KA-BAR John Ek Commando Knife Co. - EK44 a 6.625 inch 1095 Cro-Van Steel Blade sets in a Glass Filled Nylon Handle 12.625 inch Overall. 56-58 HRC Made in USA

Just got my KA-BAR / John Ek Commando knife today. Within five minutes I'm sold. The knife, the blade, the handle, guard ... even the sheath, all are awesome. This is definitely a 21st century evolution of a World War II classic. I'm no expert, but I am experienced and have an lifelong appreciation for nice knives. Among my double edged blades, I've an old Fairbairn Sykes, a 1970s Gerber Mk II and the Boker version of the V-42. I've even got an Effingham Ek Model 5. This new collaboration may not be as elegant as the F-B Sykes or the V-42 or be as pretty as the Model 5, but it has a style all its own. It's not polished like the old Model 5, but the black finish and etched John Ek signature, iconic Ek symbol and "commando knife" logo are subtle and classy. The blade's grind and edge geometry -- in 1095 Cro-Van -- lend it to stabbing and slashing. The F-B and V-42 are not known for their slashing abilities. The edge of my example easily shaved my arm clean. The blade is so stout, I wager you could even chop a 2x4 with it. The tip looks strong enough to stab into a 2x4 and pry away. Once I get past the newness of the knife and mix it up, I'll let you know. The handle's ergos are versatile and feel great in hand; the full tang evokes confidence. Some will complain about the "S" shaped guard. Get over it. Instead, appreciate the smooth fit and finish of the glass filled nylon scales and lack of burrs or rough edges where they shouldn't be. How many knives do you own that you've had to go over the handles with sandpaper so you don't get blisters or abrasions? Also, the singular Ek handle geometry allows for tight, close to the guard grip, middle or long distance. The sheath is near perfect. It holds the knife tight, there's no rattle, movement or anything. There are plenty of grommets suitable for lashing and stashing. The back of the belt loops features a small label with the John Ek / Commando Knife logo. Again, subtle and classy. The pommel is classic Ek. In this case a solid protrusion of 1095 Cro-Van. You can crush skulls, jaws, pound nails, pry and otherwise amuse yourself with it. Releasing the knife from the sheath took me a moment to figure out. In addition to a retention strap around the handle, it's got a snap lock feature near the mouth of the sheath that grabs the guard. Pulling straight up, it's difficult to near impossible to release the knife. HINT: Pull the handle slightly AWAY from the belt loop as you pull out the knife and "snick!" it works! Or if that confuses you, pull the belt loop away from the knife as you pull and it works. Either way. My only complaint is what if you don't wanna carry your cool new commando knife on the belt? What if you wanna carry it inside your waist band? That could be a problem, considering the unique release mechanism. A little judicious filing/sanding of the locking bumps might be in order, as would be a little surgery on the belt loop interface. Best suggestion: Invest in quality kydex. I predict if this blade takes off -- and it should! -- there will be a lot of creative kydex available. I'm not a shill: I bought my knife on my own from Amazon. Got it in record time for $99.99, no shipping. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Great knife. Perfect construction and sharp.

As an enthusiast in the knife world I know good steel, bad steel and okay steel. KaBar uses a more than decent steel for their knives that will hold up to tough use if used properly. The steel will take an edge and retains it fairly well but is easy to re-sharpen. Could the material quality be better? Certainly. But do they make a solid product for the price point? Absolutely. From my personal perspective, what we have here is supremely better than KaBar's general 'USMC-style' knife offering for one specific reason: this knife has an actual full tang, not the typical 'rat tail' tang KaBar is known for. This knife has a confident weight to it, and the handle design fits amazingly in the hand--it's a very ergonomically designed knife. The tang even extends beyond the handle for a 'skull crusher' pommel design or could be used as a so-so prying instrument. The blade is surprisingly thick, has a great grind to it and is shaped in a way where I'm confident in its design to be a sturdy knife. The double-edge of this knife more or less is designed for killing, as opposed to being a 'work knife' but it would work well as a camping knife all the same if the user exercises a little extra caution to account for accidents that could present themselves that a single edged knife would not present. That said, the sheath is fine--it's of the same quality as any other KaBar sheath BUT my knife seems to catch a little on inserting due to the angle. Still no big deal, it's a solid sheath. If I could suggest anything it would be making the handles a bit more rigid for gripping texture but even without it you still get a good grip purchase on this thing, the handle is massive anyway. Either way, this was a good purchase, I would buy again and may even buy a 2nd one just so I'll always have one if the first one breaks.

The knife: solidly built, good heft, excellent grinds, great balance. The blade material seems the same as a Ka-Bar USMC knife I've had for 40 years, which has held up well to hard use. Out of the box, the point was needle sharp, but factory edges were on the dull side. A few minutes honing brought it to shaving sharpness. Balance point is in the handle, on the lower half of the first handle screw from the guard. The only gripe I have is the S-shaped guard. For me, it would be better if both quillons bent towards the tip, rather than one towards the tip and one towards the butt. It's a double-edged knife - there is no reason to have to figure out which side the edge is on in the dark, hence no need for an S-shaped guard. It fits tightly in the sheath, probably too tight. The retention lugs on the sheath which grab the guard make it a pain to draw, and impossible to draw quickly in an emergency. I'll probably let it ride with the guard outside the lugs until I can have a proper sheath made for it. That leaves about a half inch or so of the ricasso unsheathed, but it's a better option than getting dead because the knife wouldn't come out of the sheath when you need it to.

Pictures do not do this knife justice. It's big, it's beautiful, and it's sharp.

Wow 🤩 nunca me imagine que iba a recibir un cuchillo tan hermoso con una geometría perfecta y un filo mortal, este cuchillo no es un juego, de inmediato hice varias pruebas de corte y realmente me impresionó, tengo toda la colección de KA-BAR solo me faltaba este hermoso ejemplar, no lo dejen pasar esta a súper buen precio, lo he visto en otros sitios un 50% más caro, no esperen mucho es magnífico, lo recomiendo ampliamente

Très beau couteau et bel etui solide

si quieres recordar cuando estuviste en Vietnam o Granada este es el indicado. muy buen acero con la calidad de kabar funda resistente y duradera de zytel. comprare otro.

Parecia una buena pieza, hasta sentir el mango en mi mano, es resbaladizo con un poco de sudor e incomodo, si estuviera en combate preferiria que no tuviera mango, es de muy mala calidad el material, parecia buena alternativa al EK 13, no lo recomiendo y estoy buscando opciones para reemplazar el mango, tal vez con una impresora 3D. No lo compren, no siempre mas grande es mejor.