The KA-BAR is one of the most iconic knives ever (as evidenced by its inclusion in our post on the 20 Most Iconic Knives). It has a very familiar look and feel, but KA-BAR decided to give it some upgrading in materials, a smaller size, and a fancy new blade.

The result was the KA-BAR Tanto Short Fighting Knife.

This knife has all the bones of the classic KA-BAR but in a more compact size. Instead of the massive 7-inch clip point blade, the Short Fighting Knife has a 5.25-inch tanto blade. The smaller size and tanto blade profile offer more versatility in finer tasks without being too small for work around the campsite.

Coated with smooth black powder coating, the blade uses 1095 Cro-Van steel — an alloy that’s easy to sharpen and highly durable.

Unlike the polished stacked leather handle of your grandfather’s KA-BAR, this Short Fighting Knife has a Kraton G handle. Kraton G is a synthetic material that’s better suited for extreme situations and can be more grippy in certain environments.

This smaller tanto knife is the perfect complement to a full-size KA-BAR and even retains the same commercial grade carbon steel butt cap/guard and its made-in-America construction.

It also comes with a hard plastic MOLLE compatible sheath.