ARRGH! BK5 is awsome but the sheath is pathetic, I'm mailing it back to Ethan!

[Ethan Becker]

Hey Collector and Everybody.......

Sheaths pose a real problem for cutlers......They usually cost MORE than the knife.....There is a story I heard about the early days of Gerber (likely to be apocryphal) that the Great Pete Gerber held a party to commemorate the first time they shipped a knife that cost less than the sheath.....Anyway it is a good story which, hi lights several other problems.......It is a given in the industry that NOBODY buys a knife for the sheath, sooo if corners are cut it is usually in the sheath.....I used to send Machaxes out the door with Gary Brommeland made 10 oz English tanned leather sheaths (absolutely MAGNIFICENT they were, or Eagle sheaths made when John Carver was in charge and pouch sheaths just don't get any better than that......Nobody EVER told me they bought the knife for the sheath.....Bladite told me earlier today that he heard people complain about the Brommelands because they were heavy....ARRRRGH......

I actually LIKE the new Tweener sheaths.....They are based on the Carver Sheath I used for the Machaxes....... I like pouch type sheaths....I like Kydex and leather too.....Actually I love leather but I do not think it as practical as Kydex or a pouch.....But I do not love them I just use them.....I LOVE leather.......Given a number of alternatives and trying to bring the biggest bang for your hard earned coin, this pouch sheath is a reasonable alternative......I am pretty sure that it will be durable, handy and also meet the requirements that a whole bunch of military organizations require.....I was and am happy with Tooj's design work and the quality for a decent price.......When I approved it at SHOT this year I liked it and I still do.......My Puma Hunters friend rides in a Brommeland sheath and in a couple of years after I prove out the factory sheath there will be at least one of my 16s in a Brommeland.......I do not wish to denigrate any of the quite excellent sheath guys on here as I hope to get a representative samples of Beckerhead made sheaths for testing and for my collection.......But when you look at the package for the price I think we did a bang up job........

Collector...... if you really want to send me a spare sheath I will be happy to find an expensive custom or much more expensive factory blade in my collection that could use an upgrade.........

Btw I too have MORAS in Kydex that cost many multiples of the cost of the blade.....Worth every penny too....

All Best....

ethan

 

[ljcsov]

There are alot of guys in the becker forum that will make you a kydex or leather sheath........and they are excellent.

I want a forum member made sheath for my Bk11!

 

[UCPOPO]

Hey Collector and Everybody.......

Sheaths pose a real problem for cutlers......They usually cost MORE than the knife.....There is a story I heard about the early days of Gerber (likely to be apocryphal) that the Great Pete Gerber held a party to commemorate the first time they shipped a knife that cost less than the sheath.....Anyway it is a good story which, hi lights several other problems.......It is a given in the industry that NOBODY buys a knife for the sheath, sooo if corners are cut it is usually in the sheath.....I used to send Machaxes out the door with Gary Brommeland made 10 oz English tanned leather sheaths (absolutely MAGNIFICENT they were, or Eagle sheaths made when John Carver was in charge and pouch sheaths just don't get any better than that......Nobody EVER told me they bought the knife for the sheath.....Bladite told me earlier today that he heard people complain about the Brommelands because they were heavy....ARRRRGH......

I actually LIKE the new Tweener sheaths.....They are based on the Carver Sheath I used for the Machaxes....... I like pouch type sheaths....I like Kydex and leather too.....Actually I love leather but I do not think it as practical as Kydex or a pouch.....But I do not love them I just use them.....I LOVE leather.......Given a number of alternatives and trying to bring the biggest bang for your hard earned coin, this pouch sheath is a reasonable alternative......I am pretty sure that it will be durable, handy and also meet the requirements that a whole bunch of military organizations require.....I was and am happy with Tooj's design work and the quality for a decent price.......When I approved it at SHOT this year I liked it and I still do.......My Puma Hunters friend rides in a Brommeland sheath and in a couple of years after I prove out the factory sheath there will be at least one of my 16s in a Brommeland.......I do not wish to denigrate any of the quite excellent sheath guys on here as I hope to get a representative samples of Beckerhead made sheaths for testing and for my collection.......But when you look at the package for the price I think we did a bang up job........

Collector...... if you really want to send me a spare sheath I will be happy to find an expensive custom or much more expensive factory blade in my collection that could use an upgrade.........

Btw I too have MORAS in Kydex that cost many multiples of the cost of the blade.....Worth every penny too....

All Best....

ethan

Now thats classy. I need to be more like that. I would have simply given the finger

 

[jarodmichael]

Hey Collector and Everybody.......

Sheaths pose a real problem for cutlers......They usually cost MORE than the knife.....There is a story I heard about the early days of Gerber (likely to be apocryphal) that the Great Pete Gerber held a party to commemorate the first time they shipped a knife that cost less than the sheath.....Anyway it is a good story which, hi lights several other problems.......It is a given in the industry that NOBODY buys a knife for the sheath, sooo if corners are cut it is usually in the sheath.....I used to send Machaxes out the door with Gary Brommeland made 10 oz English tanned leather sheaths (absolutely MAGNIFICENT they were, or Eagle sheaths made when John Carver was in charge and pouch sheaths just don't get any better than that......Nobody EVER told me they bought the knife for the sheath.....Bladite told me earlier today that he heard people complain about the Brommelands because they were heavy....ARRRRGH......

I actually LIKE the new Tweener sheaths.....They are based on the Carver Sheath I used for the Machaxes....... I like pouch type sheaths....I like Kydex and leather too.....Actually I love leather but I do not think it as practical as Kydex or a pouch.....But I do not love them I just use them.....I LOVE leather.......Given a number of alternatives and trying to bring the biggest bang for your hard earned coin, this pouch sheath is a reasonable alternative......I am pretty sure that it will be durable, handy and also meet the requirements that a whole bunch of military organizations require.....I was and am happy with Tooj's design work and the quality for a decent price.......When I approved it at SHOT this year I liked it and I still do.......My Puma Hunters friend rides in a Brommeland sheath and in a couple of years after I prove out the factory sheath there will be at least one of my 16s in a Brommeland.......I do not wish to denigrate any of the quite excellent sheath guys on here as I hope to get a representative samples of Beckerhead made sheaths for testing and for my collection.......But when you look at the package for the price I think we did a bang up job........

Collector...... if you really want to send me a spare sheath I will be happy to find an expensive custom or much more expensive factory blade in my collection that could use an upgrade.........

Btw I too have MORAS in Kydex that cost many multiples of the cost of the blade.....Worth every penny too....

All Best....

ethan

That my friends is why I am a Beckerhead, why I will always have more Beckers in my collection than anything else, because not only do the knives speak for themselves, but the man himself will give classy explanations to rude haters.

Cheers, Ethan. My son and his sons will be using your knives for a very long time after we are all gone!

 

[Bishop2Queen's6]

Hey Collector and Everybody.......

Sheaths pose a real problem for cutlers......They usually cost MORE than the knife.....There is a story I heard about the early days of Gerber (likely to be apocryphal) that the Great Pete Gerber held a party to commemorate the first time they shipped a knife that cost less than the sheath.....Anyway it is a good story which, hi lights several other problems.......It is a given in the industry that NOBODY buys a knife for the sheath, sooo if corners are cut it is usually in the sheath.....I used to send Machaxes out the door with Gary Brommeland made 10 oz English tanned leather sheaths (absolutely MAGNIFICENT they were, or Eagle sheaths made when John Carver was in charge and pouch sheaths just don't get any better than that......Nobody EVER told me they bought the knife for the sheath.....Bladite told me earlier today that he heard people complain about the Brommelands because they were heavy....ARRRRGH......

I actually LIKE the new Tweener sheaths.....They are based on the Carver Sheath I used for the Machaxes....... I like pouch type sheaths....I like Kydex and leather too.....Actually I love leather but I do not think it as practical as Kydex or a pouch.....But I do not love them I just use them.....I LOVE leather.......Given a number of alternatives and trying to bring the biggest bang for your hard earned coin, this pouch sheath is a reasonable alternative......I am pretty sure that it will be durable, handy and also meet the requirements that a whole bunch of military organizations require.....I was and am happy with Tooj's design work and the quality for a decent price.......When I approved it at SHOT this year I liked it and I still do.......My Puma Hunters friend rides in a Brommeland sheath and in a couple of years after I prove out the factory sheath there will be at least one of my 16s in a Brommeland.......I do not wish to denigrate any of the quite excellent sheath guys on here as I hope to get a representative samples of Beckerhead made sheaths for testing and for my collection.......But when you look at the package for the price I think we did a bang up job........

Collector...... if you really want to send me a spare sheath I will be happy to find an expensive custom or much more expensive factory blade in my collection that could use an upgrade.........

Btw I too have MORAS in Kydex that cost many multiples of the cost of the blade.....Worth every penny too....

All Best....

ethan

Great Response that is very professional and respectful.

Don't most Becker fans get a custom sheath made anyways? Some higher end knives don't even come with a sheath... haha

 

[ljcsov]

Hey Collector and Everybody.......

Sheaths pose a real problem for cutlers......They usually cost MORE than the knife.....There is a story I heard about the early days of Gerber (likely to be apocryphal) that the Great Pete Gerber held a party to commemorate the first time they shipped a knife that cost less than the sheath.....Anyway it is a good story which, hi lights several other problems.......It is a given in the industry that NOBODY buys a knife for the sheath, sooo if corners are cut it is usually in the sheath.....I used to send Machaxes out the door with Gary Brommeland made 10 oz English tanned leather sheaths (absolutely MAGNIFICENT they were, or Eagle sheaths made when John Carver was in charge and pouch sheaths just don't get any better than that......Nobody EVER told me they bought the knife for the sheath.....Bladite told me earlier today that he heard people complain about the Brommelands because they were heavy....ARRRRGH......

I actually LIKE the new Tweener sheaths.....They are based on the Carver Sheath I used for the Machaxes....... I like pouch type sheaths....I like Kydex and leather too.....Actually I love leather but I do not think it as practical as Kydex or a pouch.....But I do not love them I just use them.....I LOVE leather.......Given a number of alternatives and trying to bring the biggest bang for your hard earned coin, this pouch sheath is a reasonable alternative......I am pretty sure that it will be durable, handy and also meet the requirements that a whole bunch of military organizations require.....I was and am happy with Tooj's design work and the quality for a decent price.......When I approved it at SHOT this year I liked it and I still do.......My Puma Hunters friend rides in a Brommeland sheath and in a couple of years after I prove out the factory sheath there will be at least one of my 16s in a Brommeland.......I do not wish to denigrate any of the quite excellent sheath guys on here as I hope to get a representative samples of Beckerhead made sheaths for testing and for my collection.......But when you look at the package for the price I think we did a bang up job........

Collector...... if you really want to send me a spare sheath I will be happy to find an expensive custom or much more expensive factory blade in my collection that could use an upgrade.........

Btw I too have MORAS in Kydex that cost many multiples of the cost of the blade.....Worth every penny too....

All Best....

ethan

What a nice guy!

Ethan, I think your youtube videos showcase your knives beautifully. It benefits the community to see the designer of such magnificent blades use them out in the field. After seeing your machax video, I eagerly await its release. Although I only own a BK11 at the moment, the little guy serves as a prime example of knife brilliance. Without a doubt, I feel a new sense of confidence when on solo hikes knowing the BK11 handles any task I may throw at it given that I were in an emergency situation. Owners of your blades can tell that you are a real person by how you tell it how it is. It suits your line of blade since they prove to be a real person type of tool that functions excellently for the everyday demands of a knife enthusiast.

 

[RUNIT]

The is nothing wrong with the sheath that is supplied for the BK-5. The 5 is the only Becker I own at the moment. My problem with it is a touchie subject of what country things are made in. I just do not understand why a USA made knife is sold with a foreign sheath. I know Ka-Bar is having a bunch of new knives made in China and for that I chose not to purchase them. To me it is just a sign of the times as well as companies cutting costs. If the same sheath was made in the USA I would appreciate it more. Ethan seems like a stand up guy and I am sure some things are out of his control.

 

[C_Tanner]

Hey Ethan, I believe the sheath complaint(s) was about the black sheaths that ship with the big Beckers (see my sig). Everyone seems to love the new sheaths. I'm hoping a big version comes out for the large handled Beckers myself. The new sheaths look great!

(BTW...thats me poking fun at the controversy below, not adding to the pile)

 

[Ethan Becker]

Thanks for the kind words?....It helps I think that I have been a lifelong Knife Nut and that after almost thirty year in the biz, i managed to learn alot.....I like honesty, and civil discussion, about blades(all who know me well know I can be a wee bit strident about politics), good food, drink, guns and woodscraft.......Life is short and it should be enjoyed......

Ethan

 

[trailbum]

What a class act.

 

[vittorioe89]

This OP just seems to be contrary and derogatory despite reasonable explanations for his complaint. The internet should have a term for that. Stand up answer Ethan. Like UCPOPO, I also would have made a slightly less respectable gesture.

 

[cbwoods67]

Ethan, hopefully I will be able to make it down for a gathering and shake your hand.
Class act, sir.

 

[nick425]

Dang, class act is right. I need to apply for a BH #... Ethan is alright... :thumbup:

 

[Ethan Becker]

Hey Runit.....

The unfortunate facts are that a US made sheath would cause a damn near doubling of the price.......The last batch of Eagles I bought way back when were almost 16 bucks and that was in the eighties........Translate that to the inflated now and you are looking at serious money and that is before any mark ups......I like to buy US made goods.....I like to use US stuff too but the global economy is a fact of life.......We were looking at a pots and pans project some years ago and I asked the California based guy what the soucing was and the pot was Korean, the heat diifuser was gonna be made in Indonesia, the lid somewhere else and the handles were going to come from Germany !!!!!!....Like it or don't.....It is what it is as, Ike would say.......I love my knives but I am not sure I would pay a couple of hundre bucks for a Tweener and I know they would be a damn hard sell.......I AM ecstatic that the steel, fasteners and handle scales are all MADE IN THE USA......

A disclaimer is in order, as I posted some time ago I have a kitchen knife line coming to a store near you and soon.....It is made in Taiwan....I could not interest any US cutlers that I would do business with to make and market them....Sooooo either I went to the far east or I could not get the project done......They are damn good knives btw and for me that is really the bottom line .......

Ethan

 

[tradewater]

Ethan, hopefully I will be able to make it down for a gathering and shake your hand.
Class act, sir.

It's good to see all the recent success in Beckerland. Could not happen to a finer person. Will be a great gathering for sure.

 

[C_Tanner]

When IS the gathering? Just did a search and couldn't find anything but threads for the west coast and an attempt at the NE.

 

[Ethan Becker]

Hey Tanner.....

only a seven hour drive...

Ethan

 

[Murphnuge]

Over the river and through the woods in May CT. 18, 19 & 20th if ya wanna be there with the misfits.

 

[Bladite]

you USED to be able to buy sheaths direct from Busse, and guess what they looked like?

btw, how much did Bussseee sell those for? because i have a funny response for ya

 

[Bladite]

Bladite told me earlier today that he heard people complain about the Brommelands because they were heavy....ARRRRGH......

it's funny because it's true

doesn't matter what it is, you can always find someone can find fault with something. doesn't matter if it's the creme de la creme best of the best or the lowest of the low. haters will be haters.

course, lovers will be lovers. Brommelands were fantastic. i worked by buttocks off trying to get some.

Eagles? BEST NYLON SHEATH EVER. the best. they're BETTER than Specops too imho. quietler. soft. good. probably would cost $125 to make these days.