto & Fighter has? Or, is it the same as is found on their standard WW2 based Kabar?
Much thanks in advance, folks :)
 
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Well, I'm hoping that someone will eventually be able to answer the question I posted above :)

In the meantime, I wanted to post the following concerning the KaBar Big Brother, (originally posted in September of 2011)...

The concept designers were Kuya Doug Marcaida and Ed Alberto of SEIGE, an FMA Group from Rochester, NY. (look at rochesterkali.com)The Filipino Marines and USMC go back a long ways. Both groups would trade off knives. Being in the jungle, the Filipinos wanted a larger version of the tried and true F/U knife. They would get local makers to forge them up larger versions of the F/U and call them "Big Brothas".
Kuya Doug teaches knife skills to the Filipino Marines along with other Spec Ops Groups. So he knows them and their knives well. He is the real deal. Any hoo, They visited KA-BAR; They showed us a sample; We liked what we saw; Toooj morphed the samples into a manufacturable knife and a good idea is being sold.
Saw teeth are more important to them than a batoning spine. So that's the logic of the back.
Hope this helps.

Best Regards,

Paul Tsujimoto
Sr Eng
Prod Dev and Qual
KA-BAR Knives
 
I suspect the big brother has a wider tang than the mk2 F/U Knife, but don't know for sure.
 
Well, I am now able to answer my own original question about the tang width of the Kabar Big Brother.
You see, I already owned specimens of the Kabar Tanto, the Fighter, and their standard F/U knives. I did not own the Big Brother... until now, my having received one in the mail today.
If one looks closely at the blade/guard area, one can see where the blade shoulders to become the tang. So, the tang on the Big Brother is the same width as the tang on the standard F/U (Fighting/Utility) knife.
I do believe the Big Brother would have been better served by having the more beefed up, (wider), tang found on their Tanto & Fighter knives, and am scratching my head on why they didn't go that route on this much bigger blade knife. But, it is what it is.
 
Yes, most of my knives are purchased for inclusion into my collection of "interesting objects"... Well, anyway, they are interesting to me, and kept in pristine condition for posterity.
I never judge another person for their reasons for acquiring their possessions... As long as it's for legal purposes, it's all good! Whatever your reason to own your blades, I consider you a crucial part of the knife community :)
 
It's worth remembering that every sword made for the Roman army for over 1000 years was a stick tang. I can't speak to the depth of the tang but the mere fact that they used stick tangs should make many modern blade enthusiasts breathe easier (time to get down from the OCD ladder fellers!). Also, in more recent times, the work knives used by pioneers, woodsmen and farmers were also usually stick tangs. I've not read of any complaints by these good fellows.
 
Lazydog1 said:
It's worth remembering that every sword made for the Roman army for over 1000 years was a stick tang. I can't speak to the depth of the tang but the mere fact that they used stick tangs should make many modern blade enthusiasts breathe easier (time to get down from the OCD ladder fellers!). Also, in more recent times, the work knives used by pioneers, woodsmen and farmers were also usually stick tangs. I've not read of any complaints by these good fellows.
Click to expand...

Yes. But suddenly everything has become about splitting wood. It's bizarre.
 
E.D.C. said:
Yes. But suddenly everything has become about splitting wood. It's bizarre.
Click to expand...
All the cool kids aren’t splitting wood for the campfire with hatchets, axes, and saws...big choppers look “badass” on instragram.
 
My view concerning the Big Brother having the same tang as their standard much smaller F/U knife, is this... The Kabar Fighter and Kabar Tanto were offered with a slightly wider, (not thicker), tang, while still keeping the exterior handle size the same. I imagine the same could have been done with the Big Brother, and it's slightly extra strength at the blade/guard/handle area, would have easily been worth the also very slight extra weight that the knife would have gained in the process. The Big Brother is supposed to basically be a bigger version of the Kabar F/U knife. That F/U part means Fighting/Utility, and if the Big Brother, which was already upscaled in size by quite a bit at the blade portion, would have had that little bit of extra bit of tang, it would have simply made it a tad bit more robust... No harm, no foul. It's something that a F/U knife may benefit from, especially with how much bigger it is than the standard Kabar. And, again, the Kabar & Tanto received this upscaled width in their tang design, without increasing the size of the typical Kabar F/U handle. Imo, it should have been a no brainer to do the same for the Big Brother. A tiny bit of extra weight that it took to add a wider tang on the Tanto and Fighter, did not hurt those two models. And, it surely would have not been a problem for the Big Brother either. Just an opinion, it's all good, we don't all have to agree :)
 
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