Customer Reviews

KA-BAR Full Size US Marine Corp Fighting Knife, Straight

5 star:		(142)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Pretty much anyone reading this will be familiar with Ka-Bar and its history of hard-core reliability for everyday chores, as well as its unquestioned lethal efficiency in last-ditch combat applications.
Well- it is likely that anything you've ever heard about this legendary blade is true. The original pattern, almost identical to the one carried and relied on through WWII, Korea, and Vietnam and now in constant use by present day heroes serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and other places around the world, has always had features worth far more than its price would dictate. Exceptional steel, the blade will take, and hold, a shaving edge, and it can be re-sharpened in the field with just a bit of effort. ( I use a V-shaped ceramic rod sharpener on mine and have always been able to get that razor sharp edge again after just a dozen passes.)

The leather-stack handle provides an excellent grip, and the balance of the knife is perfect. The shape of the blade is extremely well done - a very sharp point, sufficient curve, or belly, to allow slicing / skinning/ dressing, a long enough straight portion for anything else, and enough heft to make thrusting, chopping or slashing all second nature in a combat situation.
There ARE different blade sizes and configurations available in the Ka-Bar line, some of these come with partial serrations, some with a semi-tanto style point... I suppose to each his own. But this original style gives one a feeling of stone-solid reliability and confidence, like having a friend at your side who will always cover your back.

You can certainly find more exotic, more appealing and more 'tactical / cool looking' knives than this, and it is true that some military guys will shell out from 100 to 500 dollars for a high-grade custom style combat knife. Fine. But if you only have fifty bucks or so, get this one and take it into whatever situations you deal with. It will never let you down.

In 1968 I was home on leave from the USMC before I shipped out. My father (a career Marine himself) handed me a package wrapped in oil skin and said "Here, son, you may need this some time. Keep it sharp." I said I would and he went back in the house. He was a man of few words and fewer emotions so it meant a great deal to me that he gave me the KaBar he had carried through the Pacific in WW2. His words were prophetic. I would not be here today if it weren't for that knife. Sadly, it was stolen shortly before I was discharged and I never recovered it. I was happy to hear that Ka-Bar is mfg these knives to the original mil specs. Many of our troops take them to Iraq and Afganistan. I purchased this knife for camping, but mostly as a rememberence of my father. 5 stars for sure.

Well, at some point i was lookin for a knife, especially for camping and outdoor, but something like an "all around" knife that i could use in many situations.
After some research on the internet i found out this knife, that i didnt know of...(i am not really a knife guy), but the USMC Ka-Bar was highly rated in every site i looked.
I decided to buy it and am very happy with it...its a beautiful knife,very sharp, the weight is perfect,its not too big or too small,its very compact and the materials are awesome.
6 stars!!! ;)

I was looking for a knife that would last more than a few months and had a proven history. I shopped for several months and one knife just kept standing out. after looking at the website [...] I felt I had found a good medium. What struck me was the fact that the knife's design had very little change since it was first adopted. I own a few small folders and fixed blades but non of them would stand up to hacking at tree limbs and cutting through wires. The Knife has a wonderful edge, the wight of the knife gives it a good feel, and it is perfectly balanced at the first set of leather discs. the grip it's self is tough and the oval shape makes holding it less stressful on your hand. The sheath is the only part I can see that would need to be replaced with in the next ten years. The snap at the end of the sheath took some getting used to but it is very easy to pop open with your palm as you grab for the knife. I have read a few stories that seem a little out their but the message is true. This knife could SAVE YOUR LIFE. If a Marine will find precious room to carry this blade then chances are its good enough to throw on your belt when you go camping, or in your tackle box, any where, anytime is the right time for a Ka-Bar.

Pros: For such a large blade, it has a great weight. Not too heavy but not too light either, just the right balance. The grip is nice and uniform, fits the hand and seems secure. The blade does NOT "rattle" or move at all, demonstrating the quality and advantage of having a full-tang blade and a secure "Cap/Pin Assembly"... this blade isn't going budge even 1/100th of a millimeter. The edge came fairly sharp, but not quite to the point of "hair shaving" quality as some others have claimed. It will definitely slice you open something fierce as sharp as it comes, but it could definitely use a few passes with a fine/extra fine grit stone to give it that lethal-quality finish if you're planning on using this knife for self-defense or hunting purposes.

Cons: The Swedge no longer comes sharpened at-all, but is now a completely dull "false-edge" clip... I contacted KABAR about this before buying so I knew what I was getting from the get-go (they told me it was because our crappy Government has passed "double-edged" laws in select States), but felt it was worth mentioning. Still, not even having it a tiny bit sharpened at the very, very tip of the "back-edge" is really disappointing... this wouldn't kill no bear anymore. The advantage and purpose of having that sharpened Swedge was the versatility that small feature offered (i.e. back-stabbing/back-slashing), like as not permitting the blade to "stick" as one-sided "false-edge" clip points tend to do, but rather to cleanly and smoothly draw in/out on stabbing strikes as any good all-purpose "Survival" knife should! The sharpened Swedge just made things a lot easier and made the KABAR what it has become. For this sole reason I have removed 1 Star. The original USMC KABAR had a lethally sharp Swedge and therefore owing to the fact this has been left off of all new KABARS for the last few years, these new ones are not the original, but are a castrated and slightly lesser KABAR's for it. That said, it should be simple to fix if you have the guts to risk destroying your KABAR by restoring the Swedge's edge yourself to return this 'ole Marine to it's FORMER Glory, providing it is not "illegal" to do so where you live. I would highly recommend that you do so, or else take it in to a professional who can do it for you.

As for the sheath... I would steer clear of using it and finding a replacement of better quality and craftsmanship. Mine does not seem to want to fit or play nice with me or the KABAR and I almost cut my hand wide open wrestling with it just to get it in there to assess if I liked it or not (it pulls out awkwardly, starts off very tight and secure - requiring a fair amount of force, but then greatly reduces its hold and "jumps" in/out and that is where the danger factor plays in, in both sheathing and unsheathing this blade and where you COULD get cut). I thankfully had the foresight to go ahead and order the Kydex model for it and that is where this blade will be stowed from now on. The provided Leather Sheath is pretty much just a "oooh, aaah" item for display purposes only IMO.

love this knife. it is exactly what you'd expect.
its rugged, balanced, has a little weight behind it, everything you'd need for a usmc issued knife.
works great for camping/hunting/survival.
its a remake of the original ka-bar issued to marines during ww2 and it doesn't disappoint.

There isn't much more to expound upon that you can't read from other reviews. This is the be-all-end-all of fixed blade knives. Perfect balance for fighting/utility tasks, rugged design, etc. The knife was immaculate, a few passes with a ceramic sharpener would bring it up to razor-sharpness. My only complaint is that my sheath had just a bit too much conditioner on it, and was a bit greasy.
Take the above into account: If my sole qualm was an over-conditioned sheath, this is one hell of a deal.

this knife accompanied me through Korea and Panama while in the service. i took it home with me and used it over the next 30 years in everyday life, but especially camping and hunting. my sons took it over and used it similarly and so did my grandchildren and even a grandniece. the knife finally was lost while white water rafting on the colorado. after a short period of grief, my children and grandchildren all held a short memorial service for the knife and all went out and got one of their own. it is not just a knife. it is a sturdy all around tool.

I'm a 61 y/o guy who recently re-connected with the Marines by running the Marine Corp Marathon for the second time. This stirred memories of the late 60's and early 70's and when I saw the K-bar for sale, I had to have it. It was just as I remembered it: sturdy, sharp, stamped with USMC, easy to resharpen to the extent you can shave the hairs off your arm, and that stacked leather handle that just fits my hands. It's a very useful and satisfying piece of equipment, not just a bit of memorabilia.

I ordered this full size KA-BAR knife when I found it here on Amazon for less than $50 and free shipping, and I was pretty excited about it. That excitement was promptly killed when I received the product.

The blade of the knife was visibly bent, probably during heat treatment, and the sharpening was extremely poor, I expected it to arrive dull, most knives I order online do, to protect the edge from damage during shipping, but the edge "snaked" it's way down the blade and the curve at the tip looked more like a tanto blade than a USMC fighting knife.

Now the issues with the blade could've been relatively easily fixed by a professional sharpener hadn't the blade been so bent as well, so I contacted Amazon about getting a replacement. They were extremely quick, professional and trouble free! Easily the best return I've ever gone through.

I asked for a replacement to give this knife one more go and the next one did look a lot better. There was still some "snaking" of the edge and the tip, where it's (originally) double edged was not completely identical from side to side, but frankly, it was good enough for what I expect for $50.

This will be my "abuse knife" on hikes and trails, it will be designated with opening cans, digging (if needed) and all the nasty grunt work I don't want to subject my finer knives to, I've yet to be able to try this, but I assume it will do so reasonably well, considering how many military personnel seem to like it.

To sum up, I'd say that the producer has some severe issues with quality control, if I made this product that first knife would've never left the factory. Amazons customer service department deserves a hug and a pizza party and the knifes quality seems decent for a $50 knife, once I got the replacement, overall I'd say the most I'd ever pay for one would be $75-80 dollars, it's not worth more than that, it's a "run of the mill" fighting knife, and outside of it's history and reputation it doesn't have anything that makes it exceptional.

Oh and, I don't have any issues with the leather sheath, works perfectly fine for me, it is cheaply made though.