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Your totally right with not picking the serrated one. It's an "combat knife" not a multitool. (Sawing with a sawback doesn't really work that well)

A small part of serrated blade helps a lot with cutting power though, especially with ropes. The main disadvantage is that it's harder to sharpen.

I like the shape of Ka-bars a lot, they are real cult items in my eyes. I do prefer my Eickhorn KM2000 however. The blade is sturdier, and I just like the looks of the tanto blade.



I have a rare early variant. With harder steel, so that it stays sharper, but the negative side is that it brakes faster. That's why they use a different kind of steel now. It also has the flat ACK handle instead of the newer oval handle.

This is mine, an 1221 Next Generation Fighter:
It's b-day gift from one of my ex-girlfriends, who graduated at Yale two years ago.

These pics are similar to the one I have. An old KA-BAR with a leather sheath.

How do the next generation ones compare to the older ones. From what I've heard they're overall a better product, but you still can't beat the history of the original.

This is what I was issued in 1971, not a K-Bar, but short enough for daily wear.
I still have it (somewhere...)

@ Republic Commando..

Your absolutely right. The Ka-bar isn't a super knife anymore. Other brands already made much better knives, but the old one is, and will always be, an cult item. It's a "got to have".

I somewhere have a very old Ka-bar with leather grip and only 2 "teeth" from a sawingblade (not home made) which I don't really understand the use off them.. My father got it as a kid, after that my brother got is as an kid (I got a small slim bowie style knife) for use during our survival camps (like the boyscouts, but more adventiourous.. "Survival" wasn't such a big name though.. It's was just vor 8 to 18 year old back then.. in different groups)

But well.. if it withstands the use of an 12 year old (throwing, using it as a crowbar, hacking, as a can opener, as a tool etc etc) it will probably withstand any use.. Because 12 years old have a way to break anything.

I think there was a "hollow-handle" survival knife marketed back in the '80s (may have been buckmaster) which supposedly was a full tang (the entire knife made from one piece of material) which was marketed as "the future of the Ka-bar" or some such gimmic. If I recall right it was designed to accept a stick int the handle for use as a spear. I've never been impressed with the hollow handle knives myself since it is safe to assume that the non full tang ones have the weak point where the blade is attached and even the full tang hollow handled models may not be as strong as the solid handled models. Thoughts??

Agreed, all modern "top of the notch" knifes future a large piece of the "blade" metal going through the handle.
It disperses the energy over the whole blade instead of one weakpoint..

With a hollow grip.. all the force will be on that point.

Thanks for all the great replies, but I was specifically asking about the Next Generation Ka Bar's and how do they stack up