Hi,
 
i have several K-Bar´s and killed one of my Full Size USMC during making wood for the fire, that´s why i chang to ESEE. I love the USMC but the ESEE4 is stronger and when i kill it:
http://www.eseeknives.com/warranty.htm
 
 
Michel

You can break an anvil if you are stupid and you work at it.  I have seen K Bars used to chop brush, open ammo crates, knife throwing contests and all sorts of really stupid things that you really should have been using something else besides a K Bar.  The only damage that I have seen is the tip gets broken off, down to about 1/4 inch, (6mm).  They were prying open ammo cans that had been shut for 20 years and the waterproofing strip was sticking to the top of the can.  They were also being stupid, a kick would open them easily but that was too much work, and they would have finished much too quickly and had to leave their shady spot.

I would tend to separate the two functions.  A knife intended as a weapon should not be subjected to utility chores; it should remain razor-sharp and be designed for combat of whatever style you've been trained in.
 
Other tools are better for utility functions; all over the world machete-type blades are used for all manner of things and can, of course, function as hacking/slashing weapons.
To my way of thinking, a combat knife needs to capable of both cutting and thrusting.
 
The Randall Model ! design is about perfect for the styles of fighting I'm familiar with; a modified Bowie with sharpened back third, where the "false edge" of a Bowie would be.   6-7 inches in the blade.   Good enough point for thrusting, enough curve for cutting.
The "stilletto" type blade is excellent for thrusting but many designs (like the Fairbairn "English Commando") are weak and tend to break.
The K-Bar is a super-tough GP knife but to my mind the point is not well-designed for efficient thrusting.
 
The chance that a contemporary soldier will use a knife in actual combat is extremely small; the modern combat knife tends to be a tool with a tiny chance of functioning as a "last-ditch" weapon.
 
Maybe not the case for special operations guys.

I've never been particularly fond of Buck Knives. The handles just feel too slick for my liking. I would prefer a Gerber instead and they are about in the same price range.

I've had my Buck knife since Christmas but I babied it because it was new.  As most of you know I just got back from a week's worth of camping.  During this time I decided to stop babying my knife.  I used it for all manner of chore and bushcraft.  Someone even borrowed it to slice peppers and onions for dinner.  Through all of it's many tasks it held its edge well (I only had to sharpen it once), was easy to use, and sharpened up to its previous razor's edge easily.  If its lacking in some way I didn't detect it.

In my area there could be young thin trees,  and in the mountains some thick old trees of most types like cotton woods Ive seen em real thick and some birch etc.  soo my guess would be those two man saws for takin em down if needed haha like in the old days and maybe large axes,  but the most I would take is a large knife like my recently new kabar large heavy bowie and maybe my small pocket knife last time i went in de mountains(cramped up bad soo we turned back ) forgot a pack saw tho I saw some birch burls I really wanted for cup carving etc... packed some heat too haha a short barreled taurus judge in 45 colt for critter protection.

Quote from Rat Man on May 23^rd, 2012, 6:02pm:

The best thing to a knife is when it get it`s first nick in it`s edge, because only then it can be truly used(almost a Norwegian proverb)
I got a few combat knives, like gerber mark II, some MIII type, cold steel peacekeeper somthing I think 7" carbonV.  Cool but not practical for use other than killing.  
Any utiliarian knife will get the job done, mora, cold steel trail master, kukri, machete, anything between.  I got a bunch of knives and not one of them is all that best.  
Just stay away from cheap, fancy, and soft, thick edged junk knives.
Beware if the only word stamped on the knife is stainless, it`s usually not a good sign
timann
 

Indeed it is, "MADE IN USA"    
timann