Welcome Home...THANK YOU FOR BEING A PART OF OUR COMMUNITY

iKnife Collector

The online community of knife collectors, A Knife Family Forged in Steel

2 new knives

Last week I ordered 2 knives from Kennesaw Cutlery Co. The knives I purchased are the Case U.S.M.C. Fighting Knife, and a United Cutlery Combat Commander Boot Knife. They both appear to be solid well made knives, but both arrived so dull they wouldn't cut butter. They may be they 2 dullest knives I have ever held in my hands. The sheathes for both are very nice. The coating on Boot knife seams to be pretty good, but the coating on the Case appears to be coming off each time I remove it from the sheath. The Boot knife is made of AUS8 stainless. I not particularly fond of AUS8, but it is the best steel I could find in a boot knife. The Case is 1095 carbon. I do not know if it is traditional or crovan. Once I have a chance to sharpen them properly, I will get them out and do some testing with them. I'll give more info then.

4 members like this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on February 19, 2014 at 20:27

Well if anybody could talk about sharpness, you sure could! Somewhat surprised at the case not being partially sharp. Never have gotten a UC knife real sharp either.
Love to more know of what you think about thse two as you use them.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Stephen L. Corley on February 21, 2014 at 15:05

The UC Boot knife is finally sharp. It was no easy feat, but I finally got it there, with a complete re-profile and the edge. I gave it a good test on a 40 inch square of paper board and it actually held up good. Afterwards, I went out back and did some cutting on saplings until it was dull. The saplings made short work of it, and both sides of the blade are now not dull but not what I consider sharp.
The handle is very comfortable and fits nice in the hand. I'm not going to give the sheath a good score. The clip sits up even with the handle and with the total length of the knife, the tip will sit below the ankle. This could be annoying and may even cause you to lose it.
When assessing the worth of a knife one has to remember it's designed purpose. Considering the main purpose of a boot knife is stabbing, I feel it will hold up pretty well. For the price, it's kind of like buying a Mora. For $15.99 you can't beat it.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on February 21, 2014 at 17:37

I am also surprised neither came sharp at all. Seems to be a factory thing right now. I heard of 2 other knives, different manufactures received this week with no edge.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Stephen L. Corley on February 28, 2014 at 17:22

I finally got around to sharpening the Case USMC sharp. I honed it 2k grit on my Shapton Stones and got it paper cutting sharp. This afternoon, I took it out and did a few test with it cutting small saplings. Thumb size saplings it cut through in one or two swipes. Then, I moved up to a small Pin Oak about 2 1/2 inch in diameter at 5 feet off the ground. First, the limbs were stripped. Then I chopped it in two. I'm not an expert at chopping with a knife, but I got it done with a little effort. The good news is, it was still paper cutting sharp when I finished. I know I didn't put it through all day of abuse, but I got enough time with it to form an opinion. Plus, it held up much better than the boot knife. In all, I'm happy with them both.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on February 28, 2014 at 19:01

Sounds like a good knife, well they both do. Thanks for the update and hope they continue to work for you!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on March 2, 2014 at 20:55

Glad your happy with them. Did the boot hold up and just the edge did not?

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Stephen L. Corley on March 3, 2014 at 7:55

Jan, the only issue with the boot knife is it did not stay sharp for as long as I would have liked. Other than that, it is great. Now, the sheath could have been designed better.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Stephen L. Corley on July 4, 2014 at 6:52

I've had some time to use the Case USMC and I'm very happy with it. The coating That I thought was coming off isn't, It was just something on hte coating. If someone is thinking about getting a KaBar but would like to same a little money, this is a great alternative. I keep both the USMC and boot knife in my truck for emergencies. Thankfully I haven't had any.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on July 4, 2014 at 8:43

Great Stephen, thats some good info, and first impressions are everything. Lets see how they hold up after sharpening and actually working.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Max McGruder on July 6, 2014 at 14:50

That's too bad bout the sharpness, but the dullest knife I ever bought was a S&M Mini Stag Barlow, Gentleman's Knife it wouldn't even slice through paper and the walk and talk was so bad I sent it back and after 8 weeks I got it back they had fixed the walk and talk but it was just as dull as before! I have done a lil work to it but..... it looks good!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Stephen L. Corley on July 6, 2014 at 15:52

The Case holds its edge very good. I used it during turkey season and was pleased with it. The first time I sharpened it, I took it to 8k grit and stropped it out to a mirror finish. It would slice like crazy, but there were just certain vines that with would barely scratch. I took it home and and put it on a 1k stone, to see how it would perform. It cuts those green vines better now, but of course other things it doesn't cut as well. It's a trade off, but I think I'll stick with it for a while. Once squirrel season kicks off this fall, I'll have more opportunities to test it and try different things.
The boot knife, well, I hope I never have to use it for its intended purpose, but if I do, someone is in for a world of trouble.