Becker Small Utility Knife???

A

Alberta Ed

Joined
Jun 29, 1999
Messages
9,818
I'll second that. Been looking for a North American puukko for a long time. Drop point would be great. Something like my CS California Hunter in a high carbon steel.
 
I see, in my mind's eye, a Mini-Campanion sort of thing, right? With about a 3-1/2 to 4" blade?

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Don LeHue

Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings...they did it by killing all those who opposed them.
 
It wouldn't be a puukko, but maybe a Becker with similar but slimmer construction, a 3.5" - 4" "puukko" blade profile in 1/8" stock, and a choice beetween a multi-position kydex/concealex sheath or a leather "dangler" for walking quietly in the woods.


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- JKM
www.chaicutlery.com
AKTI Member # SA00001
 
Ok, I just have to bring this back.

In my eyes I see the knife like this....

-0170-06C
-black powder coat, because that seems to be what sells best, I like plain steel better, but, oh well, if this knife was made, I could deal
smile.gif

-full-tang
-5/32 thick
-drop point
-full flat grind
-becker handle variation, still bolted on, but slimmer and narrower by a small margin.

I submit various images for your consideration. The first is an Allen Blade knife, and the Becker equivalent would probably not have as prominent a guard. The second knife is by Alan Wood of England to the specifications of Ray Mears, noted English survival instructor.

1
blade_drop.jpg


2
mears_woodlore.jpg


You might also consider some of the designs of the late Frank Vought.

vought3.jpg


Or this Tim Britton Mamba III, without serrations, of course.

britton_mambaIII.jpg


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Thank you,
Marion David Poff aka Eye, Cd'A ID, USA mdpoff@hotmail.com

>>--->Bill Siegle Custom Knives<---<<
-http://www.geocities.com/siegleknives-

Talonite Resource Page, nearly exhaustive!!

Fire Page, metal match sources and index of information.

"We will either find a way, or make one." Hannibal, 210 B.C.
 
So, I thought I would expand on my thoughts about the Becker Daily.

The handle on the Becker Daily should shrink in length and height, compared to the current Becker handle. The forward and rear returns (guards) can be shrunk and still be functional, since the Daily won't be used for chopping or stabbing. You might also consider shrinking the lanyard hole to just slightly bigger than will accept paracord. That in combination with an exposed butt, ala Busse, would help reduce the length of the handle to create better balance, though a long handle could be very good in offering control. One detail that should remain the same, is the swells as opposed to a index finger indentation.

As to the blade on the Daily, I favor a blade with a sharp point such as the Allen Blade piece submitted above. A drop point is without a doubt, I think, the shape for the Daily blade, and I like them with points just slightly above the center line. To get the most blade in a local jurisdiction friendly package, I think a choil/extended ricasso should be avoided, but a sculpted front return could provide a choke-up position. In regards to the width of the blade, while I usually prefer a wide blade, such as has been mentioned with the Cold Steel Master Hunter, I think that a mid to narrow blade would best complement the other Becker offerings.

Thinking of the sheath for the Daily, the now standard Blade-Tech offering would be good, though a fold-over sheath would have less bulk thus better daily carry characteristics. And there is a smaller Tek-Lok available now, isn't there?

BTW, I think Daily is a really great name, not taken by any other popular knife designs, and it suggests the Dailys purpose. I considered 'City', but that name would limit it's market, negative suggestion so to speak. 'Personal' rings of something cute or sentimental, and Becker really stands for work, after all, the motto is "Knives that Work" and Daily suggest that.

Oh, I just noticed, that second column, second knife on the Vought image would work with very little alteration.

1/8th has been mentioned as a steel stock size, but I think that would be too thin, while the knife nuts would love a thinner knife, the general public might not be too pleased, I think 5/32nds would be a perfect compromise.

I am going to post a link to this thread in the General, Reviews, What's New, and Wilderness Forums, see what sort of interest we can generate....

And I thought that I would link to the other thread about the Daily for the sake of reference.

http://www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum21/HTML/000405.html

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Thank you,
Marion David Poff aka Eye, Cd'A ID, USA mdpoff@hotmail.com

>>--->Bill Siegle Custom Knives<---<<
-http://www.geocities.com/siegleknives-

Talonite Resource Page, nearly exhaustive!!

Fire Page, metal match sources and index of information.

"We will either find a way, or make one." Hannibal, 210 B.C.

[This message has been edited by Marion David Poff (edited 10-28-2000).]
 
Another thing occured to me....

To give the Daily a greater appeal, it could be made very simple and centrist in shape, a sort of Finn Drop Point with an shrunk Becker handle. Once again, the blade on the Allen Blade knife speaks volumes of utility use, whatever one's Daily needs.

The meeting of form and function, the Becker Daily

MDP
 
Hi Jeff,

The Allen Blade knife, the first one in Marion's post is not full tang it has a tang that is less wide as the blade (1/2 to 2/3 I think) amnd also runs only about 2/3 in the griop and is epoxied between the Micarta slabs if I remenmber correctly.

I guess I will go for your TOPS Laser Strike knife although I don't quiet understand the way you attach the Firesteel on the sheath.
I would have prefered it to get it's fixed place in the kydex sheath.

Cheers from Holland,

Bagheera
"#13 is my lucky number
biggrin.gif
"


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MDP has come up with a winner, I believe, both with the name and the design of the Daily. It reminds me somewhat of the Livesay model #126 Elk Creek. If they are ever put into production, put me down for three. But, please, keep bringing the good kydex sheaths to the masses, and keep the Marbles style sheath design on the etch-a-sketch.
 
Bagheera, call me crazy but we go for simple methods of doing things. When you use a firesteel as much as we do, it eventually gets worn way down from it's original size. Friction fit kydex is going to get loose unless you go to a more complex method such as friction fitting around the plastic handle on the firesteel, or adding a codura pocket, ----- and this raises the cost of the whole thing. Screw that. This is a working knife and the firesteel is attached in a way that it cannot be lost from the sheath. The Ranger Band just keeps it from flopping around while you're wearing it.

We thought about just adding a pocket and putting 2 Bic lighters and some trioxane inside, or maybe even one of those Radio Shack mini blow torches.
smile.gif


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Randall's Adventure & Training
jeff@jungletraining.com
 
OK, here is my $.02:

Since we are talking about Camillus doing this knife, then perhaps we need to consider the cost factor for a company to retool just for 1 knife. Now, what I would go for is a resized Companion. I don't know how Camillius blanks their blades but assuming that they laser cut them with a CNC machine it would only take changing a few lines of code to make the blade of the Companion 1/2 as wide as it is now (the spine cut would be for 2 knives)and (the 2 blades mirror images). This could conceivably get 2 blades with the same about of stock as 1 Companion.
For a "puukko type" knife the stock material would work with a standard thickness, say 3/16". I would like to see the handles thined to about 1/2 of what they are now since this kind of knife would not be used to "beat the hell out of anything" but instead be a nice utility knife.
The problem with an "american puukko" is that the Finnish puukkos are usually hand forged and frequently laminated. To think that Camillus could set up to forge would be cost prohibitive and the knife would cost as much as a Busse.....pheew! I think I said what I wanted to say
eek.gif

rolleyes.gif


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Ron,
Bremerton, Washington
 
All the Becker knives -- so far -- have the same handle. That handle wouldn't work for anything smaller than the Campanion and I don't think scaling the same basic handle design down would work very well, either. I don't know if Ethan Becker wants to design the kind of knife we're talking about here -- if he does I'd love to see what he comes up with, but if he isn't interested in designing that kind of knife there's no point in badgering him about it. I presume you're reading this thread or will eventually, Ethan -- are you interested at all?

If he does design a smaller knife I'm sure he'll have his own ideas about it....

-Cougar :{)
 
MDP and others,

It seems to me like the Simonich design Talon would be ideal for this role, especially if Camillus offers it in a good stainless or carbon tool steel.

Badger them for that. A $75-100 dollar retail tool steel Talon would get my attention.

Talon, ArcLite, and few other small FB's down the road from camillus-I wouldnt hold my breath for a small BK&T anytime soon...these guys are just too busy!

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"The most effective armor is to keep out of range"-Italian proverb
 
Guys,
This idea HAS been kicked around some, and it certainly has merit, but....

It would require new handle tooling[they are molded] and that means quite an expense. Also....

We have a VERY full plate right now, and I don't see us being able to look at another BK&T design for atleast another year. I'm amazed that we got the original 5 plus the new BUSH HOG done in one year!

We REALLY appreciate the interest, but I don't want to lead anyone on here....its not in the cards for any plans anytime soon.

On a personal note, the knives that fit this role for me are either my TALON, or my Cold Steel Master Hunter. There are PLENTY of other good ones out there, but those are my chioces.

BTW, MDP, the BK&T sheaths are from EDGE WORKS. The mini Tek-Loks are availible, and that is what is on the CQB2 sheaths[the CQB sheaths and Tek-Loks are from BladeTech]. And your right, fold over Kydex sheaths are way to go in some cases, but they don't lend themselves to production level quanities. You see the folding part has to be done by hand, and that means alot more $$$$. Just thought you would want to know....

And thanks again for the interest!

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Stay Sharp!
Will Fennell
Camillus Cutlery www.camillusknives.com

[This message has been edited by Will Fennell (edited 10-30-2000).]
 
Will, I also find that the Talon works for me as well as the mini Nimravus in M2. However, a Talon in a less expensive steel would be welcome by many I am sure! I have a whole Kennedy tool box full of knives and the ones I have gotten from Camillus are among my favorites for just plain usabillity.
Also you are a good person to deal with as I believe you care about your customers.


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Ron,
Bremerton, Washington
 
MDP,

I do indeed recognize the need for this type of knife. In fact, I own a bunch of ‘em. The two that get used the most are (1) Simonich’s Talon…you can certainly tell Rob uses the knives that he designs and makes…not just another pretty alloy. (2) A medium (about three and a half inch) Sloyd Knife which I carry in one of Bob Bailey’s quite excellent kydex pieces.

IMHO one of the most misunderstood aspects of fieldcraft is that so much of it is whittling …fireboards and drills …snare releases, etc., etc. We all tend to think toward the big stuff, at least I do, but it sure is important to have an aggressive little guy for the detail work.

Of course I have been thinking about a small fixed blade-whittler-cum-steak and paring blade for a while now, but Will has told me to stay in my corner for a while on this one as I have been getting more than my share of the company’s attention of late (and he is probably right). The good news is that the delay gives me longer to doodle at the drawing board which translates into a better knife when the mangling of metal does start.
wink.gif


So when can you pick up your Becker utility knife? Who knows? Hopefully we’ll start on this project in 12-18 months.





[This message has been edited by Ethan Becker (edited 10-31-2000).]
 
Will/Ethan- I appreciate your replies and believe I understand. And know, that of all the upcoming designs, I will have an eye out for the Becker offering, especially.

Until then I will have to do with the unborn Becker utility knife's first cousin the ArcLite, and it's second cousin(unclaimed), the CS B&T.

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Thank you,
Marion David Poff aka Eye, Cd'A ID, USA mdpoff@hotmail.com

&gt;&gt;---&gt;Bill Siegle Custom Knives&lt;---&lt;&lt;
-http://www.geocities.com/siegleknives-

Talonite Resource Page, nearly exhaustive!!

Fire Page, metal match sources and index of information.

"We will either find a way, or make one." Hannibal, 210 B.C.
 
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