Customer Reviews

Ka-Bar Short Black Straight Edge Knife

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I purchased this knife with field dressing wild game in mind because of the practicality of the 5 ¼ inch blade. I was filled with mixed emotions when I received the knife. The blade is quite impressive, well designed, and perfectly crafted. But, the knife is made visually out of balance by the inordinately tiny handle. The handle is of small circumference; but worse, the handle is about a full ¼ inch too short. In addition, the handle cap is quite small, too. I found the glass-filled nylon sheath more durable and well made than expected. In summary, the blade is superior; but overall, I would not buy another because the handle is made for a child or female. The handle of this knife remains simply too small to fit comfortably in the hand of an adult male. If this knife had been made with a handle akin to the old U.S. Navy Mark I RH Pal 35 ... then it would have been absolutely perfect.

I bought this for use as a utility knife while hunting, fishing, hiking, and camping, not as a defensive weapon. Glock makes a much better tool for that task. The knife is solidly constructed as is the Kydex sheath. The only drawbacks I found were the nylon retaining straps on the sheath were overly tight fitting initially and the blade's sharpness out of the box left a bit to be desired. Leaving the straps fastened with the knife sheathed for a day or so and a few minutes touch-up with a diamond steel solved both minor details easily. I would purchase this knife again without hesitation.

I ordered this product expecting to get the regular Kabar with a 5.25" blade instead of the 7" which I find a bit long. Instead the whole knife is 75% the size of the orginal, so the blade width and handle are also smaller. The handle in particular feels much narrower and ends up at only 4" long. Someone else discribed this knife as being for hobbits. Personally, I think it would also be good for people with small hands but certainly not for someone with XXL hands, like me, or most men for that matter.

So in short, the only thing this knife and the standard USMC Kabar share is the same style. They are two completely differnt products. So while I liked standard USMC Kabar but was looking for a shorter blade this knife just did not seem to work for me. Maybe ok for the wife or kids but not someone with man size hands.

Feeling frusterated I went to the reviews of this knife here on Amazon and my complaint seems to be pretty standard. However, I came across a review by Saint Richard where he suggested taking the finger guard at the base of the handle off the top dull side of the blade so that your thumb can rest on the backside of the blade. Since I am not into knife fighting the guard on the top dull side of the blade never made sense to me anyways, so off it went.

This simple modification made a world of differnce. The handle is still a bit small but with somewhere to put my thumb it is now usable. I actually find myself using this modified knife for yard work and surprised myself the other day when I found myself looking for it to take on a hike. The smaller weight and size make it a good knife for hiking.

Thank you Saint Richard and Amazon.

Pro's
- great steel, which you need to protect from rust
- blade length, which is better in my opinion for day to day tasks
- weight, lighter
- accessory's - the kydex sheath is a great option at a reasonable price

Con's
- needs to be modified, per above, for mans hands and probably should be anyways for ease of use. The mod is easy with a hacksaw and file.
- Cost just about the same cost as a the standard blade - I am cheap and feel I am getting more with the standard blade but understand that workmanship and materials are closely matched between the two and therefore the cost should be comparable. So this con may just be in my head.

Overall 4 out of 5 starts becasue with the modification I find myself using it a lot without the modificaiton maybe two stars.

Karbar if you are reviewing why not make a 5.5" Kabar with the blade shortened and no top dull side finger guard. Yes I understand it may not be as balanced for fighting but it would make a near prefect utility knife in my opinion.

I have owned many knives in my life. Buck, Gerber, Winchester; none compare to this knife in durability and its' ability to hold an edge. I purchased one almost four years ago and it has never given me any trouble. I am now retiring that knife to its' original leather sheath for decoration considering I bought the Identical knife not more than a week ago. This knife is amazing at holding and edge. It takes a LOT to dull it down. It's handles are very solid and help to maintain grip. There were many times when I thought this knife would bend, break, ect. but this knife has always been at the top of its class. IF I WAS ABLE TO GIVE IT ANY MORE THAT 5 STARS, I CERTAINLY WOULD. My advice is to buy the Kydex Sheath, almost as tough as the knife itself!

Firstly, I have Amazon Prime because I'm a college student, and with that, this product gets free 2 day shipping. Actually the knife was delivered next day which was great. Now on to the knife. The first thing I noticed is that it is smaller than I had imagined, which is not at all a bad thing. I have larger hands, and this knife still fits perfectly. I ordered it with the Kydex sheath, which deserves it's own review all together, but it is amazing. The knife itself came sharper than I had imagined it would, but not hair shaving sharp. The knifes full tang blade holds an amazingly sharp edge for quite a while. I bought it to replace an old hunting knife that was my fathers and it more than fills the role. It is made here in the USA and has the same quality as you would expect from the full sized Kabar. Overall this knife is perfect for almost everything I have used it for; camping, hunting, fishing, hiking, even around the house for yard work. It is the best knife I have ever owned, and will be the only knife I ever buy again. This knife is perfect and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a solid knife that will last. Plus, the price is just amazing.

I travel in South America every year. I have a full size K-Bar which is a great fighting knife but is a little cumbersome and very intimidating. That's a good and bad thing.

The short K-Bar is easier to carry and I can carry it anytime. So I carry it when I am out and about in country and when I am in towns or villages. I like it a lot.

This is an awesome knife. It is well balanced and takes an edge well. Highly recommend it!

I strongly disagree that a 5.25-inch blade is too big to be a fighting knife. If anything, it's too small. The 7-inch model is a better fighter, because it gives you more reach. This smaller version is easier to carry for hunters and fisherman.

i bought this knive with great hopes, and it delivered every one of them! this knive is rigid, strong, and durable. i would recomend this knive to anyone looking for a working knive. its go a strong leather sheath, and is extremly sharp. a good all around purpose knive.

I purchased this knife in another site. The Ka-Bar short fighting knife is the first disappointment I had with Ka-Bar products. They describe the knife as 3/4 size of the full size. That is not quite accurate. It is smaller than that. The handle is a lot smaller in diameter and shorter by 1 inch. If you have large hands, it will be very uncomfortable. The blade is shorter, as advertised, but it is also narrower. I was expecting a knife that would have a shorter blade but not quite as narrow as this one. Ka-Bar had the opportunity to create a great knife by just making the blade 5 inches and leaving the rest of the structure intact. Instead they opted to create a very limited size knife that is very uncomfortable to use. I am so disappointed that I plan to purchase another full size Ka-Bar and shorten the blade. This will provide me with a real useful knife instead of a toy knife. I strongly urge people with large hands not to consider this knife. I give it 2 stars because quality wise it is OK.