BK-16 Short Drop Point: Unboxing and first impression

[TheWambo]

After what seemed like an eternity from when I first laid eyes on the tweeners I finally got my 16. And all I can say is that the knife is all I could have hoped for and more. That being said there are a few minor things I personally don't care for.

Pros:

• well balanced
• Light (for a Becker lol)
• Good build quality
• Reasonably priced
• FREE EXTRA SCALES!

Cons:

• Sheath issues (see below for detail)
• Feels like it was coated in bed-liner
• slight missalignment of handle scales

This knife is well suited for a field-craft knife, and when accompanied by a larger knife or a hatchet you could do just about anything you needed to do. I haven't done any work in the bush yet with it, but I think with some minimal modification this is poised to become an integral piece of my kit. As others have noted the blade coating is damn near sandpaper and while I have no doubt that it will endure better than the coating that came on my Eskabar it seems counter productive for splitting and batoning (I may end up stripping it in the coming months but Ill give it a chance). The scales on the knife have decent ergonomics and decent grip but they aren't quite lined up with the tang (an easy fix, all it needs is a little re-adjustment) and seems a little small towards the blade end (also an easy fix, inner-tube, or some custom scales). The sheath seems a little flimsy but I haven't put it through its paces yet (I do like the exterior pocket and it retains the knife well with the dual handle straps, but I wish it had some friction retention on the blade itself so you could lose one of the straps). Again this is only my first impressions, but a full function review is forthcoming. comment with any testing you want to see other than the basic stuff (fuzz stick, batoning, etc.)

My growing Becker family (BK-14 Esky' for comparison)


Detailed specs on the 16: http://www.kabar.com/knives/detail/166http://www.kabar.com/knives/detail/166

 

[daizee]

Nice pair!

Misalignment of the scales is just an issue of high-volume factory assembly for a user-removable part that you are expected to mess with (e.g. the extra scales in the box). If you want to pay another $5 per knife I bet Kabar could ensure they are aligned as perfectly as possible within tolerances allowed by the separate blade and handle manufacturing processes.

A bunch of folks have cut one strap off the sheath and I don't recall any complaints about retention afterward.

 

[TheWambo]

Nice pair!

Misalignment of the scales is just an issue of high-volume factory assembly for a user-removable part that you are expected to mess with (e.g. the extra scales in the box). If you want to pay another $5 per knife I bet Kabar could ensure they are aligned as perfectly as possible within tolerances allowed by the separate blade and handle manufacturing processes.

A bunch of folks have cut one strap off the sheath and I don't recall any complaints about retention afterward.

All very true, and good to know about the sheath, I think Ill probably just make my own but that will work for now thanks

 

[The Warrior]

Nice review. I also felt the grip was too small towards the blade end. Not to mention the handle was just too short for me to begin with. Love the tweener series, but do wish the handle were bigger. I gave my 16 to my son, and traded my 17 off because of the handle size.

 

[TheWambo]

Nice review. I also felt the grip was too small towards the blade end. Not to mention the handle was just too short for me to begin with. Love the tweener series, but do wish the handle were bigger. I gave my 16 to my son, and traded my 17 off because of the handle size.

I think I'm going to make up a set of spacers to see if I can give the handle a little more girth and if that doesn't work I think Ill try to work out a set of scales that extend over the lanyard hole and eek out a little more real estate.

 

[mrn8]

Handle liners made the knife a lot more usable for me.

As for the sheath, just dump the top strap. It's not needed, it's just a mil-spec feature that allows it to be "jump rated". The sheath is mass made to fit 3 different knives, so friction retention isn't going to be possible unless they went with custom sheaths for each style. That said, Godspeed does phenomenal work with Kydex.

 

[TheWambo]

Handle liners made the knife a lot more usable for me.

As for the sheath, just dump the top strap. It's not needed, it's just a mil-spec feature that allows it to be "jump rated". The sheath is mass made to fit 3 different knives, so friction retention isn't going to be possible unless they went with custom sheaths for each style. That said, Godspeed does phenomenal work with Kydex.

Yeah my hands aren't particularly large so I think I'll tolerate it while I put it through its paces and get a solid review together but after that I see this becoming a project knife lol (but so has pretty much any knife I own that isn't an antique or a collectible)

 

[bb11]

Nice review. I just bought one as well. My concerns are:
1. Very dull blade! I would expet much better for such a celebrated knife....
2. Visable (with 50 YO bad eyes) tool marks on the leading edges of the blade, making me wonder whether this is a "bad" one in the lot.
3. The bottom snap/strap on the sheath is so misaligned such that it is nearly impossible to snap. So bad so as to be un-usable in the field.

Overall unfortunatley not impressed based on the above. I wanted to like the knife because I grew up near Olean....
I may send it back for a refund and I'm not happy to have to say that....

 

[TheWambo]

Nice review. I just bought one as well. My concerns are:
1. Very dull blade! I would expet much better for such a celebrated knife....
2. Visable (with 50 YO bad eyes) tool marks on the leading edges of the blade, making me wonder whether this is a "bad" one in the lot.
3. The bottom snap/strap on the sheath is so misaligned such that it is nearly impossible to snap. So bad so as to be un-usable in the field.

Overall unfortunatley not impressed based on the above. I wanted to like the knife because I grew up near Olean....
I may send it back for a refund and I'm not happy to have to say that....

If the tooling marks and the sheath are really bad I'd see about getting a replacement, The grind marks are visible on the edge of mine but it was shaving sharp when I got it, and the sheath is no great shakes but I didn't have any issues snapping it closed. I'm not overly finicky about factory blades but it sounds like you got a dud. In my experience Ka-Bar is usually very accommodating about defective product.

 

[bb11]

thanks for the advice.

 

[DerekH]

Nice review. I just bought one as well. My concerns are:
1. Very dull blade! I would expet much better for such a celebrated knife....
2. Visable (with 50 YO bad eyes) tool marks on the leading edges of the blade, making me wonder whether this is a "bad" one in the lot.
3. The bottom snap/strap on the sheath is so misaligned such that it is nearly impossible to snap. So bad so as to be un-usable in the field.

Overall unfortunatley not impressed based on the above. I wanted to like the knife because I grew up near Olean....
I may send it back for a refund and I'm not happy to have to say that....

Post up some pics so we can see what you are talking about. If you are talking about the rough edge finish on the actual edge, that is sharpened with 180 grit, so it isn't going to win any awards for looks but is a nice aggressive sharpness that Toooj recommends. If you are unable to snap the bottom strap on the sheath then there is a definite problem, stock that thing should snap easily with no problems.Post up some pics of that too so we can take a look.