Sep
For many people a knife is simply a tool used to cut things effectively and efficiently. For others, it’s a collectible – something to be admired but not necessarily used.
The KA-BAR Forged Wrench knife has a foot in both camps, it’s both a highly effective cutting tool but is also a collector’s piece due to it’s unusual and somewhat quirky design and the fact that every one of these knives is unique due to the forging process used.
The KA-BAR Forged Wrench knife is drop forged from a single piece of steel and each of these knives has forging marks that provide a sense of individuality that you just don’t get with most commercially available knives, unless you’re travelling into Damascus steel territory. The design of the knife is just brilliant. The handle is shaped like a wrench, which may sound a bit ‘out there’ but actually makes a lot of sense. Wrenches are designed to be held effectively and for prolonged periods.
They are minimalist in design but incredibly practical – it’s a wonder no one has done this before! Sure, there are the odd Youtube videos where people are repurposing old tools into knives, but I’ve yet to see another well known knife manufacturer make such a great design statement on a commercial scale.
The blade is a 3″ drop point design which is more than adequate for fine grain control, with an overall length of 7″. It’s made from 425 high carbon steel which is really hard wearing, easy to sharpen and, unusually for a high carbon steel, corrosion resistant. It’s sharp straight out of the box and the edge should be easy enough to maintain.
When I held the KA-BAR Forged Wrench knife, I absolutely fell in love with it.
It feels incredibly comfortable – no fancy scallops or grippy scales here, just smooth steel and it just feels right. The handle in relation to the blade feels perfectly proportioned, with a feeling of balance and control. All the edges are beautifully smooth, like an heirloom tool passed down the generations. The forging marks that are unique to each of these knives further add to the feeling of ‘history’, it isn’t often that a knife can invoke such a feeling of nostalgic wistfulness when it’s brand new, but the KA-BAR does just that.
The spine of the blade is quite chunky, being over 5mm thick, and this gives a solidity which translates into a feeling of confidence. This is a knife that will do the tough jobs that would scare other knives away. In the hand, your thumb rests against this chonky spine to provide extra downward pressure and fine grain control. This is not a big knife by any means, but it feels it – not in a sense of unwieldiness – but of a cocky bravado of a knife confidently punching above its weight.
it comes with a black plastic sheath which is very slimline – no pocket clips here, just some lashing and lanyard holes. In this instance, this sparse sheath makes absolute sense and suits the knife perfectly – this is a carry designed for ease of use and discretion. This isn’t a knife that needs to shout to get noticed, the quirkiness of the design takes care of that.
The hole in the handle does not serve the purpose of a wrench – which is probably a good job – the Darwin Awards exist for a reason!
It’s fair to say that I am more than a little enamoured with this knife. It has a simple robustness about it which is really appealing.
If you’re in the market for a good quality, highly practical knife this is for you.
If you’re in the market for a good looking knife that’ll get people talking then this is also the knife for you.
It’s fantastic all rounder that offers incredible value for money – no whistles and bells – just a solid, unique and effective knife.
