Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

As a former Marine I thought it was finally time to purchase a replacement for the KA-BAR that disappeared nearly 20 years ago. No, the KA-BAR isn't a new technological wonder, but it's a well made tool. It is meant for fighting, but it functions beautifully as a utility tool whose uses are limited only by the imagination and the task at hand. It's built to stand up to heavy use - even abuse - and live to fight another day. I like the fact that it's made from good old 1095 steel, yes it will rust if you don't take care of it, but it will take a razor sharp edge without having to use specialized sharpening equipment. I'm an avid hand tool woodworker so I'm very familiar with some of the more exotic tool steels such as A2, D2, M2 as well as O1 etc... Some of those steels require diamond plates and a lot of work and patience to sharpen. Not 1095, you can sharpen it on just about anything you have, including a slab of concrete or a smooth rock. Obviously using those won't yield optimum results, but in a pinch... I've also been a bit of a knife hound my whole life and have purchased many knives made from the 400 series of stainless steels, none of them takes or holds an edge as well as good old high carbon steel. The bottom line is that 1095, if treated correctly, offers about the best combination of ease of sharpening, taking a keen edge, and edge holding of any steel out there. About the only drawback is that you MUST take care of it when you are done using it or it will rust. I see some comments by people whining that the knife isn't razor sharp out of the box. This is true, but good grief, if you are going to own a knife, you should know how to sharpen it. It took me all of 5 minutes to put a shaving edge on this thing. The heft and balance of this knife is terrific, the workmanship is great and the materials are top notch. If you want a high quality knife that is built for the long haul, you can't go wrong with the original KA-BAR Fighting Knife, and if you are going to get one, you might as well get one stamped with the service that first adopted it and made it famous - USMC baby! Oh, and do yourself a favor and skip the serrated version. Serrations are primarily useful for cutting bread, if you keep your knife sharp, there is no need for the stupid things, and it's almost impossible for the average person to sharpen a serrated knife.