BK-2 first impressions.

[adams-usmc]

Hello all,

Long time knife abuser here. Got a few Busse and kin knives that I've had for a while, and I love to beat them senseless. Someone said that Becker made a Damn good hard use knife, so I thought I'd give it a go. I picked up a BK-2 at my local shop today, and I have every intention of beating it like a red headed step child. Everything I do will be reasonable of course.

Anyway, first impressions...

This thing is built like a bank vault. Seriously like a rhinoceros in knife form. The sheath is nice, and secure. The handles, while comfortable, are slippery, and ugly (but who cares, I can switch out handles anytime. Plus, a knife doesn't have to look good to perform). The edge is about as sharp as a spoon. No big deal, I'll throw it in the wicked edge, and it'll be cutting like a sharpened crowbar in no time

I like the pommel/striking surace on the rear end. Seems like it'll be useful. The tip is massive, and doesn't look like it'll be breaking anytime soon. The coating...oh how awful. It has the consistency of like...bed liner. Not a bad thing to some, but a turnoff to me. Again, not a huge deal. I plan on using this knife hard, so when the coating wears off, I plan on cerakoting it, or doing a stonewash finish along with some green linen micarta handles.

I'm going to cold weather training in Bridgeport next spring where it'll get plenty of use in the woods, but I plan on doing a lot of bushcraft/survival type of activities with it in the meantime to see how it stacks up against my beloved Busse knives. I'm really looking forward to it, and I think it'll be a great performer. I'm also picking up a BK-9. I almost did today, but the tip scared me a bit. Can anyone speak to how strong the tip on the BK9 is?

Thanks a lot guys.

 

[Vinjints]

i think there's a rule about speaking out against a bk2 in this subforum. sharp as a spoon is a nice analogy though.

 

[Xr6x]

I would love to see a video of you beating your Busse and Kin knives in same manner as your Bk2 and 9 .

 

[Xr6x]

About the edge did you buy the 2 used ? Just asking cause I saw vid some time ago of a guy beating a lawnmower up like a red headed step child with his Bk2 . Maybe he turned it in .

 

[gmoneyluv]

Welcomed to the forum!

The 2 is truly a beast. Pretty much capable of destroying anything you throw at it without batting an eye.

The 9 is a great addition. An unbelievably efficient chopper that is nimble enough for smaller tasks.

For more nuanced bushcrafty tasks, I suggest you also look at the 16. Incredibly versatile and definitely punches above its weight class.

 

[austexjg]

The BK22 was my first - a tank for sure, but surprisingly nimble when needed. Not sure on the tip of the BK9, but I don't think it will be a problem. These Beckers are addictive...... I am starting to buy backups for no reason other than "because".

 

[adams-usmc]

I got the knife new, but it was in a shop, and was the display model. Which, consequently, was their last one in stock. I stuck it on the wicked edge, put a 20 dps 600 grit edge on it, and now it cuts just fine.

I did modify the sheath. I took off the dangler, and weaved some 550 cord through the holes in a box pattern to accomodate both vertical and horizontal carry.

I will be doing standard field work with it to test it out. Batoning, Batoning cross-grain, feathersticks, limbing trees...etc. I may take it into the shop and beat it through some 2x4s, and test tip strength as well. Test the edge retention, and overall performance. Like I said, I don't forsee any issues. This knife is built tough. I predict great performance in Batoning because of how thick it becomes. I don't predict it'll be too good for much fine carving though. I guess we'll see!

 

[TBL]

Congrats on your BK2. It is the 'gateway' Becker for most of us that end up hanging around here. Your 2 will ace your field work, and the new will be smashed off after the first few times you baton it through something.

While its weight bothers some while preforming fine carving... I've never had any problems doing any fine work with it. I EDC'd mine for a few months on the hip, and it now lives in my EDC bag.

 

[Xr6x]

I think you will be happy with the way it carves . For a 1/4" blade it dos quite well as does the 9 . But that's just my 2 cents . Good luck with the new blades !

 

[ocnLogan]

I got the knife new, but it was in a shop, and was the display model. Which, consequently, was their last one in stock. I stuck it on the wicked edge, put a 20 dps 600 grit edge on it, and now it cuts just fine.

I did modify the sheath. I took off the dangler, and weaved some 550 cord through the holes in a box pattern to accomodate both vertical and horizontal carry.

I will be doing standard field work with it to test it out. Batoning, Batoning cross-grain, feathersticks, limbing trees...etc. I may take it into the shop and beat it through some 2x4s, and test tip strength as well. Test the edge retention, and overall performance. Like I said, I don't forsee any issues. This knife is built tough. I predict great performance in Batoning because of how thick it becomes. I don't predict it'll be too good for much fine carving though. I guess we'll see!

If you do a bit of 550 diagonally from the very tip/bottom of the sheath to the top of the sheath by the handle, you can get it to carry pretty well horizontally (crossdraw at least). I tried something like you described for a while, but found that the handle weight caused the handle to "droop" more than I liked, so I fiddled about and found a way to fix that. A tek lock also works on the stock sheath IIRC if you want to go that route in the future.

The "slick" grips actually work really well (for me at least). The shape of the handle locks your hand in place, so even if the surface texture man "feel" slick, you won't slip your hand off the blade. They actually have that texture because it was found to be a pretty good medium between "slip" and "grip". You can use them for hours without blisters :thumbup:. However, if you want, some people lightly sand them, others stipple them, while others upgrade to micarta or wrap them in bike/hockey tape. To each his own on that one .

Because the chord on the full size Beckers is so wide, they actually have pretty decent cutting geometry, so fine carving is "usually" more dependent on if you can maneuver the knife, or if its physical dimensions prevent it from doing something (usually the chord of the knife again). I.E. cutting a good notch is no problem, but cutting a deep notch that is narrower than the chord of the knife is harder, whereas a slimmer knife like a Mora would have no problem getting in there. But "usually" that isn't a problem.

And BK9 tip strength? To be honest, I've never had an interest/worry in testing the tip. It is much finer than the tip of the BK2 (in basically every way imaginable), and for everything I've ever needed to use it for its been fine. But in all honesty I don't use the BK9's tip all that much. In the back of my head I have the thought that if I stuck it into something real good and started prying with it, it might go "plink". However, the tip should be stronger than that of the BK7, if that counts for anything.

IMO the real strength of the BK9 is its ability to handle like a smaller knife, while still chop pretty darn well. I find that usually I use my BK9 far more than the BK2 around camp, particularly as they weigh just about the same, and for the things I do I've found the BK9 to be more versatile, so I'd rather just carry that.

And yeah, Brabs old "putting the BK2 to the test so you don't have to" thread is great, although I think some of the image links are breaking at this point. Its worth noting that he cut through bolts, cinder blocks, angle iron, chain link fence, part of a refrigerator, part of a old giant satellite dish, and front of lawnmower. It needed some sharpening, but afterwards was sold/gifted (can't remember, but its not his anymore) to someone on the forum, and reportedly its still going strong.

'Grats on the new steel .

And more Pics. I thought we could use some .

 

[ichor]

Couldn't be more in agreement. I have medium sized hands with short fingers, so after reading all the pissing and moaning, over and over, regarding the "slick, slippery" grips I was reluctant to buy the BK9. Having no way to physically check it out, I finally bit the bullet and bought one, figuring I could likely get most of my money back if I hated it. I own a LOT of knives. None of them feel more comfortable and secure than the BK9. I acquired a 2, 4, 5, 15 within the following month. I have felt no need for "upgrading". No micarta, tape, stippling or anything else. Man...why did I wait???