Mine arrived two days ago from Tomar's (super fast shipping incidentally). Very nice! I'm a huge snob about field blades in general, and this thing has me pretty impressed. Ka-Bar done good.
I have pretty big paws (long) and the grip is quite good. The curves are appropriate, and it's very natural to maintain a nice, high grip with this. The handle could use an extra 1/4" or so maybe, but it's nothing close to a deal breaker as-is. My palm doesn't ride the butt at all.
The ricasso is pretty brief, especially considering it's a Ka-Bar. The fitting of the blade and tang is spot on (it's centered well into the handle without being too high or low, or at an angle. The cuts of the grind are even. The edge was quite even but for ~1/4" at the start of the edge; it was ground at a slight downward angle. It's only slightly off and will even up as I sharpen it over time.
I don't know the rockwell, but it's definitely a hard enough edge for my tastes. It's not soft enough to need sharpening every hour, but it's not hard enough that it takes a whole night to bring it back to life.
The overall size is just about perfect on this! I like the blade length and the handle proportions make it great for just about any hold/grip. Chest/lever or reverse holds are quite comfy. With any new knife, I will generally sit down and carve for a half hour or so to check for carving ability, controllability, and hot spots. I really didn't find any hot spots. I feel like the flat grind angle is just right for even carving and making fuzz sticks easily. The width of the blade is doesn't interfere with carving the way something like a Becker will. The tip does a good job drilling an even hole for a bow & drill baseboard. Oh, the blade is of course a bit weighty, but the balance point is far enough back that the blade moves with great ease.
Compared to a few other 'military-esque' knives...
The sheath is awesome... if you intend to jump out of planes or regularly go ocean diving. Stealing from a locked bank vault takes less effort than getting the Mk1 out of the sheath! So, in lieu of some decent kydex, I discovered a cheap & convenient solution: the mk1 fits
perfectly into the USAF survival knife sheath. Win!
Many thanks to the OP for his initially review, I didn't know this knife existed before this. I can say this is a really contender for best budget bushcraft/fields/woods knife on our side of the pond. Certainly a Mora will do, but for those looking for a more American breed, the Mk1 is a champ!
