Ka-Bar Johnson Adventure Potbelly

by **GMScooter** » Mon Sep 19, 2011 8:31 pm

I did a search and didn't see anything about this knife so I thought I would post some things about it. I just received it so I have not been able to do a lot with it yet. I did go into the back yard and do some preliminary wood work with it. It came out of the box shaving sharp. It chops about as well as my cheap-o hatchet. I also love the way you can choke up on it for detailed work. If you have any questions, let me know.

Side note. The knife does come with an orange shoe lace that they call "Adventure Cord." I tossed it and added my own paracord as you will see in the pics.

On with the pics!

Knife in sheath:

Knife and sheath:

Close up of "Adventure Grip" handle scales:

Dang that is a thick spine:

Piggy back knife for getting into those tough to reach spots:

Big freak'n dump pouch on the sheath:

What I've been carrying in the dump pouch:
Misch Metal fire steel
Orange tube of Vaseline & cotton.
Small/Basic Altoids 1st aide kit.

Back of the sheath:

by **Dlongmuir** » Mon Sep 19, 2011 8:57 pm

Great looking knife. How much did u get it for?

by **GMScooter** » Mon Sep 19, 2011 9:01 pm

I found it on Amazon for $75. While I was hemming and hawing I did lots of looking around. It isn't tough to find it for around $80 before shipping.

by **Skull_Hide** » Mon Sep 19, 2011 9:12 pm

Damn that's nice looking

I like the sheath actually, I thought the sheath was going to be a piece of crap. Now I want, I also thought the spin was thinner, impressive.

by **GMScooter** » Mon Sep 19, 2011 9:33 pm

Skull, the sheath feels really solid. I know the IN thing is kydex but I really like this one. The only gripe I have is the handle retention. It is tight and works really well BUT you have to careful on the draw. The blade edge comes very close to the straps so it would be easy to cut them.

The spine is like a crowbar. It gives enough weight to be a champion chopper.

by **GMScooter** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 11:15 am

Wow! I just got some serious work time in with it. Chopping, batoning, feather sticks... The usual stuff. I'm in love. It did it all. Should have got pics.

by **Turtlewolf** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 6:30 pm

GMScooter wrote:Wow! I just got some serious work time in with it. Chopping, batoning, feather sticks... The usual stuff. I'm in love. It did it all. Should have got pics.

Yes, yes you should have.
cheers

by **GMScooter** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 7:05 pm

I had enough fun, I'll probably do some more tomorrow. I had a limited amount of wood at hand. I have more now. :wink:

by **Shaper** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 7:33 pm

Sweet looking steel...can't wait for the review. :mrgreen:

by **Frank** » Sun Sep 25, 2011 5:09 am

That's a nice looking blade 8-)

Price is pretty fair too. I wonder how it wears on the belt when its loaded up

by **GMScooter** » Sun Sep 25, 2011 3:25 pm

First swing. It bites deep!

There are a couple of things going on in this pic. There are two spots where I didn't shop all the way through. Those are both 30 swing chops. That log is 1 yrs old and REAL dry. Keep that in mind. Also, I think I need to work on my chopping technique. On the end, I did go through. I did about 40 chops, rotated 90 degrees and repeated 4 times. I went all the way through. Chips flew!

I baton chopped through this thumb this branch. Two hits with the baton and it was a clean cut.

Feather stick. Okay, the pot belly *can* do it....if it has too. It seems to want to bite too deep. I ended up getting real good pieces of kindling instead of curls. That is when I pulled out the piggy back blade. It did juuuuust fine.

At least it looks broken in now.

It does need the blade edge touched up but there are no nicks or edge curling.

by **Dooms** » Sun Sep 25, 2011 4:35 pm

How comfortable is the grip? I really like the blade design, but I feel like the portion of the grip that sticks out would annoy me in use.

by **GMScooter** » Sun Sep 25, 2011 4:58 pm

Frank wrote:That's a nice looking blade
Price is pretty fair too. I wonder how it wears on the belt when its loaded up

No lie Frank. This is a 1.1 lb knife without the sheath. It isn't light. I will say it rides well on the belt and feels secure and not too bulky but you will not forget it is there. :lol:

Dooms wrote:How comfortable is the grip? I really like the blade design, but I feel like the portion of the grip that sticks out would annoy me in use.

Dooms, when it comes down to it, the grip is really well done. When you chop, you will have your hand well below the finger bumpy-thing. When you choke up to use it in a more traditional knife role, one finger will be above it where the balance point is. The grip feels secure and comfortable. You can also scoot another finger north of the finger bumpy-thingy for more detail oriented cutting. In any of the three grips, it feel natural and usable. I have had no issue with it at all. I think it is because it is a gentle ramping to the point instead of a sub-hilt type protrusion.