4 Beckers, 4 different flavors

[foofie]

I always thought I was a pretty easy-going guy. Not too picky (if that can co-exist with a touch of OCD).
I had my beckers, and finally decided to upgrade to the kabar micarta. Thanks black Friday!

When I put the micarta on my 9 and 5, I kinda disliked them! Sacrilege, sorry. Keep in mind - the 5 has been my favorite knife for quite some time. Somehow, the grippy scales and the change in balance just made them feel off. The grippiness bothered me on the 9, and the balance/weight on the 5.

Then I tried the scales on my 10. I have never grown too attached to the 10, since the 15 does everything it can do. More importantly, the 10 never felt quite right in hand. With the micarta on, it moved the balance point a little rearward -and it feels like a whole new knife. The grip is also appreciated on the smaller knife.

Then there is my 15. The micarta looks nice, but I am torn between grivory with liners vs micarta. Time will tell. btw - it is stripped, but the pic makes it look coated. Odd.

Due to the wonderful kabar black friday special, I had an extra set of scales. I sanded them lightly and put them on the 9. It looks beautiful, and handles "small" knife tasks a bit better it seems (tried for only 5 min), but with the weight further back in the handle, it makes it a little less aggressive as a chopper. Again, time will tell if it stays.

 

[jelegere7313]

I have the micarta on my bk39 i had it on my bk10 at first. Paracord on my bk11 and put the green scales that came on the 39 on my bk2.

 

[SALTY]

When such a slight change in balance noticeably affects the handling properties of a knife, particularly a large knife such as a 5 or a 9, it demonstrates how much thought went into the design of the piece in the first instance.

 

[Survivormind]

The 5 is my favorite Becker as well. I used it pretty extensively with the grivory scales and yes, it felt "off" when I switched over to the micarta. I did, however, get used to it and even found it to be just as effective as a chopper of not more so. The technique is a bit different though. Maybe give it some time and see if you get used to it?

Survivormind

 

[foofie]

When such a slight change in balance noticeably affects the handling properties of a knife, particularly a large knife such as a 5 or a 9, it demonstrates how much thought went into the design of the piece in the first instance.

I totally agree! I always figured the handles were drilled out for weight savings, but never realized that a little more/little less would make that much difference in handling. Really impressed.

On a related note, it makes me want to try the 12 (with the weighted plugs) all the more.