KA-BAR 1217 Fighting Knife.
Aug 4, 2012 23:39:06 GMT
Post by Adrian Jordan on Aug 4, 2012 23:39:06 GMT
Introduction:
Ahoy, me hearties! Today I'm going to put up an out of box review of my KA-BAR 1217 Fighting Knife. I got it a while ago off of Amazon for $45.86 shipped. Item shipped quickly and was received without defect. I wrote a review on one of the newer generation of KA-BAR's fighting knives, found here forum.sword-buyers-guide.com/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=11090, and many may have noticed that I compared it often to this model. That's because this model is super-badass(technical talk) and is one of my favorite knives ever. This one is to replace one given to me by my nephew Quentin's father, Jonah, who was in the Marine's at the time.
Historical Overview:
These guys tell it better than I ever could.
www.tomarskabars.com/kabarhistory.html
www.kabar.com/history
Full Disclosure:
I don't like Corvettes. Never have. I'm more of a Mustang guy('67 Fastback or "69 BOSS, all day, everyday.) It's not a Ford or Chevy thing either. I love Cameros and Chevelles almost as much as Mustangs. I just hate Corvettes.
I am not now, nor have I ever been a Marine.
I am not affiliated with either KA-BAR or Amazon, and I paid full price(an amazing price for what you get, too) for this item.
Initial Impressions:
Packaging:
The knife arrived in one of the newer KA-BAR boxes, which I don't like as much as the old white ones. You know, the ones with the cool technical drawings of the knife on it.
Blade was covered with white cardboard sheath.
Overall Specs:
Blade length-7"
Blade material-1095 Cro-Van Steel, HRC 56-58.
Handle length-5"
Handle materials-Stacked leather washers.
Hand-guard/pommel-Powdered steel.
Tang-Full.
Handle:
Made of stacked leather washers over a full-tang, it has a powdered metal butt-cap that is held on with a steel pin.
I love it. The leather looks amazing. Smells amazing too. I think anybody who has one of these knows what I'm talking about. The leather and oil mix and just smells, well, good. The shape and circumference of the handle are perfect for my hands. It is more of an oval shape than circular, and provides a very comfortable, sure grip. It has a full hand-guard, made of black powdered steel. It seems slightly thin to me, and I'm not positive it could stand a really hard blow without bending or breaking. For comparison, here it is next to it's younger brethren. Notice the difference in the thickness of the hand-guard.
The Butt-cap is also black powered steel, and is designed to also be usable as a hammer or for inflicting blunt impact trauma. Overall, their are few handles that I find as aesthetically pleasing as these.
Blade:
Made of Cro-Van 1095 Carbon Steel, it is 7" long, with a 6 and 5/8" cutting edge. It has a classic Bowie clipped shape with an unsharpened false edge and fullered on both sides. It comes from the factory with a 20 degree cutting edge.
Again, I love it! It is a great size for me, not too big or small. The blade is not totally centered with the handle, as seen here;
As I understand, this is to keep the actual tip on a center-line through the handle. This allows for more penetrating power in thrusting. The fullers are wide and not too deep, and look well done.
The edge is pretty decent. Unfortunately, while sharp all along the edge, it seems to be slightly less sharp in a few small places. It is not dramatic, or even really noticeable when it is being used, but several paper-cutting tests show that it likes to catch in a few spots. Visually, it is flawless.
Sheath:
Leather, with a single loop trap. Loop features brass button closure. Sheath is stamped with both KA-BAR and USMC logos.
A very simple, attractive leather sheath. It's not super-fantastic, but I like it. The emblems don't seem to be stamped in as well or deep as my former knife, and it doesn't seem as thick. But I may just be imagining that. Stitching is decent. Very even, and fairly heavy thread. There is also some brass rivets to keep it together. The mouth is very tight, and it is a bit of a struggle to push the blade completely in. You can see in this picture that the leather is scraped pretty good with insertion.
Handling:
Pretty dang good. Weight is listed at .70 pounds, and the point of balance is behind the hand-guard, about a third of an inch. It is not blade-heavy at all, and can be swung, stabbed and re-directed quickly. While this is legendary as a fighting blade, the design was originally for hunting. While it is good for batoning, the balance is such that it is not as good as one with a more forward balance.
Conclusions:
This is, as stated, one of my favorite knives of any kind. It is tough, well fitted and versatile. It is also pretty cheap. While it has some shortcomings, I would absolutely buy it again. However, one thing to bear in mind;
A note to potential buyers:
While I love this particular design to death, the leather is known to swell, crack and deteriorate in very humid or wet environments. If you want to get a KA-BAR that you intend to use in such an environment, I would have to recommend one of the Kraton handled versions.
Thanks for reading! As always, please feel free to comment or make suggestions. You may also feel free to shower me with adulation and karma points.
Ahoy, me hearties! Today I'm going to put up an out of box review of my KA-BAR 1217 Fighting Knife. I got it a while ago off of Amazon for $45.86 shipped. Item shipped quickly and was received without defect. I wrote a review on one of the newer generation of KA-BAR's fighting knives, found here forum.sword-buyers-guide.com/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=11090, and many may have noticed that I compared it often to this model. That's because this model is super-badass(technical talk) and is one of my favorite knives ever. This one is to replace one given to me by my nephew Quentin's father, Jonah, who was in the Marine's at the time.
Historical Overview:
These guys tell it better than I ever could.
www.tomarskabars.com/kabarhistory.html
www.kabar.com/history
Full Disclosure:
I don't like Corvettes. Never have. I'm more of a Mustang guy('67 Fastback or "69 BOSS, all day, everyday.) It's not a Ford or Chevy thing either. I love Cameros and Chevelles almost as much as Mustangs. I just hate Corvettes.
I am not now, nor have I ever been a Marine.
I am not affiliated with either KA-BAR or Amazon, and I paid full price(an amazing price for what you get, too) for this item.
Initial Impressions:
Packaging:
The knife arrived in one of the newer KA-BAR boxes, which I don't like as much as the old white ones. You know, the ones with the cool technical drawings of the knife on it.
Blade was covered with white cardboard sheath.
Overall Specs:
Blade length-7"
Blade material-1095 Cro-Van Steel, HRC 56-58.
Handle length-5"
Handle materials-Stacked leather washers.
Hand-guard/pommel-Powdered steel.
Tang-Full.
Handle:
Made of stacked leather washers over a full-tang, it has a powdered metal butt-cap that is held on with a steel pin.
I love it. The leather looks amazing. Smells amazing too. I think anybody who has one of these knows what I'm talking about. The leather and oil mix and just smells, well, good. The shape and circumference of the handle are perfect for my hands. It is more of an oval shape than circular, and provides a very comfortable, sure grip. It has a full hand-guard, made of black powdered steel. It seems slightly thin to me, and I'm not positive it could stand a really hard blow without bending or breaking. For comparison, here it is next to it's younger brethren. Notice the difference in the thickness of the hand-guard.
The Butt-cap is also black powered steel, and is designed to also be usable as a hammer or for inflicting blunt impact trauma. Overall, their are few handles that I find as aesthetically pleasing as these.
Blade:
Made of Cro-Van 1095 Carbon Steel, it is 7" long, with a 6 and 5/8" cutting edge. It has a classic Bowie clipped shape with an unsharpened false edge and fullered on both sides. It comes from the factory with a 20 degree cutting edge.
Again, I love it! It is a great size for me, not too big or small. The blade is not totally centered with the handle, as seen here;
As I understand, this is to keep the actual tip on a center-line through the handle. This allows for more penetrating power in thrusting. The fullers are wide and not too deep, and look well done.
The edge is pretty decent. Unfortunately, while sharp all along the edge, it seems to be slightly less sharp in a few small places. It is not dramatic, or even really noticeable when it is being used, but several paper-cutting tests show that it likes to catch in a few spots. Visually, it is flawless.
Sheath:
Leather, with a single loop trap. Loop features brass button closure. Sheath is stamped with both KA-BAR and USMC logos.
A very simple, attractive leather sheath. It's not super-fantastic, but I like it. The emblems don't seem to be stamped in as well or deep as my former knife, and it doesn't seem as thick. But I may just be imagining that. Stitching is decent. Very even, and fairly heavy thread. There is also some brass rivets to keep it together. The mouth is very tight, and it is a bit of a struggle to push the blade completely in. You can see in this picture that the leather is scraped pretty good with insertion.
Handling:
Pretty dang good. Weight is listed at .70 pounds, and the point of balance is behind the hand-guard, about a third of an inch. It is not blade-heavy at all, and can be swung, stabbed and re-directed quickly. While this is legendary as a fighting blade, the design was originally for hunting. While it is good for batoning, the balance is such that it is not as good as one with a more forward balance.
Conclusions:
This is, as stated, one of my favorite knives of any kind. It is tough, well fitted and versatile. It is also pretty cheap. While it has some shortcomings, I would absolutely buy it again. However, one thing to bear in mind;
A note to potential buyers:
While I love this particular design to death, the leather is known to swell, crack and deteriorate in very humid or wet environments. If you want to get a KA-BAR that you intend to use in such an environment, I would have to recommend one of the Kraton handled versions.
Thanks for reading! As always, please feel free to comment or make suggestions. You may also feel free to shower me with adulation and karma points.
)
