- Joined
- Jun 30, 2011
- Messages
- 35
I'm mostly a lurker here on BF, but I wanted to post about using my BK14 for a hunting knife in case anyone finds it of interest.
I've been using my BK14 as my go to hunting knife for two years, and in that time I've used it to field dress five whitetail deer and a few squirrels , with good success. Here it is, after another successful hunt his past weekend:
I purchased the BK14 when I was looking for a light weight neck knife with a skeletonized handle that wouldn't break the bank. I carried it with a paracord wrap on the handle, and thought it would be handy for field dressing a deer. The first time I actually used it to dress out a deer, it did a great job, and I found the drop point shape was almost perfect. It was as if whoever designed this knife knew a thing or two.
The only downside I found was the paracord handle wrap became saturated with blood and fat and cleanup would be a huge chore.
I removed the wrap and decided to try my 14 with just the plain jane handle, no wrap and no scales. I was concerned the plain metal might be too slippery, but I found the nitrile gloves I wear while field dressing actually provide a bit of "grip" between my hand and the knife.
But I did discover one problem with an all black hunting knife, if you set it down you may have a hard time finding it again. I actually lost it one time when I was dressing out a deer after last light, and I had to return another day to search in the daylight.
My solution was the paracord wrap in the pictures. Some high vis orange paracord around the rear "ring" makes for easy spotting, but keeps the handle bare for quick clean up.
I've also re-profiled the blade, taking it down to a 17 degree angle per edge. With a good set of diamond stones and a final stropping I can obtain a really sharp edge on the 1095 steel with this edge geometry. Of course this thin of an edge has come cons. I've found the hair popping edge is good for only one deer. After that it's still plenty sharp, but it needs a little work to bring it back to full sharpness. Also, putting the blade up to hard use can result in a rolled edge. Neither of these presents a serious issue for me, since I've decided this BK14 is strictly a slicer now, and I usually carry either an ESEE4 or a Bark River Bravo 1 for any heavy duty cutting chores.
I just wanted to share a few of my BK14 experiences, and also to thank Mr. Becker for designing such an incredibly useful (and my personal favorite) hunting knife.
I've been using my BK14 as my go to hunting knife for two years, and in that time I've used it to field dress five whitetail deer and a few squirrels , with good success. Here it is, after another successful hunt his past weekend:
I purchased the BK14 when I was looking for a light weight neck knife with a skeletonized handle that wouldn't break the bank. I carried it with a paracord wrap on the handle, and thought it would be handy for field dressing a deer. The first time I actually used it to dress out a deer, it did a great job, and I found the drop point shape was almost perfect. It was as if whoever designed this knife knew a thing or two.
The only downside I found was the paracord handle wrap became saturated with blood and fat and cleanup would be a huge chore.I removed the wrap and decided to try my 14 with just the plain jane handle, no wrap and no scales. I was concerned the plain metal might be too slippery, but I found the nitrile gloves I wear while field dressing actually provide a bit of "grip" between my hand and the knife.
But I did discover one problem with an all black hunting knife, if you set it down you may have a hard time finding it again. I actually lost it one time when I was dressing out a deer after last light, and I had to return another day to search in the daylight.
My solution was the paracord wrap in the pictures. Some high vis orange paracord around the rear "ring" makes for easy spotting, but keeps the handle bare for quick clean up.
I've also re-profiled the blade, taking it down to a 17 degree angle per edge. With a good set of diamond stones and a final stropping I can obtain a really sharp edge on the 1095 steel with this edge geometry. Of course this thin of an edge has come cons. I've found the hair popping edge is good for only one deer. After that it's still plenty sharp, but it needs a little work to bring it back to full sharpness. Also, putting the blade up to hard use can result in a rolled edge. Neither of these presents a serious issue for me, since I've decided this BK14 is strictly a slicer now, and I usually carry either an ESEE4 or a Bark River Bravo 1 for any heavy duty cutting chores.
I just wanted to share a few of my BK14 experiences, and also to thank Mr. Becker for designing such an incredibly useful (and my personal favorite) hunting knife.
