Desert Storm USMC Damascus KA-Bar Knife Fiber Stacks Handle Limited Edition | SL-026

Description

A seven-inch blade on a twelve-inch knife, at thirteen ounces. Those proportions come straight from the fighting knives issued in the 1940s, and they have not needed changing since.

Its job: everything a camp knife gets asked to do. Splitting kindling with a baton, opening crates, staking out a tarp, prepping food on a tailgate, field work on game. Seven inches is enough blade to be useful against wood and enough tip to do close work without switching knives.

Why this profile lasted

The long clip point does two things at once. The straight portion of the edge gives you a flat run for push cuts and batoning. The swept tip gives you a fine point for piercing and for opening up an animal without cutting into the gut. It is a compromise shape, so it beats nothing outright: a dedicated skinner peels hide faster, a machete clears brush faster. What it does is refuse to be useless at any of it, which is why it stayed in service for eighty years. The guide to the KA-Bar pattern goes into where the geometry came from.

Thirteen ounces in the hand

That is heavy for a seven-inch blade and light for a chopper. Held at the ricasso it feels neutral, which is why the point stays controllable. Held at the butt it feels blade-heavy, which is exactly the bias you need while batoning the spine with a stick. It will not tire your wrist over an afternoon. It will also not chop like the forward-angled kukri in the same series, which puts twice the mass behind the edge and gives up all the finesse to get it.

Rust is the real enemy

The specs list 1095 and 15N20, both plain carbon steels. Neither resists corrosion. Sweat is the usual culprit rather than water, so wipe the blade down after you handle it on a hot day, and do it before you put the knife away rather than the next morning. Blood and sap need washing off the same day. If you store it for a season, oil it and keep it out of the leather. A blade that has gone gray is fine and stays that way; a blade with orange pitting has been left wet.

Things people ask

Will it baton? Yes. It is full tang and the spine takes a strike. Do not baton through a knot.

Is it issued military equipment? No. It is a civilian knife made on the military pattern in Memphis, Tennessee.

Does it come sharp? Yes, sharpened and ready to use. It will still want a strop after the first hard session. See our military knife buying guide for what to look for.

Model: SL-026