KA1218-BRK USMC Fighter Serrated

Excellent craftsmanship.. Sharp , 1095 carbon steel.. well fitted scabbard.. I have wanted this knife for years.. I appreciate the folks at Olean New York for the fine craftsmanship on this knife.. good old fashion American value..- Y’all get this knife, don’t hesitate and wait 47? Years like me and not enjoy it- cause i believe it will last that long with care..This is a knife you will hand down to your Kin..

This knife is built like a tank. It's heavy, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. There's a lot of metal behind the cutting edge, which makes it easy to use as a chopper. The blade is tough and it keeps its edge for a very long time. The serrations are great, not too agressive so it glides through material, but jagged enough to saw though it. The serration teeth are rounded so you don't have to worry about chipping or denting delicate tips.The leather sheath is basic but very functional. The leather stretches when inserting the knife. This firmly secures the knife even without using the leather snap (although I strongly recommend using it) but I feel it may reduce the life of the sheath.Unfortunately, when I bought this knife, I meant to buy the straight edge version not the serrated version. Nothing against the knife, I just prefer a straight edge. I sold it and bought the straight edge version. Whatever version you get, you won't be disappointed.Now, that's not to say this knife doesn't have any flaws. There is no such thing as a perfect metal for a knife. The blade is carbon steel and it will rust if kept in very humid conditions. The black coating on it helps prevent rust, but that will eventually wear off. Keep this knife dry, clean it after using it. Leather will also be negatively affected by humidity so keep that in mind.None of these flaws prevent the knife from lasting a lifetime and more.

Though one of those 'SHTF' scenarios seems pretty unlikely, I plucked up a new Ka-Bar to compliment my Sig. Out of curiosity (and partly joking) I took my new knife and tried to shave my arm hair. First pass it took out a neat little square patch. Of course, the next plan of action was to see how it stood up to a couple weeks worth of facial hair.Right out of the box, I got a better dry shave from this knife than I've ever gotten from your more expensive razors from Gillette combined with any number of those elaborate shaving kits. DRY SHAVING. RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX. Three days later I'm happy to report that an ingrown hair has yet to present itself.Ka-Bar has always been the standard in knives while holding their edges extremely well. The balance and weight of this knife has only improved my already lofty opinion of this company's incredible quality. While you shouldn't necessarily take this thing as your primary method of shaving, it does serve to illustrate the fact that Ka-Bar's high standard of quality holds true from the moment you pull the top off the box. This is a knife that, barring any extreme, extenuating circumstances, will last me for the rest of my life. Its premium quality exceeds that of knives three times its price. I could not recommend it more.

I have always wanted one of these knives so I finally decided to buy one. This is just as sturdy and reliable as countless other users have expressed. This knife will be around for the many years to come.

Very sharp out of the box . Overall quality was very good.

This is a great knife to have in certain situations. One episode of Myth-Busters (on Youtube) showed how a knife can be beneficial in a gun fight. There are other benefits of knives over guns: they are quieter than guns, have fewer parts that can fail (the name “KA-BAR” derived from a letter from a hunter whose gun had failed in Killing A BeAR), are lighter, waterproof, do not require ammunition, do not require a lot of skill to use, are relatively cheaper, and won't put bullets through walls to potentially harm the innocent, like a gun could. I’m not pitting knives against firearms; I’m just saying there is a time when a knife is the preferred tool. Concerning this particular knife, one Youtube blogger suggested putting O-rings in the slots of the handle of this knife, in order to “make it grippier,” but I find that the cut-outs of the leather handle actually make the handle plenty grippy. The leather sheath matches the color of the knife handle nicely, and fits the knife perfectly, especially the snap flap that holds the handle. This knife will definitely do everything it was designed to do, and will do it in style.

Well constructed and well-balanced.

The KA-BAR is well rated by others, so I'm going to skip over a few things. It is exactly what you would expect. It's rugged, it's durable, well balanced, and a long history of reliability. Overall, a very fine fixed blade knife. In many ways, it is the simplicity of the knife that it what has made it legendary, however I find it a little lacking in a few areas. I think the cross-piece (guard) is a little thin. I would expect a thicker piece of steel. The sheath is a nice leather, and seems durable enough, but I wish there was better options for attaching it than just a loop for the belt and a small hole at the bottom. Also, I am a fan of sheathes that contain a pocket for a sharpening stone or other item. For the price of this knife, I think there could be a few small improvements. But hey, it's a KA-BAR, it's classic, I'm happy with my purchase.