A to buy knife on my list has always been a Ka-Bar bowie, and I have had people ask
me for years to review a Ka-Bar.
So now they can shut the hell up.
It was either this or the USMC Fighting knife, but since I’m not a fighter, let’s say
more of a mess around er…
I went with the very similar to the classic Dogs Head Utility knife… you know I don’t
want to give the impression I am, or have ever been a marine.
(Voice yelling) I don’t get that impression!
The main differences between these two knives is minor, the finger guard is slightly different,
and so is the pommel on the Dogs Head, blade length is the same, and the Dogs head is a
fraction of an ounce lighter.
Also this has a hole for a lanyard bead thing to better coordinate your social media survival
knife pocket dumps.
But before we get into any of the same doodie I talk about week after week lets look at
the overall dimensions of this beautiful, and no I’m not joking, example of a classic
american made utility knife for fighters and lovers and lovers of fighting alike like the
overall length and weight.
With and without the leather sheath.
I found this knife for about $62 on Amazon- cheaper than most any others.
Stealings cheaper.
I didn't really find it, like they just sell it there.
Blade size and cutting edge.
Damn that black coating is pretty, be a shame if it got messed up.
Handle size and grip area.
I contemplated this or the buck 119 but I liked the way the handle looked on this better.
And I want to give the guys who want me to finally review a buck to have a reason to
be mad.
Spine thickness and handle thickness, and behind the edge.
I'm mad I haven't reviewed one either.
Remember folks take my behind the edge measurements as estimates- I use junky $12 eBay calipers.
Tallnesses.
How about that.
The Dogs Head utility knife features, like the original USMC fighting knife, a 7 inch
clip point style blade with a just under 6 and a half inch cutting edge with a flat grind.
It’s made from 1095 Carbon steel that Ka-Bar calls cro-Van-
and coated in some black stuff which is smooth and designed to protect the blade from rusting
like carbon steel tends to do outside of Instagram use.
The edge grind is not perfectly even on either side but it was sharp out of the box.
While clip point style blades like this in theory are great for hunting because of their
piercing ability when dressing and skinning game, they also work well for plastic packing
for hamburger meat from a cow killed by a machine and cutting up tiny tomatoes because
you ran out of regular size tomatoes- I thought you were a killer.
Now I notice in comments on my videos, and my spending hours getting dumber by reading
online forums, an that a lot of modern knife guys think 1095 isn’t worth buying any more
because 3V or S35VN or whatever people pay the big bucks for to not use.
I don't have much to add to that other than great.
They must be beating up on their $200 fixed blades a whole lot- ahh that kills the resale.
You know what they say a knife above all else is... an investment.
The handle.
The handle is leather washers that cover a full length stick tang, that also narrows
closer to the butt.
Sometimes they call them rat tail tangs, but it really depends on what diagram you happen
to be looking at on the internet.
Not to be confused with a full tang which is easy to see on this knife.
On the Dogs Head you can see it is about this thick at the cross guard and tapers down a
bit and you can see it on the pommel.
There's a few videos of them breaking online- including one where a guy cuts almost cuts
a massive tree in half- or you know just regular old things you use knives for.
Only took him a few hours- very efficient.
The leather washers are kind of rough finished, half polished, and provide a good amount of
grip in the wet.
It's comfortable and useful and is nice looking.
There is plenty of room for my hand grip with about an inch of extra room.
The guard up front and the pommel in back help keep the knife in hank during whacking
things.
The sheath is also nice.
It's not a full drop dangler with a ring, which also might be a sex toy, however it
sits low enough where the pommel is only a fraction of an inch over the top of your belt.
I don't like sheaths that allow the knife's handle pommel or butt to ride high above the
belt.
The sheath here is riveted and sewn out of thick leather that picks up wear fast, so
you can fake a Buy It For Life Post.
There's a hole in the bottom to keep large amounts of moisture from accumulating- a lot
of leather sheaths do not feature holes.
Leather sheaths can hold moisture for a while, so if you've been using the blade in the rain
dry your blade before putting it away, and make sure your sheath is dry before storing
your knife in it long term- in case you need people to tell you obvious things.
The snap that holds the knife in place is fairly easy to snap and it has good retention.
Comparisons.
First we'll take you to the Ka-Bar.
I really like this knife, and don't know why I didn't have one earlier since it's kind
of cheap.
I generally like uncoated blades, but a lot of the fixed blades I like in the mid $100
range and under feature carbon steel blades that are coated.
Maybe I do like them?
Did I just learn something about myself.
Now the Esee 3.
The Laser Strike is loan to Journey Wind Junk right now, so this is just to give you can
idea how big the knife is, in case you own this knife.
If you don't that's not my problem.
I know people want to the super steels for wear resistance or brag on forums about, but
its pretty hard to beat a warranty that is transferrable and covers anything especially
if you're an idiot.
Not many knife makers offer that.
Now the Von Tempsky Ranger.
A more of a rough finished knife- and more expensive.
It's thick convex edge is good for durability, but a thinner edge on the Ka Bar is a good
compromise for food prep and finer slicing detail, relatively speaking.
I will say I have noticed the finger guard has a tiny bit of play now after batoning.
Ok how about the Vangedal Rover.
This a more reasonable knife for actual camp duties, a knife anyone outside of survivalist
fantasy knife bullcrud us knife people like, would be perfectly happy with.
Nice flat grind, and a good slicer.
But seriously I want to feel like John Rambo when slicing my apple on the trail.
Nice sheath too.
All knives seen here have reviews which I'll link a few at the end.
Here is is next to the Fallkniven S1- a review that I've been working on- stay tuned for
that.
You've probably seen me post it on my Instagram social media account.
Very nice sheath overall a little less flashy and more compact.
Also nearly $100 more with the Leather sheath.
Ok so Ka-Bars warranty states their limited Warranty does not apply to any failure of,
defect in, or damage to the knife caused by neglect, normal wear and tear, or by improper
use, including throwing the knife, batoning with the knife, using the blades as a can
opener, chisel, pry bar, screwdriver, digging tool, or for any heavy work for which the
knife was not designed.
What a bunch of dicks!
Please explain to me a better tool for removing a screw from drywall.
Or splitting a large piece of knotted wood.
The Dogs Head Utility knife has quickly become one of my favorite fixed blades.
I like the blade length, the grip is nice, it makes me feel like a real man, and generally
laughs at my jokes.
I broke my Junglas II by repeatedly pummeling though knotted wood- which was just a fluke
really.
And I did the same with this one too.
Although my camera memory card was full at one point so I lost some sweet warranty voiding
footage.
I would surmise that you shouldn't use this knife to pry because I feel like I did bend
the handle slightly at one point near the finger guard.
It wasn't much, but I feel like I bent it back with my hand.
Maybe that was my imagination.
I have a good imagination.
If you're looking for a good large outdoor fixed blade it's real easy to beat on this
for the price.
It's hard to find something this well made in the US for the price.
Again except for stealing.
And while it may be obvious to me, clip points are not the best at batoning.
Their curve tip tends to chew up your baton, and get stuck in it occasionally.
An Esee 6 standard version would make a better large batoning knife, but with a slightly
smaller blade.
All in all the steel held up fine to my abuse, I did sharpen the knife easily in just a few
minutes on my sharpmaker the edge grind matches the Spydercos 40 degree setting very well,
or 20 degree angle per side as some people might say.
The blade coating did start to wear, but you know it was wedged for several minutes in
wood, while I whacked it- I don't know what blade coating could handle that.
There might be better blades out there that hold up to the various dumb things we primates
can think of to do with a knife... however this knife does all those things reasonably
well- a large blade if you need to baton.
An easy to sharpen edge if you use it often.
A clip point for game cleaning- I dunno do people prefer blades with gut hooks on them
nowadays.
If you hunt smaller game, maybe this is over kill if that's your primary function.
However if you want to run around the jungle with a red ribbon tied round your head, so
you can feel like a real man or woman for a change, then this one is that.
If you like this sort of review, subscribe to the channel, give the video a thumbs up,
follow me on Instagram, sign up for a small Patreon donation if you like the sorts of
content I'm crapping out.
Links are in the description, and you can support my channel buy buying this knife through
that link below.
Also if you can't get enough of my Gol-darn Face and also batoning with the Dogs Head,
and would like to know what Pete from Cedric and Ada did with this green screen on his
latest video I'll link it below or at the end of his video.
Thanks for watching.
Please enjoy this extended chopping segment.
If you don't enjoy the silence, maybe it's time for soul searching.