Beck survival knife

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kostas tamb/is

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Jun 8, 2003
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Reading another thread, I came across the Beck Survival knife. Is it just me, or is this an exquisite survival knife? Anybody has any comments on it? I personally believe that it is a litle overpriced.
The knife was made famous by the movie "the Hunted" with Benicio del Toro and Tomy Lee Jones (the movie was a big disappointment..).
 
Try doing a search here in the forum and you'll finds dozens of pages about the knife.

I own an original hand made Dave Beck Wilderness Survival Knife and for $425.00 I think it was a deal. Dave Beck is the coolest guy to work with and I believe the knife is a fantastic survival knife. It's just one hell of a knife, period.

Dave's stuff-
www.beckknives.com

Click here to see my handmade knives...
 
kostas,
"Exquisite", maybe. Definitely "thinking outside of the box". The asking price for a handmade piece of that size and material, is not unreasonable. Check out other makers for comparison. I only own a few handmade knives, all worth the asking price. If price is the real issue, a company called Axtion copied the design and called their "creation" the Paratraxx. It's made of cheaper (420, I think) steel. That site: http://www.concentric.net/~stircraz/axtionbladez.html
Good luck.
diablero
 
Yeah, save your money and buy the real deal. That 420 stainless model might be okay as a tent peg, but as a knife it will be useless.
 
kostas tamb/is,

The Beck knife was re-introduced to the masses by the movie "The Hunted". The design has been around for a long time. Mr. Beck was making them well over 10 years ago. The WSK model is well worth the $400-$425 that Dave is asking. He spends a lot of time in each blade, with the different grinds and diff. heat treat/tempering for each cutting edge. Stay away from the cheap ripoff's that are floating around. It's all garbage. The only other one I would suggest would be the TOPS model, but it is still an inferior blade compared to the Beck WSK. Get A Beck...
 
Obviously there's alot of working process involved in this tool so I think the price is justified by the finished product. The only question that I'd want to get an answer to is how's this knife more suited for survival than other blades ? Yep, it may chop like a small axe but other knives won't? There's saw teeth but I could get by without those just fine. "Survival" knife doesn't necessarily need to excell at chopping or scraping. The only thing this knife has which others lack is the quarter rounder which is useful for bow making. Again, i could get by without it. This knife has yet to live up to it's hype. The beauty of survival doesn't lie in simplified survival tools. That's like going to the supermarket.
 
OK i have learned the errors of my ways...:) It must be an exquisite knife indeed. Time to start saving money! Thank you all! Any other good survival knife that can be used as an EDC?
 
greens,

It's simple. As I see it there is no hype at all. The knife does exactly what it's designer say's it will do and what it's designed to do and does it well. Nothing more, nothing less. Not hype at all, just fact.

The quarter rounder has nothing to do with bow making except making arrows and shafts, It's the draw knife portion that aids in bow construction.

The only thing I can say to you is try one and compare it to other knives, obviously you have not, so it would be hard for you to judge whether it's hype or not.
 
The WSK may not be more suited to survival than other blades, but I believe it's a great all in one package. I'd rather have sawteeth on my knife than not have any. Could I get by without them, probably, but I like knowing that they're there. I also like the fact that it basically has 3 cutting edges that are serparate from each other. The hatchet face is separated from the draw knife by the hook, so if care is taken you can chop without dulling or damaging the other cutting edge.

The knife is also compact, having only a 6 1/2" blade it's less cumbersome than a longer bladed knife, and I think you'd need a longer bladed knife to equal the chopping ability of the WSK.

Ultimately it comes down to what you'll be using your knife for, and if you like this design and think it will be beneficial to you.
 
No, I haven't used the knife yet. Reviews have yet to impress me I guess. It's not enough for me to hear that there's some super-duper, do-it-all survival knife from a movie flick therfore I should retire my blades and go for the Beck. I'm ok with a 7 1/2-9" blade which is just as compact and probably weights less and can accomplish the same if not more. Not to mention being time proven. All I'm saying is that I'm not knocking the Beck knife, it does what it was intended for but I doubt it would perform any better than other survival knives. If it will then I'll have one on order in a heartbeat. Hopefull someone will do comparison tests but until then I'll remain skeptic.
 
Originally posted by PlaceKnives
The WSK may not be more suited to survival than other blades, but I believe it's a great all in one package. I'd rather have sawteeth on my knife than not have any. Could I get by without them, probably, but I like knowing that they're there. I also like the fact that it basically has 3 cutting edges that are serparate from each other. The hatchet face is separated from the draw knife by the hook, so if care is taken you can chop without dulling or damaging the other cutting edge.
Click to expand...

That lets me believe that 01 steel on WSK will not hold an edge during longer chopping. Eventually all edges will become dull, even if you've got 3. The cutting edge has very limited use.

The knife is also compact, having only a 6 1/2" blade it's less cumbersome than a longer bladed knife, and I think you'd need a longer bladed knife to equal the chopping ability of the WSK. [/QUOTE]

It's all in the weight my friend. A longer blade with equal weight will chop as well as WSK. It can also have saw teeth on the spine and more.
 
O-1 is a great steel and with Beck's differential heat treat will hold an edge just fine, but should the chopping edge dull or become damaged, there's still the draw knife section, that's all.

I don't think anyone implied that it was better than any other survival knife, it's just a kick ass knife.

I agree with the weight issue, my 10" Tramontina machete is a fantastic chopper and hardly weighs anything.

I just really like my WSK and I've found it's my best knife for carving and whittling wood, splitting kindling, chopping, scraping and sawing. I like it better than my 3 Jack Crain survival knives, better than my Chris Reeve survival knife and much better than my Becker's. And if you're into sawteeth, it is my opinion that there are no finer sawteeth available on any knife.
 
If you want a slightly different variation on the Beck, check out www.jenseneliteblades.com and click on the EVO Survival knife. I have one on order now. Peter Jensen was great to deal with and he gives you lots of options for blade types, grinds, sheath carry etc. Mine is going to be the first all left handed one he has made. I do think the Beck knife is an awesome looking blade as well. Dont get the cheap version talked about on this thread. Save up and by a good quality one!!!
 
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