Ka-Bar Dozier D2 ( Folding lock back )

[old4570]

Came in a couple of days ago :
I did buy a Mini Dozier AUS8 quite some time ago and was very disappointed with the edge retention !
Been wanting a D2 Dozier for for several years .

A) Sellers did not ship to Oz
B) THose who did , never had a knife to sell ( out of stock )
C) In Oz , only the AUS8 was available
D) Situation seems to be improving
E) I would not recommend the AUS8 as mine was --- Disappointing .

So here we are several years later than I would have liked .
You can buy a Dozier AUS8 from around $55 in OZ and the D2 variant for around $74 according to FeeBay .
I paid less than $60 AU for my import ( About the same money as the AUS8 version )
In the USA the Dozier is pretty much a budget entry knife .

I like the way the Dozier fits in the hand and I have nothing against lock backs .
I don't need to own flippers , .... It's just how things are , want D2 ? , you probably have to buy a flipper .
So years in the making , will the D2 Dozier meet expectations ?
So far I like it .
Locks up tight , is tight / no play . ( Walk N talk is excellent )
All that's left is to cut some rope to see where the blade steel is at .
Factory edge slices paper just fine .
So I will slice rope ASAP with the factory edge .
P&S , the spine of the blade is rounded .. So won't damage your ferrite rod ..

 

[old4570]

Ka-Bar Mini Dozier AUS8 .............. Just for reference ........
The AUS8 did not impress .. This knife was also an import as at the time there were no Dozier for sale in Oz ..
If this knife is anything to go by , AUS8 is probably best avoided ..

Oh right ! I plan on doing a thing on my JUNK KNIVES ... You know , when you ( I in this case ) flushed money down the drain .
In my world , any knife that fails @ 100 slices or less is a junk knife ..
Any knife that fails @ 50 slices , is a dumpster knife ( belongs in a rubbish bin ) .
I just freshened a BG ( Bear Grylls ) folder last night . This was a $16 FeeBay purchase out of Sydney a few years ago (?) ................. It's a cheap knife !
It was the cheapest BG I could get my hands on at the time ( Total cost was $16 to my door )
I also have a $9.99 knife that went over 200 , just for some perspective . That will be in a new thread / post !

 

[Randall]

Try White Mountain Knives in the US. They have great prices and cheap delivery. There are many codes to get 10% off. I usually buy a couple of knives I've been looking for to get the most out of shipping - often the 10% off knife price cancels out delivery. 2 codes are CCE (from Canadian Cutting Edge) and LTK (from Luv Them Knives). I've always received what I bought from these guys - the owner has answered emails.

 

[old4570]

I have shopped @ White Mountain ... When I was looking 2nd last time , they did not have the Dozier D2 in stock .
This one came out of Florida ( Ebay seller )

 

[old4570]

A) I like the way the knife slices = Good control
B) No issues
C) Factory edge was - once again - FUBAR
D) result was a 150 slice fail

At 140 slices all the cutting power suddenly vanished ..
I put the knife on my guided knife sharpener , and ................
That bevel is FUBAR ...
One side was around 20 deg
The other side maybe 15 deg
I was putting down a 22 deg bevel ..
Not the hardest steel / not the softest steel .
But the factory bevel blew chunks for quality .
I will cut rope with the 22 deg guided edge and then do a wet stone grinder edge . ( See how much cleaning up might be necessary )
Be interesting to see if the grinder improves things ..

 

[old4570]

To the crunch ... @ 150 slice fail !

Wet Stone Grinder

Ok , lots of FUBAR left ...
The guided knife sharpener does not remove FUBAR - Because it follows the factory grind .
The wet stone grinder does NOT follow the factory grind , but rather grinds straight and even . ( Depth etc )
And after the grind 99% of the fubar is gone .. Un even factory grind , mostly gone ...

The slop in the blade = The blade retention screw came loose ..
One more time to the rope folks ..
150 slices for D2 is a very poor showing ..
Next I put the reground bevel to the rope .. Will we see a 100%+ gain ? To reach D2 performance levels ?

 

[old4570]

It's a shocker ( Shockingly Bad )
150 slices with the reground bevel .
For D2 , that is abysmal performance .
AUS8 Failed at 100 reground , D2 Fails at 150 reground ..
D2 gave me ( * me ) 50 more slices than the cheaper AUS8 .
That's horrible performance .
150 slices on a factory edge
150 resharpened
150 reground

It's certainly consistent , in a very bad way !

And this is why I hate reviews based on OPINION !
So many Dozier reviews out there saying what a great knife the dozier is (?)
Has anyone else done an actual edge retention test that is consistent and repeatable ? One that can be replicated by just about anyone ?

This is why I do what I do , to cut thru the BS that is out there . ( I hate BS )
Can I recommend the Ka Bar Dozier ? = Hell No !
I own two Doziers now that are a waste of money .
Can Ka-Bar put rubbish out into the knife market = It appears so .... Another knife company selling lottery tickets ...

 

[Randall]

The main guy is Aussie, and that is pretty much all he does. He also likes to play around with testing different edge geometries on different steels - trying to find what works best with a particular steel. Then there is LTK who adds his research - which is hardness and steel used - some manufacturers lie about steel used. Yes, you're in a niche area of testing, which is all good for the community and our education. Considering how big youtube is, most people (knife enthusiasts) seem to defer to just those two channels. I'm actually amazed that edge bevels are rarely (if ever) uniform and within that 15 - 20° angle.

The US has a huge scale of economy - you can get your knives heat treated by specialised businesses at a reasonable price.

Oh, and of course DBK! I find it hard to watch what these guys do to knives sometimes - well, most of the time . Their focus is a bit different again - more extreme survival / all rounder knife testing. They test knives in all sorts of survival type / extreme conditions. Most people would not subject their knives to this type of treatment, unless they really had to. They do find clear standout winners and losers though.

The average knife owner probably wouldn't subject their knives to that much use in a year - compared to the testing that people like you and Cedric & Ada do.

 

[old4570]

The DBK boys , they certainly be entertaining ..
Their testing is ..... ? Not really repeatable , or consistent . Interesting for sure but sometimes I wonder about relevance .
I do enjoy watching their chanel never the less .