Home
Sports & Outdoors
Hunting & Fishing
Hunting Knives
Buck Knives 119 Special vs Ka-Bar Knife (KB-1217)

Product Comparison: Buck Knives 119 Special vs Ka-Bar Knife (KB-1217)

Advertiser Disclosure

This site is a free online resource that strives to offer helpful content and comparison features to its visitors. Please be advised that the operator of this site accepts advertising compensation from certain companies that appear on the site, and such compensation impacts the location and order in which the companies (and/or their products) are presented, and in some cases may also impact the scoring that is assigned to them. The scoring that appears on this site is determined by the site operator in its sole discretion, and should NOT be relied upon for accuracy purposes. In fact, Company/product listings on this page DO NOT imply endorsement by the site operator. Except as expressly set forth in our Terms of Use, all representations and warranties regarding the information presented on this page are disclaimed. The information which appears on this site is subject to change at any time. More info

Best Pick

Buck Knives 119 Special Fixed Blade Knife with Leather Sheath

Check Price

Ka-Bar Knife (KB-1217) Full Size US Marine Corps Fighting Knife, Straight

Check Price

General Specifications

Brand

Buck Knives

Ka-Bar

Model

119 Special

Knife (KB-1217)

Origin

USA

About the Product

For the outdoorsmen who prefer the absolute solid feel of a fixed blade, Buck's best selling Model 119 Special sets the standard by which the others are measured.

The most famous fixed blade knife in the World - "the KA-BAR" - was designed to serve our troops during World War II and is still doing its job, with honors, 70+ years later.

Blade

Blade Type

Fixed

Blade Length

6 in.

7 in.

Blade Material

420HC Stainless Steel

1095 Cro-Van

Blade Shape

Clip

Clip Point

Blade Thickness

0.175 in.

0.165 in.

What customers say about "Blade"

Buck Knives 119 Special Fixed Blade Knife with Leather Sheath

This knife holds an edge, and when it does need sharpening it's the easiest blade I've ever sharpened this size. It makes you love this blade.
Out of the box the Buck 119's 420HC BOS steel blade will shave your hairs, it comes razor sharp and well finished.
I am not a knife expert, but this blade feels so balanced and the finish quality is out of this world.
The blade is super sharp out of the box and it has excellent balance. Nice all around knife.
As it is though, the 119 is a handy size with its 6" blade and shorter and narrower handle.

Ka-Bar Knife (KB-1217) Full Size US Marine Corps Fighting Knife, Straight

Genuine KaBar, sharp enough to shave the hair off the back of my hand, and a quality leather sheath.
The steel is 1095 CroVan, which is awesome. You can sharpen this steel on virtually any rock you find with decent results.
Unlike harder blades, this one won't chip, crack, or break with abusive heavy work.
The clip point blade works great at piercing almost anything that isn't solid.
The edge arrived very sharp, without nicks or burrs. It's sufficiently thick at the base to withstand lateral forces.

Size & Weight

Height

1.5 in.

3.1 in.

Width

10.5 in.

11.875 in.

Depth

0.8 in.

2.2 in.

Weight

7.5 oz.

11.2 oz.

What customers say about "Size & Weight"

Buck Knives 119 Special Fixed Blade Knife with Leather Sheath

I like the weight, although perhaps it is slightly grip-heavy. I've used Buck knives for at least 30 years; the quality is still great.
The weight and balance are on point, the grip fits my hand, and that cutting edge is phenomenal.
Excellent quality, weight and handling and it comes super sharp out of the box.
The weight is just about perfect and the edge on it from the factory is surprisingly good.
This knife holds an edge, and when it does need sharpening it's the easiest blade I've ever sharpened this size.

Ka-Bar Knife (KB-1217) Full Size US Marine Corps Fighting Knife, Straight

A great knife to have. Perfect weight, balanced, and razor sharp.
The weight and balance of the knife in my hand just feels right. It has some heft to it but it's not too heavy. It feels well balanced.
The handle is comfortable. The knife has nice weight and balance and its made in up state New York. You can not get better then that!!
This knife has a very good weight to it and feels well built. The grip feels nice, and sure in your hand.
It's got a nice weight to it and I feel awesome carrying it on my hip when I go out.

Features

Color

Stainless Steel / Black

Black Matte / Brown

Handle Material

DymaLux® or Phenolic

Leather

Carry System

Genuine leather sheath

Leather sheath

Serrated Blade

Extras

Blade satin finish, Rockwell hardness RC 58

Tang stamped USMC, Flat Grind, Rockwell Hardness 56-58, 100% Leather Sheath

Serrated Blade

What customers say about "Features"

Buck Knives 119 Special Fixed Blade Knife with Leather Sheath

Typical flawless Buck knife. The first thing that struck me was the beautiful cocobolo wrap around handle.
Includes a thick leather sheath that secures the knife perfectly.
The sheath is a top quality leather sheath, not some plasticy nylon thing.
Over all this is just a great knife and the leather wrap around sheath is great.
The smooth black Phenolic handle looks nice, but it can get slippery depending on environmental conditions.

Ka-Bar Knife (KB-1217) Full Size US Marine Corps Fighting Knife, Straight

The USMC stamp and embossing is a plus.
The handle is made of compressed washers of leather with recessed spacers. It makes for a very hard handle that provides a good grip, dry or wet.
The solid metal pommel can be used for pounding and bashing. The metal finger guard prevents slippage of the hand onto the blade.
For most uses other than heavy bushcrafting, this knife is the perfect belt knife.
Tought, durable, classic leather handle(Real leather), VERY sharp. This came sharp enough to shave the hair off my arm.

Other Information

Manufacturer

Link

MSRP

96.00 $

104.90 $