K-bar
06-17-2014, 05:27 PM
#4
Super Moderator
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Trumbull County, Ohio
Posts: 9,520
I love mine for some heavier work, but do not carry it while actually hunting. Works great for splitting the rib cage, splitting pelvis, and even hacking through bone. Keep it nice and sharp and one quick hack will cleanly split the leg bone( That did take a little practice for me to get it right).
-Jake
-Jake
06-25-2014, 02:11 PM
#5
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 9,230
K-Bars are good knives for what they were designed for. But they were designed for combat and not hunting. In my humble opinion you don't need that much blade. Anything more than 2 or 3 inches is excessive for field dressing and skinning and there are better knives available for boning and butchering tasks.
I have my grandfather's K-Bar from WWII but his was Navy issued and not USMC. He was in the Philippines at the Cavite Navy Yard in 1941 when the Japanese invaded on Dec 08 and was there fighting with the guerillas until the Philippines were liberated by U.S forces. This one has the stacked leather handle and a big aluminum knob on the end of the handle for crushing skulls. I know of at least 2 Japanese soldiers my grandfather killed with it. When I was active duty I carried it as my battle knife instead of the garbage they issue now. For close quarter combat the K-Bar is hard to beat. But it ain't a hunting knife.
I have my grandfather's K-Bar from WWII but his was Navy issued and not USMC. He was in the Philippines at the Cavite Navy Yard in 1941 when the Japanese invaded on Dec 08 and was there fighting with the guerillas until the Philippines were liberated by U.S forces. This one has the stacked leather handle and a big aluminum knob on the end of the handle for crushing skulls. I know of at least 2 Japanese soldiers my grandfather killed with it. When I was active duty I carried it as my battle knife instead of the garbage they issue now. For close quarter combat the K-Bar is hard to beat. But it ain't a hunting knife.
07-31-2014, 07:56 PM
#6
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Illinois
Posts: 282
love the Ka-bar design, except the tang is pretty wimpy, so never use one for chopping or prying (not that you should ever use a knife for those things). I've cut up a few deer with a ka-bar and they work pretty well. A smaller blade would be a little handier for the task, but it feels good to use a trusty old design like the ka-bar.
12-10-2014, 02:08 AM
#7
Spike
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 77
I own a Ka-Bar fighting knife from my time in the Marines and agree it's not a hunting knife.
But I found that Ka-Bar makes a folding hunting knife (The Mule) with a 3 7/8" blade made of AUS 8a steel. It looked impressive when I held one at a dealer. Does anyone have any experience with this blade because I was thinking of maybe getting one for hunting.
But I found that Ka-Bar makes a folding hunting knife (The Mule) with a 3 7/8" blade made of AUS 8a steel. It looked impressive when I held one at a dealer. Does anyone have any experience with this blade because I was thinking of maybe getting one for hunting.
