Becker Necker as a survival blade?

KBR

Joined
Feb 12, 2002
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I bought my BK11 yesterday at a gun show and I'm VERY impressed with it. So impressed that doubt ever leaving the house without it....;) Although the blade is only 3.25", the solid one piece construction and thick blade would allow this Becker to easily serve as a survival blade if need be, IMO.

What are your opinions on this knife as a "last ditch" survival blade?
bk11-3.jpg
 
Great knife. However I am a bit disappointed with Camillus customer service. The sheath on mine is extremely loose, an error they said happened on the first 50 sent to 1SKS. They were supposed to send me a replacement sheath but never did. I contacted them 3 times, each time they said they were sending it but never did.

For carry, I like how thin it is in particular, you don't even know its there (I have to carry mine tip down because I don't have a choice). However, your hand will get tired quicker on this knife due to the lack of handle - you have to squeeze harder. I like to test a knife by carving a bow drill set. The fireboard being the real test. The knife did good, especially for the money.

I agree with you KBR, good survival blade. Sorry that I vented about the sheath, it made me feel better though.
 
No problem, Quiet Bear. I've heard of sheath problems before and I'm glad that mine was fine. I hope that you can get that taken care of.
 
KBR,

I'm a great fan of neck knives in general and as survival blades in particular. In Brazil I always have a machete with me in the wilderness so a neck knife is a great addition for all the small cutting jobs that have to be done.

I have a Newt Livesay NRGS that I'm currently setting up as a survival knife. I have one of his Woo neck knives that I've used as a survival knife as well.

I make mine into a sort of mini-psk neck kit. I slide a section of bicycle innertube over the kydex sheath and store other items under it that might come in handy. I tested the format with the Woo (at the time it was my only neck knife) and it worked great. Newts knives have straight sided sheaths so the hold the rubber sleeve very well.

With my NRGS kit I plan to re-wrap the handle with a single layer of #4 waxed line then cover it with a paracord overwrap. I replace the neck chain with a triple loop of paracord. Under the rubber sleeve I put a thin plastic signal mirror, foil envelope of potassium permanaganate, BSA Hot spark & tube of treated cotton, button compass, heavy needle, and an Inova night vision red light. This gives me day/night signal, water purification, fire, navigation, clothing repair, and night vision, as well as a decent knife.

The neck knife kit is great for day hikes in itself. On longer trips when I'm carrying my regular gear it make s a great way to carry redundant essentials in a hard to loose package. The triple loop of paracord is very comfortable and could provide a good source of cordage for shelter building. I find that the paracord wrap to the handle is a must if you plan to use the knife as a wilderness blade.

Under a T-shirt the kit might be a little more visible but I only carry the kit knife in the wilderness anyway. In town I carry a stripped down knife. It is a challenge to find usefull items that are flat enough to include in a such a kit. I also try to keep it to the basics to reduce the bulk of the total package.

If you can get a spare sheath for your knife you cold have the best of both worlds.
 
I may try and attach one to the back of the sheath on my larger knife. I think it would make a great utility/backup blade, make it into a spear if need be, skinning etc.
 
Quiet Bear said:
... The sheath on mine is extremely loose, ..(I have to carry mine tip down because I don't have a choice.)..QUOTE]

Easy fix on your own if you are adventureous. Get a sleepingpad mat (foam type) and a table top. Heat the sheath with a Hairdryer or Heat gun for a few seconds until the sheath begins to get pliable. Then sandwich the knife in the sheath in the sleepingpad mat and lean on it with a hard cover book with some weight on the table. It only takes about 30 seconds to cool and you will have tightened the sheath. No more tip down carry.

Gadget54
 
Thanks for the tip. I had heard about using a hair dryer to do that but didn't know exactly how and wasn't that worried about as there was supposed to be a sheath coming. I will give it a try. Thanks again.
 
Quiet Bear said:
Thanks for the tip. I had heard about using a hair dryer to do that but didn't know exactly how and wasn't that worried about as there was supposed to be a sheath coming. I will give it a try. Thanks again.


Yeah, not worth the trouble asking for a replacement its such an easy fix. Just heat it up and make it a little tighter.

Granted it should come properly fitted...but you can "survive" this situation.......... :p
 
Quiet Bear said:
Great knife. However I am a bit disappointed with Camillus customer service. The sheath on mine is extremely loose, an error they said happened on the first 50 sent to 1SKS. They were supposed to send me a replacement sheath but never did. I contacted them 3 times, each time they said they were sending it but never did..

1. They have a forum over at KnifeForums.

2. John Greco makes a neck knife in the same size range that is in my "last resort" kit.
 
I always liked the blade and tried to like the handle but I didn't. With mine I cut some thin maple handles and used #10 nuts/screws to attach using the three supplied holes. I even hollowed out the handle and put some fishing gear inside..2 hooks, a sinker and some 6 pound test line.

The nuts were epoxied recessed in the handle and the handle can be removed with my WAVE. The little Becker is a great knife and begs for a comfortable handle...yes it now prints under a tee shirt but for wilderness use..who cares?

The blade makes for a lovely skinner and is a good wood worker. With a baton it can do some fairly heavy work too. I never thought of it as a spear but I guess that could easily be done as well.

I too have added some bicycle inter-tube to the sheath and put tucked ten waterprrofed matches in with very little added bulk.

This kit now is my constant companion in the woods, along with a WAVE. Not much I can't do with this set of tools.
 
Takujualuk, that's a very impressive mod to the BK11...I had never even thought about it. One of these days, when I have time, I'll give that try. I like to carry mine horizontally on my belt via a TekLok, so the added bulk on the handle wouldn't bother me any. Thanks for the idea.
 
You guys are whetting my curiousity. Do you have any photos? I'm really interested in making handle scales for one of these if I were to get one.
Bob
 
RDG.... sorry never figured how to post a photo.

Basically I cut a peice of maple pretty thin, cut to rough shape, marked and drilled holes, countersunk to deeply set the screw head/bolt, screwed together and power sanded to fit & rounded (including nuts/screw heads), set the bolts in epoxy, finish sanded, chisled out a recess, remounted and rubbed with linseed oil. Took about an hour and a half, all told.

The light color of the handles is quite attractive against the black blade. Every-one who has seen it wants one, and my workmanship is not perfect...anyone could do as well or better with the right tools and/or time.
 
Takujualuk's mods.

These are cool!
 

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I've been wanting one of these blades for quite awhile now. Just can't seem to get the extra cash put aside because of other, more urgent expenditures. Has anyone tried a paracord wrap? I wonder if it helps with the feel of the handle any.
 
Thanks for the pics!!! I like your design alot. I think I'm going to put one of these knives on my short list. It just looks so handy.
Bob
 
I use a paracord wrap on all my neck knife survival baldes as it gives a decent resource in the field.

One thing I do tat comes in real handy is to place an Inova microlight just under the innertube with it's LED facing down, poking out from under the rubber. This allows the light to be used by simply leaving it around the neck and squeezing the switch. It really comes in handy in dark places and you don't have to remove it from the sheath.

Mac
 
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