KA1117-BRK Short USA Neck Knife

I have a modest collection of knives and this one has instantly become my favorite fixed blade. I would say this knife is a little thicker and heavier than a neck knife should be but that very thickness and heavy blade makes it more utilitarian. I believe a neck knife should have a thinner blade in both dimensions. The length and shape of the blade are absolutely perfect.For my hand the handle could be a little longer but I can work with it the way it is. Since this is more of a utilitarian blade than a neck knife I believe a couple of scales added to the handle would improve the knife immensely. I wove paracord through the handle for a better grip and could feel an immediate improvement. Eventually I will make a set of Micarta scales to fit this knife.While the knife itself is perfect, the scabbard could use some work. It is entirely too bulky to hang on a cord around your neck. The slots on the sides make it appear to be able to slip onto a belt but the slots are too narrow for any reasonable size belt. For this size and weight of this knife I would prefer one of the more traditional Ka-Bar leather scabbards. That said, the scabbard does hold the knife securely and is practically indestructible. Add a belt loop to this knife and it would ride quite securely on your belt.

I have carried this knife just about every day for the past 2.5 years. Bought it as a secondary to a larger fixed blade on a hiking trip, but fell in love with it and carried it ever since.I mostly carried this in my right front pocket in standard jeans. The way the sheath is made, pulling the knife out causes the lip of the sheath to catch the corner of a pocket, allowing a quick and smooth draw. I now carry it in the admittedly shabby configuration as pictured, being held by paracord on the front-right belt loop of my work pants as a purely tactical blade, in the "scout" position. I prefer this to keeping it in the front-right pocket, because although the draw speed is similar, this new configuration allows much faster sheathing and I can draw easily while seated (much of my work involves driving in sketchy areas).This brings me to the sheath; it is formed plastic, but it does the job. I would NOT use this as a neck knife, as the sheathed does not hold the knife well in that position. I wore it this way once on a test hike, and it failed almost immediately. For the size of this knife, it is very thick (which I find to be a plus), but the sheath cannot hold it reliably swinging around.I first encountered this knife at a local gun shop and instantly fell in love. However, the price was a bit steep and I found it to be less than half the price here on Amazon. Upon waiting for its arivial, I extensively studied its few reviews. When it arrived, I had my paracord ready.I have small hands, and even for me this knife was difficult to handle. Paracord is a MUST to wrap it with. A simple handle wrap with a loop made a world of difference. Even with having smaller hands, my pinky still hung away from the handle. Unlike others who have reviewed this knife; I don't see it as much of a negative, as it rests comfortably and firmly in my palm, the extra paracord adding additional grip/a pinky loop.As a purely tactical knife, I would give this 5 stars. However, most people would probably want a utility blade or something in between. This can still serve that purpose, but keep in mind these few things:-For those of you who do have large hands, this may be too small, as many others have said.-Most of the scratching seen in my pictures is somehow from drawing and sheathing this knife; I would suggest making/commissioning a leather sheath. Somehow the plastic rubs the coating off.-As far as I know, there have been no scale launches for the handle, and this is a rather unknown knife (which is a shame), so third party scales may be hard to come by.-1095 is, to me, the hardest steel I've ever tried to sharpen. I have never gotten this blade to be shaving sharp, and I have been able to get just about every other knife that way in minutes. For those who are curious, I currently use a Spyderco Sharpmaker. I have another Ka-bar in 1085 and it sharpens like a dream. This just may be a particulry hard steel, and if you are good at sharpening this may be a good thing, as its edge retention is phenomenal.All that said, I still carry this knife to this day. Just about everyone who sees it compliments me on it, and introducing it to other knife/gun guys has caused them all to purchase one of their own.If you want a strong blade that will last multiple lifetimes, made in America and carrying on the legacy of the classic Ka-bar clip point style, this is the knife for you. If your area permits a fixed blade of this length, the quality of this carbon steel far surpasses any of the overhyped "super steels" of the folding knife industry. I have had zero rust, despite the coating wear, and beat this knife far past its intended purposes. My philosophy is, no moving parts, it will last forever, short of melting it down. Forgot to mention, the jimping is amazing, possibly the best I have ever felt.

The tip of the blade was blunt. The idea of this knife is fantastic. But i got a dud.

Meh, not up to the quality that I thought Ka-Bar was known for. Came out of the box as sharp as a butter knife with inconsistent coating, some even where the blade was "sharpened". On the bright side, this knife is very light and the grip is superb with the thumb ridges providing a great boost to leverage. After spending several hours on the stone trying to work out the hatchet job that done to the edge of this knife at the factory I got it shaving sharp, but I feel that it should have come out of box that way.

It appears to be a well made knife, returned it so I did not get a chance to use it. It is supposed to have a 4 inch handle and the pictures all make it look like it has a longer handle than it does. I could only get a 3 finger grip on it, which is not enough for proper use.

This is a great all around knife! It maintains an edge very well and the tip is nearly impossible to bend or snap off. Fits nicely in hand if the handle is wrapped in paracord or the like, without wrapping the handle is somewhat small though.