I like the Ka-bar very much too. The known breakages were two and I've heard of a third. All three were from dropping the knife on a hard surface or using as a pry bar. It is a very popular knife in Australia, where they bob the top guard, drill a lanyard hole and often reshape the handle to a upside down teardrop. My SRK is not without failings. I've heard of the handle rotting with extended use. The epoxy coating on mine disappeared when I field tested it splitting wood. All these knives, AF,Ka-Bar,SRK are still a lot of knife for the cost. Ill take a $29 AF ( or two!) over a $250 Rambo sword anyday. If somebody is just starting to assemble their kit, it makes a lot of sense to get one of these, take the initial savings and buy that water filter, first aid kit, sleeping bag. Knives are for cutting. I think they fail when we turn them into crowbars.<br><br>