KA-BAR is following up the recent appearance of the State & Union custom Straight Razor with two production fixed blade releases. They’ve given a key variation of their recent D2 Extreme model, and a new, smaller follow-up to the TDI knife design.
The original D2 Extreme was an interesting release: fundamentally, it hearkened to KA-BAR’s famous USMC knife in terms of design, but with a more modern, black-coated look, a rejigged handle, and D2 semi-stainless instead of the traditional 1095 Cro-Van carbon steel. For some, however, the mandatory presence of partial serrations on the blade was not ideal. KA-BAR has evidently heard the requests for a plain edge model.
Other than the removal of the serrations, everything else about the D2 Extreme has been retained. Its 7-inch blade sports the classic KA-BAR clip point profile, with pronounced forward swedge and fuller. The Extreme has slightly hardier blade stock than its USMC predecessor – .01″ thicker to be precise – but is ready to handle the same sort of hard use tasks as that knife. Both the handle and the sheath are made from polymers, and the D2 Extreme’s overall weight is 12 oz.
Alongside the new D2 Extreme model is the Investigator, an (even) more compact sequel to the TDI Knife. Designed by John Benner of the Tactical Defense Institute, the TDI Knife was a backup knife for those in dangerous professions. It had a unique, curved handle and low-profile, leaf-shaped drop point blade. These traits are carried forward into the Investigator, but with a smaller overall footprint: key reductions across the board (but mostly to the handle) bring the overall length down by more than half an inch, and the weight down to 2.4 oz. (from 3.2 oz.).
All the materials remain the same on the Investigator. This means that buyers get an AUS-8A for blade steel and a plastic belt sheath.
Both the D2 Extreme Straight Edge and the TDI Investigator are available now directly from KA-BAR. They will be arriving with dealers shortly.
Knife in Featured Image: KA-BAR D2 Extreme Straight Edge
Hawk Knives delivered deeply sad news to the knife world yesterday: Grant Hawk, one of the most innovative, boundary-pushing knife makers of the 20th century, passed away earlier this...
Justin Lundquist is giving fans of the Feist something new to fiend for with the Feist Fixed Blade. These custom pieces present the well-known design in an entirely new...
Knife designer Paul Munko has a sequel to his Kizer Mystic collab in the works. The Mini Mystic carries more differences than blade size, including a different lock and...
GiantMouse has just revealed its latest ACE line folder, the Bleeker. The Bleeker goes for an ultra-svelte gent’s folder look, paired with a slick trailing point blade. Fans of...
Our Boker Summer Release coverage continues with something a little bit different this time, the Cutweazle. This is another modernized, knife enthusiast-friendly take on the replaceable blade utilty knife,...
Benchmade has dropped a new suite of special Osborne variations this month. The new Burnt Copper Aluminum sub-series brings an entirely new look into the long-running knife family, along...
Benchmade’s been busy lately, revealing a couple new projects – chief among them the new PSK (Personal Survival Kit), a heavy duty, all-terrain folder. Virtually every company under the...
©knifenews.com 2022
0 comments