2 month bk9 adventure. Ahhh. Beautiful New zealand and Indonesia VERY PIC HEAVY!!!!

[beckerbrain]

Gear (minus food):

[/IMG]

Day 1, ready to go:

[/IMG]

So so much to do. So far to go...

Finally: fresh water after 8 hour uphill hike:

At the top, break time:

FINALLY, some Becker content:

Recouperate at the hostel:

Off to Indonesia: make sure to take anti-malaria and parasite pills:

About 800$:

Campsite on the black sand beach:

Re-supply at the local market before hitting the jungle:

Water buffalo stampede during breakfast, no big deal:

It looks like they were moving slow, but they weren't! They running and everyone cleared the road.

Ahh. Fresh water after only 2 hour hike:

My brother making breakfast:

My whole body hurts and I'm hungry. It's been 7 weeks, let's get a hotel:

View from the room/treehouse/hotel (we bought the kids cokes & ice creams):

Breakfast:

Goodbye treehouse (best hotel in the universe if you have a bugnet, 5$ a night!!!!!)

Saw a monkey in Bali, on the way to the Denpasar airport (he rides that little moped!!!)

Flying home....(i already miss the rainforest!!!)

Used the bk9 about 3-5 hours a day for 55 days. In the rain (indo) and sleet/mild snow (NZ). No problems with slippage (been a hot topic lately) and cut through countless trails, brush, limbs, coconuts, fish, and airport assholes.

Sorry there wasn't more Becker pics, I'll call my bro to see if he has more bk9 pics. All of mine were taken with an iPhone, which was dead almost the whole trip. He carried a dig cam & carried a tops tracker tho, and bought a bk4 when we got home. BK FOR LIFE! Tried and true.

PS: I also have to give credit to 710 for my kydex rig. I recommend them to EVERYONE. Super nice, customized my carry options for me and got it to me quick before my outbound flight. Solid as a rock. If you don't have one, you're missing out big time.

 

[jdk1]

Awesome man! That would be a great adventure. You should do a Tracker thread as well and let us know your brother's thoughts on it. Thanks.

 

[The Warrior]

Good stuff man, thanks for sharing.

 

[beckerbrain]

Awesome man! That would be a great adventure. You should do a Tracker thread as well and let us know your brother's thoughts on it. Thanks.

I've always disliked the tracker, only because of the saw tooth part at the top and the finger groove handle. My bro basically went online and looked up "survival knife" and someone convinced him that the tracker was the way to go.

When we had a lot of work to do tho, we'd take turns with the bk9. The tracker ended up being used to de-bark fire wood and chop fish heads. It actually did baton very well, despite the saw teeth. The bk9 and our multi-tools ended up being the main tools used tho. I'm sure the tracker has its place, but it just didn't work for us. Especially those f#}^ing finger grooves. We both did try to make it work, but it never stood up to the King.

He bought a machax a few weeks after we got home, and he's in Costa Rica right now. I'll tell him to get a bunch of blade pics.

After 2-3 weeks, you start to ignore electronics/batteries/phones/cameras and that sucks, cuz when you get back to society and online, you realize that you missed out on the best potential pics.

 

[jdk1]

The Tracker is a different animal and isn't for everybody. I appreciate the feedback. Let us know how he likes the 4 when he returns. Thanks.

 

[dresnor]

Very awesome! It looks like you had a great trip. Thank you very much for sharing it with us.

Just because I am curious, do you have any pictures of the BK-9 when you got back? How well did it hold an edge for you? Any chipping or rolling issues? Any issues with rust?

55 days of use 3-5 hours a day is an amazing test for any knife. It could be the end all of any discussion about edge retention, rust resistance and yes, grip safety.

Jeremy

 

[CM_Rick]

Awesome stuff, man. Truly jealous of your trip. The tracker is a great knife once it's figured out, and that can take a while. Lol. Just wondering... What was the purpose of your trip? That's a really long trip, and wondered if it was a work related thing, or for leisure. If it's work... I'd like to apply [emoji2][emoji106]
And I hear you about ignoring the electronics on a trip. I usually do that as soon as my feet hit forest floor.

 

[beckerbrain]

Very awesome! It looks like you had a great trip. Thank you very much for sharing it with us.

Just because I am curious, do you have any pictures of the BK-9 when you got back? How well did it hold an edge for you? Any chipping or rolling issues? Any issues with rust?

55 days of use 3-5 hours a day is an amazing test for any knife. It could be the end all of any discussion about edge retention, rust resistance and yes, grip safety.

Jeremy

Luckily, I do have a pic of the 1 tiny chip I got in the edge, and I know/remember exactly when it happened. Chopping close to an old mining area in coramandel NZ, and hit a rock. Still tho, this is TINY compared to how hard I was swinging. The coating did not hold up too great, and was practically gone around the "sweet spot" by the end, so I just stripped and did a full vinegar patina when I got home.

Rust... Yeah, rust was a massive issue. I ended up using petroleum jelly in indo (it was all I could get in the markets), and I swear it worked like a charm. The handle bolts, and especially under the handles were red orangish every time I checked, which was like every 2-5 days. I'm still thinking of ways/possibilities to get past this. But hey, it's not stainless, it took everything I threw at it, and with minimum maintenance was still ready to go. And we're talking about SERIOUS water contact. It rained/drizzled for literally 24 hours a day for the first 9 days we were in NZ. That being said, I'm pretty sure all the rust was surface and not anything to worry about.

The king destroyed everything in its path. It performed as a machete most of the time, and i swear it de-limbed 2"-4" branches in single swings with barely any resistance. It really was so bad-ass.

I took along my work sharp field sharpener, you can see it the "gear" pic, but I only had to sharpen the edge maybe twice. It is worth noting that we never sharpened the tracker, but hey we barely used it.

I'll get on my PC and grab the pic of the tiny tiny chip.

 

[1066vik]

I'm kind of surprised your brother didn't pick up an enep or golok in the indonesia marketplace to use instead of the tracker

 

[beckerbrain]

Awesome stuff, man. Truly jealous of your trip. The tracker is a great knife once it's figured out, and that can take a while. Lol. Just wondering... What was the purpose of your trip? That's a really long trip, and wondered if it was a work related thing, or for leisure. If it's work... I'd like to apply [emoji2][emoji106]
And I hear you about ignoring the electronics on a trip. I usually do that as soon as my feet hit forest floor.

It was 100% leisure. My brother (the ginger in the pics) is really into surfing and he was finishing up his 5 month surf trip when he invited me to hit the rain forests.

The entire 2 month trip only cost us about 4,000$ U.S. in TOTAL, gear, flights, food, everything for both of us. So 2k each. It would have been much cheaper if we didn't stay in the hotel & rent a car in NZ. Plus food. NZ was almost 800$ of our budget. Indo was insanely cheap.

We actually bought a biolite, because they claim it can charge your usb stuff while you cook, and yeah it can....but not really. We had to charge our headlamps and AA's for the gps every time we cooked, so the pics and camera missed out. The biolite is still a KILLER camp stove tho. I have prob 80-100 more pics too but not much more Becker content.

Hey man, whatever in life you do...go to Lombok Indonesia. You'll never forget it, it's super cheap, and it's just incredible.

 

[beckerbrain]

I'm kind of surprised your brother didn't pick up an enep or golok in the indonesia marketplace to use instead of the tracker

Never heard of those... But I'm no expert. There were several handmade knives in the markets but they were all kitchen types. We only hit 2 markets the whole trip tho, being in the rainforest the whole time.

Their knives were awesome tho, and really decorative wooden/leather sheaths. I did get one for about .30 cents US. I'll post a pic. Totally razor shaving sharp and handmade. I'm guessing high carbon cuz it rusted all to hell in my pack, during the flight home.

 

[CM_Rick]

That's awesome. Hopefully, my travels will take me places like that. Thanks, man.

 

[keroscene]

Very cool thread! Love the pics and commentary! A huge thanks for sharing :thumbup:

 

[beckerbrain]

Very cool thread! Love the pics and commentary! A huge thanks for sharing :thumbup:

Thanks man, I'd share more but don't want to get the thread closed over lack of Becker content.

Go to Indonesia dude!!! I highly recommend mt. Rinjani.

Take a tough pack tho, we saw and met lots of people with torn and punctured packs from how they're mishandled on flights/busses.

Also, haggle everything. The indo cabs, ferries, busses, and markets can all be negotiated with

 

[beckerbrain]

Awesome man! That would be a great adventure. You should do a Tracker thread as well and let us know your brother's thoughts on it. Thanks.

I'll see what pics he has and info he wants to share on the tracker. He hated that he spent 4x as much as me on a blade and never found the niche, I can say that much! Hahaha

He's in Costa Rica right now, but ill shoot him an email.

I've been trying to get him on this forum for a while now but eh, you know....surfers...

 

[Ethan Becker]

Hey BeckerBrain.....

This was a thread that really, really made me a proud and happy old man !!!!!!..... I am so delighted that your Nine did it's job for you....... It is so rare to get such long term use feedback ......... Thank you so much for your post and the precious feedback........ WOW, ThankYou, Sir ....... You made my day.......... WOW......

Thank you too, for your pix and sharing such a great adventure.... Trip of a lifetime, trip of a lifetime......

Ethan

 

[TBL]

Awesome photo's! thanks for sharing the adventure! that looks like an epic journey. I'm totally jealous!

 

[beckerbrain]

Hey BeckerBrain.....

This was a thread that really, really made me a proud and happy old man !!!!!!..... I am so delighted that your Nine did it's job for you....... It is so rare to get such long term use feedback ......... Thank you so much for your post and the precious feedback........ WOW, ThankYou, Sir ....... You made my day.......... WOW......

Thank you too, for your pix and sharing such a great adventure.... Trip of a lifetime, trip of a lifetime......

Ethan

Thank you!!!!!
I'm astounded that the owner/designer would take the time to comment on my little overseas outing. Seriously... I've never heard of a knife maker being so close to his clientele. It's an honor mr. Becker, truly.

You've definitely got a customer for life here, my experience with the 9 literally inspired me to join this forum. The 9 totally made my little adventure. I can't wait to take her out on my next trip. Truly, flawless design you've come up with sir. There's just something about a belt knife that's so much more satisfying than a machete or hatchet, I think you prob know what I mean.

I want to do South America next, but I think I'll have to build up for it a little bit first, pretty rough jungles from what I've researched. Prob do Cambodia or Thailand first. I'll be very careful to take way more Becker in action pics next time around.

Here's one of my favorites. Took hours of chopping that morning to clear out room for the campsite and I still had the hand dexterity to tie knots and pitch my hammock & tarp.

It impressed the hell out of me, I've been using knives in the bush since I was a little kid, and I've never had one perform so well. Thanks again!! Honestly.

The best part was the Indonesian locals (they use knives pretty heavily day-to-day) and boy I gotta tell ya, it was like they'd seen a light saber. Everyone had to use it and look at it and try it out.

Here's another from day 1, on our way out to the rainforest in coramandel (NZ)

Truly amazing places, and even better people. Never had to wait more than an hour while hitchhiking. Great, friendly folks all around.

 

[Guyon]

Truly awesome. Thanks for posting this report. :thumbup:

 

[beckerbrain]

Thanks for the kind feedback guys. I'll bug my bro for more blade pics when he gets back. I do still have loads of awesome camp/travel pics from the trip but not really Becker content so I don't wanna break the rules. Maybe I'll put them on a public Dropbox or imgur or something, in case anyone wants to see.

Thank you!