Ka-Bar Mini Dozier ( AUS-8 ) Review / test

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old4570
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Ka-Bar Mini Dozier ( AUS-8 ) Review / test

Post by old4570 »

I do love small light easy to carry pocket knives . I have several .
Recently I had an itch to try the Mini Dozier and I purchased one out of the USA .

A) Looks great 8/10
B) Feels Great 8/10
C) Bolted together great 9/10
D) Edge retention not great 1/10

For edge retention , 1 out of ten is the lowest possible score .
I have tested a lot of knives and for 2021 I am starting fresh with the video's I am posting .

The knife :
Physically speaking , I have no complaints what so ever . The mini Dozier fulfils all my expectations for a Ka-Bar , except in edge retention . Here unfortunately the blade performs at a level I personally like to think of as bottom of the barrel . My test is simple and repeatable . I have some rope that is run over some pine board ( cutting surface ) and I cut rope . The results are consistent and repeatable making the results comparable to my other tests ( other knives ) . As an example I have 2 knives ( the same ) branded differently ( but the same knife ) and they be 420 SS . Both knives deliver 140 slices of rope and have done so over repeated testing ( repeatable and consistent results ) . These sorts of results give me a base line from which to work from when calling something good or bad .

Mini Dozier AUS8 blade :

After some 30 slices of the rope the edge began to vanish ( not a good sign ) and by the time I got to 50 slices ( my base line for rubbish steel ) I was pushing the knife hard . And it did fail on the paper cut test , both ways / with the grain and against the grain of the printer paper . Can I say how disappointed I am ? 2020 ripped me a new one on blade steel ( so much bad steel ) and looks like 2021 is going to do the same .
The edge - I use a guided knife sharpener and put down a 22deg bevel until I get a bur and then slowly work the bur away and then strop to finish with and without polishing compound ( I have 3 different strops of varying leather hardness ) . So I do try to put down a decent edge . So I was a little surprised the edge began to vanish after 30 slices .
The good news ? might be that edge maintenance is easy . I put the knife to the strop after the test and the edge came back really strong cutting / slicing paper with the greatest of ease . Only thing is the lack of edge retention ! ( Which is a little annoying ) .

Conclusion :
Love everything except the blade steel - so obviously I hate the knife ! The knife is only as good as it's blade steel , so if the blade steel is rubbish so is the knife . There we go , another knife for the junk knife box .

[youtube]https://youtu.be/hYLhU67s-J8[/youtube]
old4570
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Re: Ka-Bar Mini Dozier ( AUS-8 ) Review / test

Post by old4570 »

2nd Chance at the rope !



When a knife fails , I like to give it a 2nd chance to impress or at the very least not fail so badly . So is the case with the Ka Bar mini Dozier . It needed that 2nd chance at the rope . This time I used my whetstone grinder / knife sharpener to grind a new edge onto the knife .

Whetstone Grinder :

Basically a machine with a grinding wheel that turns slowly through water that you sharpen your knife with . The knife is attached to a fixture that keeps the grind true and removes most of the human error . Down side is expense and the rather rough grind that the machine produces . I mean , who spends $200 to sharpen a $20 knife ? Besides me . Actually I am shopping at a higher price point these days and still getting junk knives . ::dang::

Anyways , put a new edge on the knife . Factory grind on one side of the blade was very average and on the other side very poor . No a bad grind wont help edge retention . Where was I , right . Bottom line , I doubled the edge retention . Once done with the test , I put the knife to the leather strop and after a few passes the knife was sharp again ( soft steel ? ) . That easy edge maintenance ! :roll:

Though the knife did fail on the paper , it was still cutting the rope strong ( well ) . That edge is rough off the grinder and hopefully soon I will have the means to show just how rough . I will say how ever that with the more ? soft - budget - cheap - nasty - steels , so far I am finding that . Putting a fine edge on soft steel is a waste of time ( for me - in my experience ) and the rougher finished edges do appear to do a lot better ( edge retention - cutting power ) . Dont get me wrong , if your knife has really good steel ( which Im sure it has ) a polished edge can really help . But for those less fortunate , those that got ripped a new one . Keeping the edge a little rough might be the ticket .
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1967redrider
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Re: Ka-Bar Mini Dozier ( AUS-8 ) Review / test

Post by 1967redrider »

Nice thorough review and ::welcome:: to AAPK! Nice to see you picked up on the YouTube video posting trick too.
😉 👍

Have you picked up and tried the D2 version? I've had my eye on it for some time now.
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old4570
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Re: Ka-Bar Mini Dozier ( AUS-8 ) Review / test

Post by old4570 »

Dozier D2 is on the - Too Buy List ... ::tu::

I saw them on Ebay and then they vanished . I guess they got sold . ::shrug::

Just purchased a D2 and a M390 ( Two Sun ) , so maybe in the near future I will have a D2 Dozier .
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Re: Ka-Bar Mini Dozier ( AUS-8 ) Review / test

Post by orvet »

Nice review and great video! ::tu::
Welcome to AAPK! ::ds::
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old4570
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Re: Ka-Bar Mini Dozier ( AUS-8 ) Review / test

Post by old4570 »

Thank you .... :D
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Re: Ka-Bar Mini Dozier ( AUS-8 ) Review / test

Post by zed6309 »

Great review and welcome ::tu:: it's odd as I've 2 knives in AUS8 a schrade 503 sure lock and a esee expat Medelline, there both my work knives and I've never found the edge retention to bad on them , yeah it's not s35vn level as it's a cheaper steel but it's better than most chinese steels like say 7cr17mov etc , I find its strops like 1095 , I'm wondering if it's bad tempering on the dossier?
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old4570
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Re: Ka-Bar Mini Dozier ( AUS-8 ) Review / test

Post by old4570 »

???????????? Could be anything ?

I have a box full of junk knives ..

2020 I started paying more , still no improvement in blade steel .

It's horrible when $9 to $16 knives kick $50 to $125 knives to the curb on edge retention .
I have a Civivi Dogma D2 that's complete rubbish ( blade steel ) ...
And I told Civivi about it and there response was - Tell some one that cares !

I have 14c28n that can't compete with Cr/Mov or 420SS . What's that about ?
I have some decent AUS8 , and other AUS8 that's not good at all .

And the FRAUD .......... !! Is everyone watching what's happening ?
Go watch some Luv them knives video's .
Wish I had access to one of those metallurgy guns and a Rockwell hardness tester ...
Cos I would love to know what the steel really is on these knives , not just what's printed on them .
The truth is , almost any steel can be good , if properly manufactured and processed . That's simply not happening .
And one of the biggest issues is the rather obvious lack of quality control .
If everyone tested their knives ? And graded the knives ...
How many knives would actually be good ?
Until I started testing , I had no real idea . My idea of good , was just an idea not based on reality . Simply something based on a bunch of really poorly performing knives . ( Chinese knives )
And after a while I gave up and went back to my R3 Remington .
In 2020 I started buying knives again ( I was Covid Bored ) and then I decided I had to know . And I saw some one doing a simple / reliable / repeatable edge retention test and I was sold on reality . And now , I am testing / playing with edges . Seeing if I can push for more . My idea or understanding of good has radically changed .

What I thought was good when I started buying Chinese , is now my idea of rubbish . All those knives fail under 100 and if not 50 . A decent Chinese D2 should be a 400+ ( 450 the two good ones I have ) knife .
Cr/Mov can go over 200 if properly done . So why so much bad steel ?
Part of the reason is FRAUD , people are simply being defrauded . A claim is made about the blade steel which is not true . And to expose the lies we need more metallurgy guns , Is it PMI testing or something ? And most of us dont have access to that , nor Rockwell testing .
So the consumer is literally in the dark trusting that their hard earned isnt ripping them a new one when they buy a knife .
And then there is , who is defrauding who ? Material Supplier / manufacturer / retailer / wholesaler ?
And do you really want to financially support a manufacturer that tell you to go pluck a duck when your knife quacks ?

From my perspective , the knife market is a bag of poo ! And trying to find a gem among all that crap ? It's a lottery and I got me a lot of loosing tickets in 2020 .

Actually this is getting off track - sorry folks ..
I may need to do an entirely different post on my good and bad buys of 2020 and early 2000 to 2010 buys .
Cos I really do have a full box of junk knives .
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1967redrider
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Re: Ka-Bar Mini Dozier ( AUS-8 ) Review / test

Post by 1967redrider »

Do you sharpen your own knives? Just wondering if that could be the issue as some come from the factory razor sharp and others wouldn't cut butter. ::shrug::
Pocket, fixed, machete, axe, it's all good!

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Re: Ka-Bar Mini Dozier ( AUS-8 ) Review / test

Post by Mumbleypeg »

Perhaps you’ve given another example of why tempering of the steel is as important or even more so than the type or grade of steel. Knife manufacturers have different recipes for heat treating and tempering. Too many folks get “hung up” on what kind of steel is in a knife. Steel not properly tempered will not perform well, regardless what kind it is.

Ken
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old4570
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Re: Ka-Bar Mini Dozier ( AUS-8 ) Review / test

Post by old4570 »

Sharpening !

I use a guided knife sharpener .
I recently purchased a whetstone grinder / knife sharpener .

So , the knife now goes through 3 stages of testing if it fails to meet expectations .

Factory edge / guided knife sharpener edge / machine cut edge .




My guided knife edge is cut at 22deg with 180 grit diamond in a sort of cross hatch pattern .
With decent D2 it goes 400+ on the rope .. ( I try to put the same edge on all knives I test to reduce variables )
I will post another knife review shortly ( Ganzo FH41 D2 ) where I encounter another issue .
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Re: Ka-Bar Mini Dozier ( AUS-8 ) Review / test

Post by Reverand »

Mumbleypeg wrote: Wed Mar 10, 2021 3:23 pm Perhaps you’ve given another example of why tempering of the steel is as important or even more so than the type or grade of steel. Knife manufacturers have different recipes for heat treating and tempering. Too many folks get “hung up” on what kind of steel is in a knife. Steel not properly tempered will not perform well, regardless what kind it is.

Ken
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Everything else is just a hobby.

~Reverand
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