Becker BK2

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rc3mil

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What do you guys think about this knife as a camping/survival, chopping, splitting firewood, slicing, shelter building, dressing game, food prep, hacking, etc etc, hard use knife. Some say its heavy but its only 1 pound. How heavy does it feel in the hand? Do you feel the weight of it when you walk long distances with it sitting on you belt? Is it more of a burden than a blessing? Im considering buying this knife as my main "camp" knife. I dont own any machetes or decent camp axes so i was hoping to get a knife that can split wood and cut decently. Im sure lots of people own and use this knife and i would love to hear you opinions on it. How sharp can this "BEAST" get?
 
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It can get pretty dang sharp. However with a thicker blade and grind it takes a little bit of work to get it blazing sharp. I've never gotten mine that sharp, but it's sharp enough to do anything around the camp site.

It is a bit heavy on the belt after a while, but feels great in the hand.

Camping/survival= check
Chopping= half a check. Shorter blade.. harder to chop. Although it is a thinck heavy blade so it is effective but not ideal.
Spliting Firewood= CHECK
Slicing= Negative. bit too thick a blade.
Shelter building= check.
Dressing game= Half check. Will work (especially on breast or pelvic bones), but a thiner blade would be ideal for fine cutting.
Food prep= check. (although like stated earlier, not the best slicer)
hacking= check. again, shorter blade little harder to "hack" certain things.

Overall especially if you're car camping it's a great knife. It is a BEAST and will handle anything you could throw at it. I prefer thinner, flat or hollow ground, longer blades (like the BK7 or RC6) for camping, but I wouldnt hesitate to take my BK2 out there.
 
I'm really not keen on the idea of getting one knife and using it for everything. I think it takes little more to get two knives, one with a ~4" blade which would make a great slicer and another with a ~9" blade (or bigger) for chopping, hacking & splitting firewood.

The bigger chopper could be any one of these:
BK9
Kukri
Axe
or anything similar

The smaller utility knife could be:
Mora
RC-3
RC-4
Fallkniven S1
or anything similar

I think that 2 knives would do the job several times better than what any one knife could do. Doing it on one knife is just a compromise.

Or here's an idea:
http://yhst-7333098713883.stores.yahoo.net/15inchangkhola.html
A big chopper that comes with the small utility knives - great combination.
 
Jake Bauer said:
It can get pretty dang sharp. However with a thicker blade and grind it takes a little bit of work to get it blazing sharp. I've never gotten mine that sharp, but it's sharp enough to do anything around the camp site.

It is a bit heavy on the belt after a while, but feels great in the hand.

Camping/survival= check
Chopping= half a check. Shorter blade.. harder to chop. Although it is a thinck heavy blade so it is effective but not ideal.
Spliting Firewood= CHECK
Slicing= Negative. bit too thick a blade.
Shelter building= check.
Dressing game= Half check. Will work (especially on breast or pelvic bones), but a thiner blade would be ideal for fine cutting.
Food prep= check. (although like stated earlier, not the best slicer)
hacking= check. again, shorter blade little harder to "hack" certain things.

Overall especially if you're car camping it's a great knife. It is a BEAST and will handle anything you could throw at it. I prefer thinner, flat or hollow ground, longer blades (like the BK7 or RC6) for camping, but I wouldnt hesitate to take my BK2 out there.
Click to expand...

Do you own an RC6? If so how does it fare at chopping and battoning/splitting wood? Can it take a beating like the BK2? Is it tough?
 
it's a plenty tough blade and can take just about anything you can dish out to it. (not an endorsement for destructive abuse)
that said, the RC6 is in the same league, so either would likely meet your needs just fine. For me, the RC6 has the edge in preference because I don't like the grip on the BK knives.
 
rc3mil said:
What do you guys think about this knife as a camping/survival, chopping, splitting firewood, slicing, shelter building, dressing game, food prep, hacking, etc etc, hard use knife. Some say its heavy but its only 1 pound. How heavy does it feel in the hand? Do you feel the weight of it when you walk long distances with it sitting on you belt? Is it more of a burden than a blessing? Im considering buying this knife as my main "camp" knife. I dont own any machetes or decent camp axes so i was hoping to get a knife that can split wood and cut decently. Im sure lots of people own and use this knife and i would love to hear you opinions on it. How sharp can this "BEAST" get?
Click to expand...

What do I think of this knife for a primary knife? I think it's just great! I carry a BK-2 as my main knife, and tend to use it for almost everything. Heavy? Not really. It is well balanced and feels very good in the hand, so you really don't notice the weight. I use mine for everything from slicing vegetables (those who say you can't slice with a knife that thick have obviously never tried a BK-2), to cutting poles for a shelter, to batoning firewood, to... to... everything.

How sharp will it get? Mine is shaving sharp, but that's probably just because I have fun sharpening. It doesn't have to be that sharp for most things. It takes an edge very well, and is easy to sharpen. It doesn't hold an edge quite as well as some other steels, but since it is easy to sharpen, a couple of strokes will have it back to what you want.

Understand that I carry more than one knife in the field (I carry a 14 inch bolo, a BK-2, a Buck 112 and a little slippie in my pocket), but if I could have only one knife, it would be the BK-2.
 
I do have an RC6, but I just got it for xmas and havent put it through it's paces yet. The RC6 is definitely tough, a great batonner, and can take a beating. Maybe not as much of a beating because obviously it has a thinner blade than the BK2, and It would make a better chopper than the BK2, but I've never chopped with it, nor will I since i will most likely have my camp axe with me.
 
I owned a BK2 and ended up selling it. Its a stout well built knife, and would make an ok chopper. To me, the blade is a little too short to be a good chopper, especially for batoning. Its way to thick of a blade for food prep and game dressing.

I think a RAT Cuterly RC4-RC6 or the BK7 is a better all round camp/survival/hunting knife.
 
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