Becker Competition Chopper

james terrio said:
But wishing for any major manufacturer to really embrace it by pouring thousands of dollars into a whole new model to serve such a tiny market is, frankly, little more than a naive pipe dream. I hope I'm wrong about that, but geez, look how long it took for the BK-20 to come out, and so far only 450 have been made with no more in sight. We keep getting told that the truly wonderful BK-5 is done once existing stock sells out, and as for the Rheinhardt Kukri... I'm not holding my breath. And every single one of those excellent designs speaks to a far wider market than any competition cutter ever will.
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Oh, I know it is a huge long shot, but writing the article was my way of at least making my case for it. More than anything I hoped the article would generate some good discussion, and I am thankful it has!
 
james terrio said:
I don't have one next to me, but I'm fairly certain the BK-9 does fit into comp regs right out of the box. If not, again it would only take a small amount of work to make it "fit".
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Probably just have to grind off the thumb ramp to get the width down to two inches, but should work!
 
so, Jim, do you think 80CRV2 has enough edge stability to handle the needs of a competition cutter?
 
I can't find the dang link right now, but in a recent Spyderco/BladeSports video Donavon mentioned clearly that if you want to attend a class and get qualified, they WILL have knives you can use. So don't let not having a proper comp knife yet stop you! :)
 
Yes if you go to the certification class they will have knives for you to use. They actually won't let you use a knife of your own build to go through the school. The first two cuts I attended I used Donavan's knives and the second round of National's I used one of Dan's knives. Trust me there is a HUGE learning curve making a blade that will perform at that level. I have made 6 comp blades so far in the last year and only one of them has done any good. The biggest reason, from what I have heard, about the "run what you brung" style comp is the safety factor. It is really crazy to see what actually goes into building a comp knife that is safe strong and fast.
 
It would be nice to see a another production competition knife being made. I think the problem for production companies is the very small market for these purpose built blades. They are really specifically made for comp cutting only. Using the right steel is a concern but some lower cost steels like 5160 and 80CRV2 could work if heat treated/tempered properly. You need to be able to run them thin enough to cut straws yet be strong enough to chop 2X4's. I've made two so far in CPM M4 and S7. I've found a specific heat treat protocol for S7 that has been working very well. I've been using it a lot over the last month with the two practice benches I've made. I can't run it quite as thin behind the edge as M4 but have it very close within a few thousandths of an inch. This process has taught me a lot about grind and edge geometry. As far as the grind, full flat is the norm but my grinds are a flat/convex combo. Donavon is starting to make convex grind knives and used his first convex in the January cut in Tenn. last month. Was very pleased with it. I've been talking a lot with him lately as I'm having the first Mid-Atlantic school and competition event where my shop is located in March. Details on Bladesports website.
I think Becker Knife and Tool could certainly pull off building a great knife for this sport.
Scott
 
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Even if it's not bladesports certified it would be a great knife
Compact enough to carry camping and strong enough to replace s hatchet
 
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