Customer Reviews

Ka-Bar 2-1212-3 Black Fighting Knife

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The 7 inch clip point Kabar has been the down and dirty standard for all fighting knives and survival knives since World War II and will be around for a long time. It is time tested and has evolved in the past 70 years to meet the needs of the modern world.

Pros:
Price/value
Factory sharp
Hard 1095 "50100 B" Cromium-Vanadium carbon steel blade
Circular serrations (extremely hard to sharpen;however, Kabar's unique serrations outperform any pointed tooth serrations)
Kraton G handle gives comfort but is still durable and completely waterproof
Exposed tang at the bottom that is useful for hammering
Balanced
Durable

Cons:
Extremely vulnerable to rust! Carbon steel is tougher than stainless steel, but it rusts much more easily.
The steel has a useless coating of what looks to be black oxide when it needs to have an actual protective coating of another metal compound such as TiNi to protect the volatile steel from corrosion instead of a pointless coloring chemical
Leather sheath is total garbage and made in mexico, I only use it when I don't wanna look like a badass

The Kabar clip point is the staple of the military and survivalists all over america and is a very nice general purpose knife that will work in most situations. DO NOT buy this Kabar if you don't plan on buying the 15 dollar Glass filled nylon sheath with the knife, it is an absolute necessity! The Kabar is definitely my favorite knife company and knife model for carbon steel blades, and is a top general purpose knife, but it is not for everyone. If you are going to be doing a lot of water work DO NOT use this knife or any carbon steel knife without proper corrosion protection and start looking at either stainless steel (such as the SOG Seal Team Elite; the Remington F.A.S.T.) or D2 knives (such as the Kabar D2 Extreme). All knife enthusiasts or survivalists should definitely have at least 1 Kabar in their collection!

This blade is made of the best 1095 steel. The edge is sharper then any factory edge I've seen. The hard steel will keep an edge forever, and the black finish keeps the high carbon steel from rusting. If you plan to store the knife for any time don't put it in the leather sheath. Buy the plastic sheath for better mounting options and durability. You will love this knife!

I got this knife for my birthday and love it. I love the fact in carbon steel not stainless. I love the fact I spent an hour hammering this thing into wood(called battening or splitting wood)the only thing that happing was the hand guard got bent a little and you know what, I love how it is made in the USA. I would surely recommend this knife to anyone who asked. The only down side is this steel is softer so as always you should buy a sharpening stone if you don't have one. Also the bottom can be used for hammering. As always I will update you if I have any problems.

After spending a lot of money over the years on various knives, I decided it was time to invest in a serious survival/hunting knife. After reading the reviews on dozens of knives here at Amazon, I settled on this Ka-Bar 1212. It was well worth the money.

This knife is gorgeous. It is heavy with a black coated blade that is sharp right out of the box. The handle fits your hand naturally and this whole thing just feels solid. The serrated edge is very sharp and is positioned perfectly for you to be able to cut a tarp, rope, or wood if need be. This isn't as unwieldy as a machete, but can still accomplish most of what you'd need one to do. It tears into small branches and can shave bark like butter for tinder.

If you're looking for one all-around tool for a survival weekend or simple camping trip, this is a great choice for the money. I can't say it's balanced enough for throwing with any real accuracy or distance (and it's not made for that, but you never know when the situation might arise), but it's solid enough to be tied onto a stick for a solid makeshift spear if need be.

This is an investment I'm very satisfied with. The only shortcoming would be the sheath. It just doesn't feel like it belongs with such a high-quality knife. It's not a shoddy piece of junk, but I think the Kydex sheath would be a better choice.

I really didn't need this knife. Already have a great medium size utility knife. (SOG Gov-Tac) But There was a sale at my Navy exchange, and Since I've always wanted one, I picked it up. Man, what a great knife for just $42. I would just be beating a dead horse describing all the features of this knife, so I will just add that the newer style knife with kydex sheath and grippy crayton handle is far more weather friendly than the old leather one. If you just want a collectable, get the Marine version with the classic stacked leather washer handle and leather sheath, but If you plan to deploy or camp with it, go with the new version in black or OD. In his video reviews, Nutnfancy uses a term, "second kind of cool". This Ka-Bar is exactly that. Cool to have, and to show off to your friends, cool to thump on, or just hold and fondle. And as a good all around fighting/utility blade, you just can't beat the price of this classic legend. Oh yeah, and its made in the USA.

As it commonly goes, the hardcore knife enthusiasts will whine and complain about the knives lack of sharpness, serrated edge, ergonomic handles and tons more problems that i cannot even describe. If you have any skill with a grinder, this knife will be perfect. Sure, it comes a little dull, but that is fixable. Honestly, i Like my knife, and as long as you maintain it, it will last quite a while

As an avid hiker, camper, backpacker, general outdoor enthusiast i needed a knife for general badassery and i found it with this Ka-Bar. The blade length is purrrfect, it comes razor sharp, and the blade is thick enough that i don't have to worry about using it to cut wood. Also having the tang exposed at the butt end gives me a decent hammer in a pinch. At this price don't hesitate to purchace this blade, it is an excellent buy.

This is probably one of the best knives I own and I own a lot of them ranging from a few up to several hundred dollars. It's the classic Ka-Bar USMC fighting knife but the leather handle has gone in favor of a Kraton handle and a black epoxy-coated blade. The knife includes a leather sheath that's also black.

The knife is big, heavy, and designed to cut. Period. The blade is made of 1095 carbon steel, which is a very good cutlery steel because it's tough, holds an edge well, and is easily sharpened to a very fine edge. The blade itself is about 1/8" thick. It's almost a full foot long, and the blade is about 7". The tip of the blade has a spear-point grind that's also sharpened, and the blade itself is straight grind except for about 2" at the base of the blade that is serrated. The serrations are interesting in that they don't end in a fine point, but are like the serrations on a bread knife, but they work!

The handle is Kraton, which is a hard rubber that's been texturized to be soft and grippy for using when your hands are wet. It's also got a steel but-cap that you can use as a hammer (I used it to bang in tent stakes).

This is a very useful knife. It's tough, sturdy, and effective. I've used it to chop wood, open tin cans, pound in tent stakes, shave, and cut stuff. It works great. I gave it 4 stars because Ka-Bar said their grinds are 20 degrees, but I put them at about 26, which is at the limit of what I consider to be useful sharpness for an all-around knife like this one. Plus, not really a fault of the knife's, but it will rust so keep it oiled up and it will last you forever!

Ka-Bar has always been one of my favorite knife brands and this knife proves my point. This is a solid knife that has no flaws in my opinion (then again if your are distributing the knife to the us military its got to be good). My only problem with this knife is that it is illegal in many states but other than that a great knife overall.

this knife comes razor sharp right out of the box. to test it i filled up two 2 liter soda bottles with water. and sliced the tops off both of them without any water from the bottom half spilling out. pretty amazing! its tough looking and feels great in the hand. it is a very durable knife. my best friend has the same one and has never had to sharpen it in about 6 years of use. the blade is incredibly hard and holds a great edge! very satisfied with this knife. the sheath isnt all that great but i bought a Kydex sheath with it. recommended for sure.