John Ek Commando Knife Model 4

As an enthusiast in the knife world I know good steel, bad steel and okay steel. KaBar uses a more than decent steel for their knives that will hold up to tough use if used properly. The steel will take an edge and retains it fairly well but is easy to re-sharpen. Could the material quality be better? Certainly. But do they make a solid product for the price point? Absolutely.

From my personal perspective, what we have here is supremely better than KaBar's general 'USMC-style' knife offering for one specific reason: this knife has an actual full tang, not the typical 'rat tail' tang KaBar is known for.

This knife has a confident weight to it, and the handle design fits amazingly in the hand--it's a very ergonomically designed knife. The tang even extends beyond the handle for a 'skull crusher' pommel design or could be used as a so-so prying instrument. The blade is surprisingly thick, has a great grind to it and is shaped in a way where I'm confident in its design to be a sturdy knife. The double-edge of this knife more or less is designed for killing, as opposed to being a 'work knife' but it would work well as a camping knife all the same if the user exercises a little extra caution to account for accidents that could present themselves that a single edged knife would not present.

That said, the sheath is fine--it's of the same quality as any other KaBar sheath BUT my knife seems to catch a little on inserting due to the angle. Still no big deal, it's a solid sheath.

If I could suggest anything it would be making the handles a bit more rigid for gripping texture but even without it you still get a good grip purchase on this thing, the handle is massive anyway.

Either way, this was a good purchase, I would buy again and may even buy a 2nd one just so I'll always have one if the first one breaks.

There is nothing to not like and or appreciate about this knife - it has one purpose IMHO and I am sure it will do it well.
I just hope I never have to find out - but if I do - I sure won't feel underpowered

I reviewed and handled many different knives looking for the perfect and pure hand-to-hand knife. The factors of value-to-cost, materials used, weight-to-length ratios, durability and the effectiveness that's derived from all those factors were my main discretionary points. I own a couple of Benchmades, Gerber, K-Bar, CRKT and an ESEE. In the decision making process, I handled tactical/combat/utility knives from all of these makers. This John Ek from K-Bar was the only one that I could not find in a store to get my hands on it. After having it in my cart for 3+months, I decided to give it a shot because it appeared to possess everything I was looking for in my purpose-specific knife, and being Prime, I could return it for free.

This knife is one of, if not the sharpest knife out of the box that I've ever owned. It's stout but light weight enough to stay quick and precise in the hand. The handle is very well designed and feels comfortable with different grip postures and still retains decent control with moisture. Balance is awesome. The length is perfect, I have confidence in the penetration through a tac vest/gear, while not being a sword. I unscrewed the grip-plates, oiled the tang and put a small drop of loctite on the screws when replaced. I suggest you do the same. For $90, you can't go wrong and I'm overall very happy I took a shot with it. It's definitely a piece of my gear.

I was very excited to see the Ek Model 44 for sale on Keepshooting. After seeing these knives for over 20 years, I had wanted to finally own my very own Ek dagger. 

Excellant knife excellant sheath. Some of you have been destroying your sheath by grinding down your retaining ramps. To easily remove your knife simply press down on ramp plate with thumb and index finger while grasping knife with other three fingers. It will slide out very easily.

Very nice knife and kydex sheath. Great reproduction.

I really like the EK Commando Dagger it is a "strictly business" type of blade for thrusting into your target however, the blade is extremely thick for a dagger you could use it easily for utility purposes of all sorts. The cutting edge is right at 6" so perfect for devastating a target. Six inch blades do require a little more time to withdraw after each thrust I like long bladed knives and all but short bladed daggers are extremely fast this one is heavy and I Love it.

Espetacular

Outstanding Military knife

The cross guard was loose on mine.