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TheSanDiegan

The Knife Thread

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While living a the college dorm, a neighbor asked to see my roommates 110.  For some reason tried to stick it in the solid oak door, it fell and the tip broke off in the linoleum floor.   My roomy said nothing and sat for a while....got up and left.  Later heard a skillsaw down the hall.  He had gone out to his truck grabbed his saw, went to the perps room picked the most expensive book off his shelf and sawed the book in half.   

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Going to bump this with a daily dose of #KnifePorn. Besides the EDC Kershaw in the OP, here are two I've never used (and don't intend to):

IMG_8193_Kershaws_1200.jpg

The Ken Onion Blur (top) quite possibly has the smoothest action of any knife I own. But the reason I bought it was that sexy AF blade profile. 

The Kershaw E.T. on the bottom was originally bought for the sheer novelty of its funkiness. Not a practical design by any stretch IMO, but I've never demonstrated the action to a friend who hasn't "no shit?!?"ted in response. The E.T. stands for "external toggle," but might as well stand for extraterrestrial.

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6 minutes ago, TheSanDiegan said:

Going to bump this with a daily dose of #KnifePorn. Besides the EDC Kershaw in the OP, here are two I've never used (and don't intend to):

IMG_8193_Kershaws_1200.jpg

The Ken Onion Blur (top) quite possibly has the smoothest action of any knife I own. But the reason I bought it was that sexy AF blade profile. 

The Kershaw E.T. on the bottom was originally bought for the sheer novelty of its funkiness. Not a practical design by any stretch IMO, but I've never demonstrated the action to a friend who hasn't "no shit?!?"ted in response. The E.T. stands for "external toggle," but might as well stand for extraterrestrial.

On the bottom one, what's the threaded fitting for?

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1 hour ago, thelawlorfaithful said:

Has the decades old crocodile Dundee joke been played or am I here just in time?

 

You're first in, but I think you have to post a picture of a gratuitously large knife now. :D

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3 hours ago, WilliamHicks said:

Just ordered a new SOG trident elite. SOGTRIDENTELEITE.thumb.png.9f79839d1b616abf2492f8e741ac1658.png

That's thing's insane. I got cut just looking at the pic.

The only SOG I have is a Paratool that I leave behind whenever I throw my Leatherman in my pack. But that knife makes me think I might have room for one more folder.

Well, f*ck that... there's always room for one more folder.

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3 hours ago, thelawlorfaithful said:

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While rarely gratuitously large, balisongs are gratuitously cool. If I decide to get into a particular 27-gallon bin, I'll pull out an older OG one from the Philippines.

When I was a teenager I used to pick one up on maybe every second or third trip to TJ. They were only $4-$6, poorly constructed, and inevitably lost or stolen within a month or two. My buddy would buy a stiletto down there, which I always thought were junk, so I'd stick to my butterflies. At least they were fun to yield. Until you were drunk and had the edge facing the wrong way.

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52 minutes ago, TheSanDiegan said:

That's thing's insane. I got cut just looking at the pic.

The only SOG I have is a Paratool that I leave behind whenever I throw my Leatherman in my pack. But that knife makes me think I might have room for one more folder.

Well, f*ck that... there's always room for one more folder.

I started carrying SOG knives when I was in the army. Every guy on my ODA had one.  I like their blades a lot. 

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On 7/19/2018 at 11:46 PM, crixus said:

I have my Dad's old Ka-Bar combat knife, he was a career Marine (WWII, Korea & Vietnam). I don't have a picture of it, so I copied this one from Ebay.

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I also have a Buck knife and a Swiss Army knife. But it's been awhile since I've been camping and used them.

I was going to start talking about Case knives (another American treasure), but instead I'm going to pivot for a while and focus on military knives.

The above knife posted by @crixus is the venerable Mk2. Introduced in 1943, this knife has over 75 years of history behind it and has been carried in every war the United States has fought in since and including WWII. Just as nearly all single-blade clip-point folders came to be known as "Buck knives," the name Ka-Bar became synonymous with the Mark 2 pattern, even though there were multiple manufacturers and Ka-Bar wasn't even the highest volume wartime supplier (that honor belonged to Camillus). The pattern is easily identified by its classic Bowie-style clip point 7" blade, (mostly asymmetrical) guard, stacked leather washer grip, and flattened mushroom pommel. However, despite these similarities, there were variations in both blade finishes and markings, some rarer than others.

I've always been partial to the Mk2 (as well as the Gerber fighting knife of the same name). Like the Mother-of-All-Clip-Point knives, the Bowie knife, it was designed for both combat and utility. If ever there was to be an al-purpose knife that carried the historical tradition of the American fighting knife, it is the Mark 2. I've picked them up as both as artifacts and as users, depending on the age and/or provenance. Below are the five I have that date to WWII.

IMG_8318_WW2_Mk2.jpg

IMG_8319_WW2_Mk2_Sheathed1_K.jpg

I think I might have posted a (different) photo of these five knives on the forum at some time in the past, either on a Memorial Day or D Day thread IIRC.

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As the last post focused on the venerable milspec Mark 2, a.k.a., the "Ka-Bar," I thought the maker merits a little backstory, as Ka-Bar makes a wide range of both folders and fixed blades, including the patterns that were originally developed by John Ek and sold under his own knife company. Given their history and ubiquitous brand in both military and civilian spheres, I thought they deserved a little more attention.

Ka-Bar wasn't always "Ka-Bar." Until - and well into - the 1920's they were known as Union Cutlery of Olean, NY, with roots reaching back into the late nineteenth century.

Then, one day in the early 1920's, they received a testimonial letter from a quasi-literate Appalachian fur trapper. In this letter, the fur trapper described how he had shot a bear but only managed to wound it. His rifle malfunctioned before he could fire again, and the bear set upon him. In his struggle to, you know, not die, he was left defending himself with his trusty Union Cutlery knife. He went on in the letter to say, that he used the knife to "Ka a Bar," semi-literate hillbilly-speak for "kill the bear."

Of course this resonated with the folks at Union Cutlery, and they registered the trademark shortly thereafter. The name "Ka-Bar" was born.

By the end of the 1920's, they had dropped the name "Union Cutlery" and just stamped their blades with the name "KA BAR." And it has stuck ever since.

In my Bowie bin, I have an old hunting Ka-Bar from that transitional period in the early-mid '20s when they stamped with blade with both names. If this thread ever metastisizes into something other than an echo chamber, I'll get into that bin and pull it out.

 

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Well, even in the absence of continued contributions, I'm going to keep going at least until I've exhausted the pictures I took over the weekend.

While the Ka-Bar Mark 2 was arguably the most recognized knife issued during and in the years after WWII, it wasn't the only one to carry that iconic profile. Nor was it the only single-edged knife to be issued during the war. Below are a few such examples. From top-to-bottom: Mark 2 (Ka-Bar); 337-6Q Quartermaster's knife (Case); RH-36 (Pal); Mark 1 (Camillus); Vietnam-era Jet Pilot Survival knife (Camillus).

IMG_8321_WW2_Single_Edge1200.jpg 

While my first choice for a side knife would be the Mark 2, my overall favorite might be the quartermaster's knife - everything about it screams utilitarian tool as tough as nails. And they are. Not to mention, the blade profile reminds me of my favorite Buck pattern, the 124 Frontiersman.

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The Ka-Bar Mark 2 is not the only knife pattern to go by that name. During the Vietnam War, Gerber designed a fighting knife that was sold through PXs. It was a double-edged dagger with a wasp-waisted blade that was canted at a 5-degree angle from the hilt (to facilitate insertion between ribs). It carried forward the traditions of preceding double-edged fighting knives of the 20th century, such as the Mark 1 trench knife of WWI and the Fairborn-Sykes knives that saw wide use in WWII. 

The Mk2 was responsible for making Gerber a household name within the edged weapon community. Just as Buck spawned independent knife makers of note, so did Gerber - Al Mar worked for Gerber at the time and had a hand in the design of the Mk2. And the success of the Mk2 in turn spawned other knives within the Mk2 "family." The Commando (II) was designed for the FBI HRT and differs in having a single-edged blade (until the last couple inches). And Bob Loveless designed the Guardian (II), essentially a simplified reinterpretation of the Mk2 blade form, with no serrations and no waisted blade. There were also companion boot daggers made of each - a Mark I, Guardian I and Commando I. 

Even if you're not familiar with the Mk2, it may still look familiar, as the Mk2 might as well have its own IMDB page. It's been featured in films for almost forty years, from The Road Warrior, to Aliens, to both the Marvel (Winter Soldier) and the DC Universe (Man of Steel).

Below are the three daggers of the Mk2 "family," along with two of the companion boot knives. From L-to-R: Commando II, Mark I, Mark II, Guardian I, Guardian II.

IMG_8324_Gerbers_up1200.jpg

While Gerber serialized each individual blade, non-serialized Gerbers may still be dated within a window by the sword-in-the-stone logo. There are several iterations of the logo that were used over the years (e.g., straight sword or tilted).

 

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On the heels of yesterday's post, here's a few other straight-blade fighting knives along with another Mk2 shown for comparison. From top-to-bottom: Gerber Mk2; Ek Model 2; Case M3; Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife. The top two date from the 1980s, while the bottom two are of WWII vintage. 

IMG_8327_Fighing_Knives1200.jpg

The Fairbairn-Sykes is the only non-American knife in the picture; given its history and influence in the development of American fighting knives, it probably deserves its own post but I'm not going to bother, so I'll cover it briefly here.

The knife was developed by two Brits of the same name who were living in colonial China while serving on the Shanghai Municipal Police Force in the early 20th century. The knife was the end result of their own fighting style that incorporated a syncretic blend of martial arts and existing tactics, which they taught to British commandos in WWII. In addition to British (and Commonwealth) commandos, the knife was in turn issued to OSS operatives, and the pattern became the basis for the Marine Raiders stiletto that would follow. It is still in use by the SAS today.

 

 

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Any questions folks? Despite my hopes for the contrary, it would seem this is turning into more of a lecture than a discussion, per say. I hope everyone's taking notes; there will be an exam at the end of the thread. 

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Bumping this with a daily dose of knife porn. John Ek began making knives in 1941 and by the time we had entered the war was producing them in numbers. Patton carried an Ek. They have been carried in every theater of combat from WWII to this day. The company remained family-owned until it was bought out by Blackjack Knives in the 1990s; they were subsequently purchased by Ka-Bar a decade or so later. This pair of Model 2's was made within a couple years after Ek moved their operations from FL to VA. 

IMG_8337_Silent_Partner1200.jpg

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