To me, knives are tools.
They are to be used and abused, to accomplish the mission or die trying.
Ive been through several multi-tools (on average I break one a year) and pocket knives come and go (they get loaned out, lost, or break) but the one knife I have always had unwavering faith in (up until the time I had to quit using it) was the Ka-Bar USMC fighting knife.
As I mentioned in a previous post, a good utility knife is indispensable in the field. Pocketknives like the Buck 110 are great for light work, but sometimes you need something with leverage. Whether it was cutting open MRE cases or prying the wire off of crated ammunition, my Ka Bar took it all in stride. In a perfect world a bayonet would have done just as well for most things, had I been able to draw one from the arms room when we went to the field, but sadly this was not the case, which made the Ka-Bar all the more valuable.
Moreover, the Ka Bars design alone made it superior to the bayonet. The all-leather grip worked wonderfully wet or dry, hot or cold. The blade was thick enough that you could pry with either the point or the flat without undue fear of it snapping, and the big steel endcap, combined with the knifes own mass, made for a fair field expedient hammer.
It didnt bother me in the least that I was in the Army and I was using a Marine Corps knife. That Ka-Bar was a tool, and one I deemed best available to do the jobs I needed doing. I reasoned that since the Marine Corps used the same rifles, ammunition, artillery and armor that the Army did, it was perfectly acceptable to use their knife.
Silly me. Eventually, someone vastly more knowledgeable in trans-service etiquette than I explained to me the magnitude of the military faux pas I was committing. No, it simply would not do to be caught out of doors with such an icon of Marine Corps tradition prominently displayed on my LBE. As a Soldier and an NCO, I should have known better. Need to bust open those crates of MG ammunition? No problem smash them on the ground or kick them, or use a stick (a good NCO always carries a good stick with them for just such a situation.)
The bottom line was that Ka-Bar was a Marine Corps thing and it simply had to go. No amount of pleading, reasoning, or rationalizing could resolve the situation. I just had to learn to do without.
Of course, ten years later Im back to carrying a non-issue fighting knife, but now its made in Nepal, not Olean, N.Y. so I guess that makes it ok…
{ 50 comments… read them below or add one }
What did Crocodile Dundee say about knives? Are you carrying a Gurkha Khukri Fighting Knife? No wonder no one is saying anything about or against it. They are probably afraid that you will use it in a fit of anger against them if they tried to tell you to get rid of it.
That’s why when I was in the Army Reserves, I bought the Camillus Combat Knife. The same makers as the USMC Kabar, essentially the same knife just a touch lighter. I have abused that knife well beyond it’s design limits. The only time it was left worse for wear was when I was showing my new purchase to my buddies and one of them threw it into a tree. He was able to stick it in more than a inch and a half and it left the knife slightly bent at the handguard. I even felled a couple of trees with it(takes a while, but, way quicker than an etool).
But, jeesh, the only guys I’ve seen get away with wearing a Kabar with it’s USMC logo, were all ex-marines(easy there Jarheads, I know there’s no such thing as an ex-marine, but, when you sign on to the Army)
DC can be funny with so many military people on the subways. I remember in high school us suburban kids would meet and park in the Pentagon lot before taking the metro in to DC for a night of carousing.
I’m thinking drunk high school kids can’t treat the Pentagon like a McDonalds parking lot nowadays.
The ka-bar ins’t the only good knife out there. To many other good ones for me to list, and if all else fails you can buy a older bayonet for $10.
The one knife I could always count on was my Seal pup. I was in the army, and nobody ever dared tell me different.
we appreciate the plug Daniel. I sympathize so much, it’s even tempting to say I’d lend you my Nam issue K-Bar….
NOT!
heh heh!
Semper Fi
I prefer the Buck XLTi. Lighter, folding for your pocket, but practically unbreakable. (I use an M-16 for a hammer. That’s about all it’s good for.)
Why not just use the bayonet as the all purpose big knife it was designed to be instead of having both a bayonet and another knife of similar size?
So ahh, a civilian wanting a cool knife would go where?
Back in my day it was a Bowie that impressed chiecks. A Kabar is differnet how? And what is better?
I love my ka-bar, although it doesn’t have the USMC brown leather grip. There’s simply no finer tool.
Eric–A “U.S. Army” stamped version of the Ka-Bar is available from Brigade Quartermaster at http://www.actiongear.com.
Mike,
To address your question about why not use the bayonet, I have never, ever, been authorized to use a bayonet. The one time I was issued one was in ’91 during Desert Storm, and the CO considered them both a “uniform” item, meaning that they would all be used simultaniously (e.g. if I pull mine out to cut open a case of MREs the whole company better be cutting open a case of MREs…) and a “weapon” which ment that we needed his permission to use it for anything at all.
For some reason the Gurkha knife I have now seems immune to comment. It’s not a Marine Corps icon like the Ka-Bar and it’s not a property book item like the bayonet, so the CO doesn’t care if I break it, so no one seems to notice it.
Eric,
Where did you get your khukri?
I have my father’s K-bar that he carried when he went ashore in Okinawa with the 1st Mar. Div. in WWII. I was proud to carry it later when I served a hitch in the Corps between Korea and Nam. You would have to kill me to get it away from me. Oh, and he and I both took damn good care of that old friend. It is in prime condition today with the leather sheath as originally issued.
I dont understand, did someone ban carying / using a knife in the service?
FWIW, Ka-bar makes a “Next Generation” knife that’s not USMC branded; it has all the features of the original Ka-Bar, and then some.
There’s also the old Camillus/Cattaraugus Quartermaster knife, a pattern still made by Ontario. That’s US Army, through and through.
But, all that being said, a kukhri makes a bit of a statement.
I’ve been using a Ka-Bar for almost 30 years, keeping it on my LBE. (Guard Infantry) I only used the leather sheath for a few years. One of my platoon sergeants told me to get a Navy hard sheath for it. It works great; so I have a Marine knife in a Navy sheath on Army LBE, and nobody complains. The only problem I’ve had with it was as a mess officer. When I pressed it in to service to serve cake in the field, it cut aluminum shavings out of the pans.
That’s hilarious, Martin. Slicing up the cake pan.
I use the Eagle sheath, which is hard ceramic in nylon webbing. It has multiple tie downs for leg, belt, or LBV vest, and has a snap down pocket in front.
i have a question about that picture and the ka bar in general
ive always been told that the ka bar rusts like crazy
but the one pictured is half submerged in water
so does that mean its just a rumor or is there any truth to it
Yes Ka-Bar’s rust… like any field knife, you should put a quick coat of knife oil on it after cleaning.
the best knife i ever carried was a seal pup by SOG absolutly perfect this from a Former Marine
Stole a Ka-bar from a Marine once, that is what we Navy types do(no He gave it to Me). Even though I make custom knives and have blades made from steel from many countries My Ka-bar is the one I always strap on. It is always deadly sharp. It’s weight is familiar and I never have any doubts. Have carried it over 20 yrs and have a drawer with a bunch of other broken high end knives that could not survive the job they were designed to do.
As a former marine and air force combat controller in Viet Nam , I traded a marine a bottle of whiskey for a ka- bar , I found the standard air force issue knife couldn’t cut spit , whereas the Ka-Bar could chop down bambu and a multitude of other things
Great knife, great tool, a classic for those who can appreciate such things…
When I was in the Corps, you did not get issued a kbar unless you rated a .45. Of course in Vietnam you carried anything you could get your hands on.
I have a WWII K-Bar that came off the cruiser USS ALASKA when she was being decomissioned in Philadelphia 50 years ago. I have used it when diving in the Florida Keys and for so many other tasks I cannot recall all of them. The blade is “blued” so it does not reflect sunlight,etc. In all the years I have had it, I have never oiled the blade and have only had to sharpen it less than five times. The knife scabbard is marked “USN MK2″. This knife is the best ever.
At Danang RVN in 1965 a marine was scrounging for a 3/8 ” socket set, I traded for his Ka-Bar knife. My best trade ever. TSgt USAF retired
In1969 RVN my Marine Corps issue K-Bar was great, still have my original issiue. Jack 11 MT “C” Co 1969
K Bar, is what you use when your out of bullets.
Brown USMC Ret. Vietnam
When I left Vietmam the first time I had “liberated” a case of 12 k-bars with me. By the time I got through inspections, customs, debriefings, and bribes I arrived home with one.
During my second tour the going rate was-
3 Playboys = 1 k-bar
1 Big bottle of tabsco = 1 k-bar
6 Pair of new socks = 1 k-bar
Looks like they have held their value.
I have 2 USMC KABARS, one from my grandfathers carry and one from a knife show but both are branded and stamped USMC, albeit my grandfather was a SEA BEE, he didnt have much use other than beating crap up with it. anyway, the two knives are good but very different! they look similar one is a camilus and the other a olean the one my grandfather used you could sharpen with a minute touch up after cutting a stone up with it!
The other is so hard to sharpen its not even funny! spend 30 minutes on it to even get it to hack open a bananna!. My Grandfathers knife was also different in that the pummel on the hand grip screwed on and off, todays version I bought 10 years ago is wedged on and is not removable.
I take my grandfathers when I go hunting because it sharpens ez and cleans ez (clean the leather individually appart from the knife and clean in between each compressed leather ring) I honed both edges under and atop. My wife asked if I wanted to frame the knife after my grandfather passed away, along with his Navy uniform which is glass cased now in remembrance/observance of a great individual.
Side story, I took him back to “Pearl Harbor” 2 or 3 years ago to see the Arizona, he couldnt step foot onto the memorial due the tears. He didnt say much for a day after the visit. He died at 93 yrs of age, buried as a cheif and honored as a chief both military as well as fire dept. over 1500 people attended his memorial, I had no clue who 95% were. The small town of New Milford Conn. essentially shut down for the day.
I will continue to carry that knife and pass it on to my son in hopes he will pass the story and the legacy on to his.
OOPs just noticed alot of typos….scuse the mess. (K-Bar)
My Ole Man was a Jarhead (still is actually), and did his 5 years active in the Pacific Campaign. When I was a kid, I was always facinated with his U.S.M.C. issue K-Bar. It was polished clean from all the cleaning and sharpening, and the leather sheath had multiple notches along its sides, to which, when questioned about them, he would always evade an answer. He taught me how to properly sharpen a knife with an oiled carbon stone, and showed me how to keep both the cutting edges sharp on his K-Bar. I remember one day, when I was young and foolish, going out to our garage that had an old, single knotty pine slatted door, and decided to try throwing the infamous k-bar. I was pretty good at throwing knives, but usually kept it to tree targets. I got back about 12/15 feet, got the balance to feel right in my hand, and whipped that knife as hard as I could. When it hit the door, right in the middle of a 12″ wide slat, about 4 1/2 high, it split that thing right in half. I freaked out because I knew the Jarhead was going to have my ass for supper that night when he got home from work. I spent the rest of the afternoon learning repair carpentry repair and actually patched that door good enough for the Jarhead to not notice.
Later in life, I enlisted in the Army (to save Nixon the trouble of drafting me), and wound up doing two tours in the Nam Campaign, as well as two enlistments. As soon as I hit sunny southeast Asia, I traded a Jarhead a case of Sinha beer for his K-bar, and carried it throughout my tours. I could’nt bring it home tho, so I left it with a good buddy. When I got back to the world, I bought a new K-Bar at a surplus store in Oklahoma, and have had it ever since. It is and always will be my knife of choice, and my collection of knives is vast and high end. Bucks are great for holding their edge, but the blades are brittle and will snap if you try to throw them. The K-Bar is without a doubt, the best combat knife ever designed.
Apparently someone did, Alfassa. I have a story that is one of the major reasons I decided that 1 enlistment in the Marine Corps was enough for me.
I often thought about getting a KA-BAR while I was still in. It is a legendary knife always associated with the Marine Corps so it would be good to add it to the rest of my gear. I was lucky/unlucky enough to be put on all the good duties during my enlistment so I never found a need to get one, until after 9/11 and I knew war was imminent. I later got orders for Oki and decided to get a good field knife. I wanted to get something new and I chose the Buck Intrepid Tanto, and it is one hell of a knife, and a small boot knife. Anyway, going to Oki I wanted to make sure to have all the gear I needed and the tools I would need as a Marine to do my job effectively, and that includes a good field knife. No big deal right? In actuality, it’s not a deal at all if you think about it. Someone who is in the military, and a Marine in fact, and he owns a field knife. I checked my bags with my gear, which included my knifes, at the airport so it’s not like I was trying to take it carry-on or anything. When I got to Oki, the Air Force does the whole customs thing and went through our bags. They asked if I had any fruits or vegetables or anything and they looked out my beef jerky and made me throw it away. Then they found my knives and literally gasped! Yes, they really started questioning me then and they called some guy in charge over to “remove” them from my bag. I thought nothing of it, but they made a huge deal. “Why do you have these?”, they were questioning me like I had ingredients to make a bomb or something. They said, “You aren’t authorized to have these” and I immediately told them in the common Marine Corps way, “Bulllllllllshit!”. But they were shocked that I had a pair of knives in my bag and they wouldn’t let me keep them. They said they would hold them for 30 days and then they would be destroyed. I said I would be back to get them when I got to my unit. When I got there I told my command about what had happened and my Gunny, who was cool as hell, took me back up there to get them. Gunny talked to them and even said that I could keep them at the armory, but they would not release them. Gunny called back to the battalion office to get it figured out, but no one there would authorize me to have them either! They eventually did release them to my Gunny, but only to take them directly to the Post Office to have me send them back home so they wouldn’t get “destroyed”. I was taken aback by that incident, I didn’t even know what to say. They wouldn’t allow me to have the tools I needed as a Marine, a member of the active armed forces who was going to be going to war. They’ll trust me with an assault rifle, but not a knife? That one incident was the final turning point for me, I realized that this Marine Corps was not the Marine Corps I signed up for. I’m jealous of the guys who got to be in the “old corps”, I’ve heard the stories, and I bet it was glorious. The Marine Corps still has it’s traditions and are still trained just as hard as ever, but there’s a few things that have evolved that just shouldn’t be.
Reading these posts makes me want to get that KA-BAR I used to want. Maybe they wouldn’t have kept that from me because it would be branded with the EGA, or actually, they probably would have kept that from me too.
That’s funny, I too had a K-Bar on my LBE, both as enlisted and later as an officer. Surprisingly no one ever called me out on it. As an Infantry Officer I had two sets of LBE; the GI issue (kept clean and perfect for admin/parade grounds) and my field one (I bought) which had a black handle/ scabbard K Bar hanging from it. I guess it all depends on where you were and what units you came across.
we mailed our son an Army logo k-bar knife, an Iraqi Freedom Commemorative K-Bar Fighting knife. We sent it to Iraq and he said in an e-mail that he received it, is there a chance he might not be able to use it…it is not for display, it is to be used and worn on his acus with other items he needs. he has not mentioned it except to say he got it, we are now afraid he cannot use it or the fact that it bears the commeomrative emblem he wont use it and he doesn’t want to tell us…it is a great knife and his dad was in the army in the vietnam era and he researched and found the k-bar is what our son needs now….we will just have to ask him, we hope he can use it….
I too am a lover of the KaBar. During my tour in VietNam I was issued an M-14 and a bayonet. Kabars were only issued to staff sergeants and officers who carried a .45. I actually ordered my KaBar from “Leather Neck’ magazine and carried it through my tour. I managed to get it home rolled up in some socks and a boot in my seabag. I lost it some years later following my discharge in a move, regretably.
I live in Calif. but grew up and enlisted in the Marine Corps in Western New York. One of my trips back to visit relatives I made it a point to look up the KaBar factory in Olean, New York. Olean is about 45 miles east of Jamestown on the Southern Tier Highway 86. I saw a sales office that said “KaBar” right next to the highway and from there I got directions to the Cutco Cutlery Company/ Alcas the manufacturing facility. My intention was to buy one from the factory if possible. They had an interesting historical display in their sales room and a number of commemorative KaBars. They told me that some of the commemoratives are done by other companies who are their customers. I didn’t actually buy my knife there because they couldn’t undercut their wholesale customers’ prices and I knew I could get it cheaper. Now I wish I had spent a few more dollars and gotten it there since that is the source. I may still go back and buy a Viet Nam commemorative since I bought the regular U.S.M.C. knife like I had in Nam elsewhere.
Here is some info in case someone else wants to research or visit the website I found.
CUTCO Cutlery Corporation
1116 East State Street
PO Box 810
Olean, NY 14760
372-3111
Fax: 373-6155
jstitt@alcas.com
http://www.cutco.com
Alcas is the parent company of CUTCO Cutlery Corp., the largest manufacturer of high-quality kitchen cutlery and accessories in the U.S. and Canada. Vector Marketing, exclusive marketer of Cutco directly to consumers, via sales representatives, CUTCO International, and Ka-Bar Knives.
former Sgt. R. Allen ’66-’70 U.S.M.C.
Dear DefenseTech.
http://WWW.USAB2C.com (USAB2C – AMERICA’S BUSINESS TO CONSUMERS Inc) has an excellent selection of Ka-Bar knives.
This site was recently launched to promote only American manufactured products and the Ka-Bar product is well situated within this site.
Would be nice if DefenseTech provided a Link to this unique site to help keep American Craftmanship American.
v/r, John
You want my knife, you are welcome to try to take it from me! Are you that hard??!!
I can’t believe the Army has become so chicken that you can’t carry a knife associated with the USMC. That must have been a local thing, Eric.
I bought my plain, leather-sheathed Kabar in the bookstore at JFK Center for Unconventional Warfare while attending the Special Forces Officer Course in 1970. It cost $7.50.
It accompanied me to various parts of Asia and all over the US while in the Army and Army Reserve. Took it with me to Europe after the war while working for a civilian diving company. Wore it diving in numerous oceans, seas, etc, although I subbed in a plastic sheath and plenty of petroleum jelly when wet.
I never thought of it as a fighting implement. It is a tool that has cut down trees, cut the wires on C-ration boxes (a little harder than those platic straps), dug small holes, cut down trees (did I say that?), chopped roots, pounded in pegs and whiled away hours whittling. Keeping an edge was never problem. A 6″ flat mill bastard file and a small stone did the job.
It is an all-round tool. However, I always had a Swiss Army knife (do they actually issue these to the Swiss Army?)of medium blade quantity (be sure to get one with the saw blade). Some jobs are just too delicate.
Many folks I served with preferred the USAF survival sheath knife but I notice that these tended to stay in that sheath. One of my experienced sergeants observed that you could clear a PZ with Kabars but not with survival knifes.
Anyway, it’s still downstairs in what my boys call “The Army Room” and gets out to go camping once in a while, still in the original leather sheath. I’ve had it longer than any other possession and intend to keep it until death do us part.
Persistence is the way to combat those who like to make up regs as they go along. Make them be right and make them give you a direct order.
A little logic helps too. I once had a fat, old National Guard First Sergeant tell me that we couldn’t wear rain jackets without wearing rain pants since we’d be out of uniform. This disregards the fact that rain gear is considered part of the “wet warm weather ensemble” (the Army deliberately made it not a “uniform” item). My question was,”Then this means I’ll also see you wearing field pants next time you’re wearing a field jacket?” He couldn’t find a way around that.
My apologies for being so, uh, wordy.
I really know how to sharpen knives,have a series of stons to sharpen knives,cermaic,sharp stick,different course of stone ,plus aholder that will hold the knife blade any angle i usa20 degree thenfew stroks at25 degree.I sharpen a lot of hunter knives and pocket knives.I have even made 2 sharpening tools that help me a whole lot.I love cleaning a old knif and sharpen the blade.What i would like is a book that would teach me how to repair pocket folding knives lock back knives.Hope you can help me. Thanks for your time.
For what it is worth and for the post wondering about the use of the KBAR OIF commemorative…
I am prior service USMC. That said, when deploying to the sandbox with the ANG I took what I wanted with me. That was 1 bayonet, non issue, 1 KBAR, non issue and (since I do not have a Khukri) 2 Phillipino Bolo knives (20+ years old).
I was an NCO and attached to an active duty Army unit. I carried what I wanted, when I wanted and nobody seemed to give a care about it. A lot of the kids carried all manner of personal stuff that they got from where ever and nobody seemed to care about that either. Get the job done was more or less the way it seemed to be.
As far as the USMC Branded sheath goes, since I did not want to wear an LBV w/c-belt, I got a sheath (and ammo pouches) that wove into the MOLLE attachment points on my body armor, this helps to obscure the fact that the knife is USMC branded.
Egos aside, I do not care whos brand is on a KBAR. It is a good tool for the job it was created to perform and for jobs we seem to want to do and don’t have another tool for.
And by the by, I am a (former) Marine AND (former) Soldier for what it’s worth :)
Have fun
John W
“Of course, ten years later I
Hi all, I’m writing a book and the main character will be carrying a special knife though I’m undecided what knife that will be. I am researching about cold steel and heat treated and the like, which I know nothing about quite honestly. Does anyone know of a web site that goes over in detail how to create a very strong blade that holds an edge for a long time and is easily sharpened? Does anyone know definitively which process produces the strongest metal blades? Thanks for any help! Mike
my old man last year gave me a K-bar, NY made,
He got it in Chau Lai in ’71 when attached to the Tomcats, (he was from New Zealand)
It was given to him from a master sargent USMC who had it issued to him for Korea,
it has some use but is in awesome condition.
Sex parad at http://worldofadult.com
I have a Kabar, it is an amazing knife, it looks great but you cannot understand why it is so popular until you hold it in your hand. The grip is amazing, you have to feel it to believe it, it practically glues itself to your hand. The blade is so solid you would think it was made from a lawnmower blade. The knife is just one bad ass piece of equipment, i would recommend it to anyone.
My Father gave me his USMC stamped Vietnam battle-hardened KA-Bar when I was 15. Later I decided to join the Army. During my enlistment, my KA-Bar was a permanent fixture on my LBE. In my 6 year career,even as an NCO, I was approached about three times on why I had a “Marine knife” on my LBE. I just stated,”My Dad defended his county with it, so will I.
I have a Ka-Bar left by my Great Uncle, he was issued this knife upon joining theUSMC in 1928. Anyone have an idea what this knife is worth today?
RE: Hi all, I’m writing a book and the main character will be carrying a special knife though I’m undecided what knife that will be. I am researching about cold steel and heat treated and the like, which I know nothing about quite honestly. Does anyone know of a web site that goes over in detail how to create a very strong blade that holds an edge for a long time and is easily sharpened? Does anyone know definitively which process produces the strongest metal blades? Thanks for any help! Mike
Mike
The Ka-Bar USMC is historically one of the best knives for its day but since the introduction of new “super steels” and alloys, I would check into the knives made by http://www.scrapyardknives.com .
These are made from high performance super alloys specially selected for their strength, durability, ease of sharpening and edge retention. Steels that are generally used in the production of industrial ball bearings and air hammer bits, heat treated then sub-zero tempered to -300 Deg.F. for a few days to increase their performance characteristics.
No, I am not an employee of their company, I just own 4 of their knives and use them all of the time, hard. Really hard.
Don’t get me wrong. I still LOVE my 3 Ka-Bar knives but now they sit in my collection as they are too pretty to use where the Scrap Yard knives are built for abuse and comfort during hard contact situations. THese are the ONLY knives I would bet my life on in a combat / survival situation.
Dave