BK-2 or...?

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wacbzz

Joined
Dec 24, 2006
Messages
167
So I've got a "worked up" BK-16 coming from Dex and while I wait, I've been scanning the forums and dealers for my next Becker. I really like the looks of the BK-2 - no ramp (I HATE ramps), full size grip, and very customizable. However, I'm wondering what it is that the 2 could do that the 16 can't. Since length of blade between the two is negligible, I'm looking for a reason why I would get the 2 - in addition to having the 16. Thoughts, opinions and photos are appreciated.

As an aside, I received a BK7 earlier this year as a gift. As I carry an H&B Forge Medium Camp Axe, the 7 was entirely redundant AND it had a ramp. It had to go. Suggestions are great and very helpful, but the 7 is out for sure.
 
Sounds like you have your bases covered for a chopper with that axe. I'd get a 24.
 
You will need a 14, 2 and 9 (remove the ramp if u wish). The order is up to you. The 16 and the 2 are not even comparable. The 16 slices and cuts, the 2 destroys.
 
You need a 2 simply because you don't have a 2.
As far as the 7, you failed your first Beckerhead challenge. If you have a BK, and there is something you don't like about it...you don't sell the knife. You change it, so it's the way you want it. Sometimes it works well - when that happens, you post pictures and enjoy the fuss we'll make over you and your handiwork. When it doesn't...well nobody likes to talk about those times, but they occasionally happen. The common option is to just do something different to it, and hopefully get it right. (If not, it was a learning experience) There are also numerous skilled Beckerheads that are willing to give ideas and instruction...and, if necessary, a helping hand.
 
If you held them in your hands - you would immediately see the difference. One is a Lotus and the other is a Mack DM800.

They would, in fact, compliment each other. The BK2 is the chopping, prying, short, stocky Sumo wrestler of the line-up.
 
abrasion said:
Sounds like you have your bases covered for a chopper with that axe. I'd get a 24.
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I like that idea; I was looking at the 14 just for the 1095 CV.

tueller said:
You will need a 14, 2 and 9 (remove the ramp if u wish). The order is up to you. The 16 and the 2 are not even comparable. The 16 slices and cuts, the 2 destroys.
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So are you saying that the 2 cannot effectively do the things that the 16 can do and vice versa? By "destroys." what are you referring to? Remember, I carry an axe. BTW, if it matters, I will have a convex edge put on whatever BKs that I posses in the future.

hhmoore said:
You need a 2 simply because you don't have a 2.
As far as the 7, you failed your first Beckerhead challenge. If you have a BK, and there is something you don't like about it...you don't sell the knife. You change it, so it's the way you want it. Sometimes it works well - when that happens, you post pictures and enjoy the fuss we'll make over you and your handiwork. When it doesn't...well nobody likes to talk about those times, but they occasionally happen. The common option is to just do something different to it, and hopefully get it right. (If not, it was a learning experience) There are also numerous skilled Beckerheads that are willing to give ideas and instruction...and, if necessary, a helping hand.
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That is an interesting take on it for sure. I viewed my giving away the knife rather not as a failure, but instead as a success in both stopping redundancy for me and passing on a good knife to someone that needed it.

No modding of the 7 by myself or any other would have - in my mind - caused it to take the place of my H&B axe. The things that can be done and the ways in which it can be used are too numerous to list, but those with one know and understand why it is better than a large knife. And while I'm certainly NOT trying to debate the merits of the 7, to say that I failed my first "challenge" as a Beckerhead is indeed presumptuous at best.

I do, however appreciate the idea of needing a 2 just because. I own and have owned many flashlight and can relate that idea between the two rather well.
 
SALTY said:
If you held them in your hands - you would immediately see the difference. One is a Lotus and the other is a Mack DM800.

They would, in fact, compliment each other. The BK2 is the chopping, prying, short, stocky Sumo wrestler of the line-up.
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I like this idea. You have both obviously, so what exactly is it that you do with the 2 that you cannot do with the 16 - besides trying to chop down some larger tree?

Snakebreaker said:
It's called the "Trainwrecker". How can you not have a knife called the Trainwrecker?
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LOL :) Do you have both?
 
I couldn't imagine not owning a knife that can cut up a lawn mower. I think a two is very necessary. It is the foundation of my blade "collection". I have eleven brand new Beckers and it is a second hand repurposed BK2 I use all of the time. I couldn't imagine not owning one.
 
Obviously, you need a 5.

No ramp and 8" of slicing goodness.

BTW, it's trivial to de-ramp a BK.
 
TravisH said:
Obviously, you need a 5.

No ramp and 8" of slicing goodness.

BTW, it's trivial to de-ramp a BK.
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For a different blade suggestion, this is interesting. I like the idea of a 5 for an outdoor kitchen setup...but would the 15 be enough? Does anybody offhand have a photo of the 5 in hand?
 
wacbzz said:
So I've got a "worked up" BK-16 coming from Dex and while I wait, I've been scanning the forums and dealers for my next Becker. I really like the looks of the BK-2 - no ramp (I HATE ramps), full size grip, and very customizable. However, I'm wondering what it is that the 2 could do that the 16 can't. Since length of blade between the two is negligible, I'm looking for a reason why I would get the 2 - in addition to having the 16. Thoughts, opinions and photos are appreciated.

As an aside, I received a BK7 earlier this year as a gift. As I carry an H&B Forge Medium Camp Axe, the 7 was entirely redundant AND it had a ramp. It had to go. Suggestions are great and very helpful, but the 7 is out for sure.
Click to expand...

Get a 5. The 5 a 16 and a small axe have you really well covered.
 
The BK2 feels like a big knife smashed into a smaller blade length. Its really nothing like the Bk16. That said, you may not really have a "need" for the BK2. I find that the 2 is at its best when you have only one tool, and need something compact. If you're already taking multiple tools though, you will find other things that are better than the 2 at most things (except battoning, the 2 is amazing at that).

But if you're looking for a Becker knife that doesn't have a ramp... then the 7, 9, 10, and 12 are out. That leaves you with the BK4 and the BK5 as your options.
 
Well, when you say no thumb ramps, and don't want to mod them off, there are only three choices for full sized beckers.

Oh, and those micarta scales look to be the standard aftermarket ones sold by kabar/becker, just with a bit of use to dirty them up a bit.
 
ocnLogan said:
Well, when you say no thumb ramps, and don't want to mod them off, there are only three choices for full sized beckers.

Oh, and those micarta scales look to be the standard aftermarket ones sold by kabar/becker, just with a bit of use to dirty them up a bit.
Click to expand...

Thanks on the scales.

As for the ramp...after owning numerous Bark River knives with and without, it was, for me, a rather useless/unnecessary piece of metal that simply got in the way. Though I never cut anything with the 7 I received, I did handle the hell out of it and, for me, concluded that it struck the exact same chord as the Bark Rivers did.

And honestly, it's not that I don't want to mod them off, it's just that I don't see a need for a large chopper when I use an axe. Spending money just to spend money and then take photos is not my idea of thinking things through. That's me anyway and it has no implications for anybody else.

I do, however, like the suggestions for the 5 - especially as it's on sale pretty much everywhere!
 
If you like to have immense amounts of fun killing perfectly good trees, try a 9 and mod the ramp off if you don't like it. A hatchet is no where near as fun as the 9 if you're just fooling around.

My dad has a BK2 and while I realize that it has it's place, it's just not my thing, too short for such a heavy knife, and to me personally the 9 chops and batons better.
 
I don't have a 5 yet, but I can tell you that the 4 is awesome and goes well with the 16. If you get a 4 you may not even need the hatchet anymore....
 
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