This Extreme Fighting Knife from Ka-Bar works some important improvements into the classic Ka-Bar Marine Corps fighting knife design. If you liked that one, you’ll love this one too.
Components show more attention to appearance and are no longer just the most rugged parts possible. The finger guard isn’t a plain carbon steel plate — this version actually has rounded edges and some polish. The other end of the handle shows that same new attitude, replacing the carbon steel butt cap with a shaped pommel of polished carbide powder steel, adding to grip security and keeping that famous hammer head versatility.
Rat-tail tang construction keeps the weight down, and while Ka-Bar does make a version of the Extreme Fighting Knife with the classic stacked leather disc grip, this model uses lightweight and durable Kraton-G composite. The lighter Kraton shifts the balance a little forward and doesn’t need a break-in period. Final weight of the knife is 3/4 pounds — not bad for an 11-7/8-inch-long modified Bowie.
The biggest change and also the most important improvement in the new Ka-Bar is the steel. The 7-inch blade of the Extreme has one of the longest lasting edges of any field knife due to the use of D2 tool steel. Commonly used to create industrial dies, D2 is so hard and tough that if you want to sweeten the 20-degree edge bevel of this flat-ground blade, you’d better get a diamond whetstone and lots of spare time. The combo blade provides a generous section of plain edge up front for slicing work and a toothed section near the bolster for fast and rough cutting.
The Ka-Bar D2 Extreme Fighting Knife comes with a glass-filled nylon sheath made in Taiwan, but the knife is all American-made.
