BK-9, BK-16, Trailbum and Factory sheaths

daizee

daizee

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Dec 30, 2009
Messages
11,115
Howdy, All!

First of all, THANK YOU to Ethan and KaBar for taking care of their constituents! We had a great time, and were rewarded with an overly-generous goodie box.

Back fresh from the NE Beckerheads Gathering, and I have a few thoughts and pictures to share about the fabulous hunks of sharp steel I brought home with me.

I've handled both the 9 and 16 before, but not spent much time with either. This weekend I played with both quite a bit.

Overview pix:

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First up: BK-16
This is a standard modern bushcraft-sized do-everything blade. Figured I didn't really have much use for something in this size as I prefer them a bit smaller, and make things in this category. Rather than dismiss it, I spent an hour or two whittling on a spoon around the campfire. Well let me tell you, this blade is a study in versatility.

Oh, and BTW, I opened the box and immediately exclaimed: "Oh wow, I forgot how awesome these sheaths are!" Bladite can confirm this is true. Everything Bladite says is true. ;)

The handles are nicely contoured, and unlikely to form hot spots. They are a bit SLIM, but as you'll see in the pictures below, this allows a variety of choked-up grips for detailed carving work, and avoids making the knife handle-heavy and awkward.

The factory edge was coarser my stones produce, but shaving sharp. After a couple hours of shaving, scraping, etc. it was STILL shaving sharp. Spot-on heat treat, Ka-Bar, and the default geometry is solid. Bladite can also confirm that all this was done in factory as-delivered condition! No modifications!

The Full Flat Grind is perfect. Saber? No way. This knife is made to CUT, yet is still quite stout. I only batonned it through my spoon stick to split it in half, and frankly I don't beat on blades so saber grinds don't appeal to me. Sure, it cut the grilling cheese just fine too. :)

My conclusion is that Ethan really hit a home run with the 16. Aesthetically, I might adjust a thing or two for my own preference, but man this blade PERFORMS. Yep. I'd be happy with this as my One Knife.

Ok, on to the pix:

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Next up: The BK-9

What is the BK-9, if not a consummate chopper? WHY does it work so well? It's a simple blade: long, straight, sharp, Becker handle.
Aha, but the secret to the BK-9's performance lies not merely in its length. It doesn't have a secret sweet spot or magical profile... Instead it has GEOMETRY!

It wasn't until I was looking at several blades side-by-side (and on top of one another) that I discovered the BK-9 has the TALLEST blade in the line-up. The sabre grind goes to the middle of the handle bolts height-wise, like the 7 and the 10 (in the Ka-Bar versions), but the edge is a full 1/4" deeper than the other blades. It comes all the way down to the bottom of the guard. This has the effect of making the primary bevels shallower than everything else in the line. In effect, the BK-9 has the most geometrically slender blade in the entire full-size stable. Think about that for a minute... By putting the extra steel at the edge instead of the spine, Ethan designed a knife that bites deeply without excessive weight. Combined with Ka-Bar's excellent steel and heat-treat, you get The King. Yep. It chops effortlessly because it is LIGHT. You can get speed without fatigue, and those same properties make it suited to smaller cuts as well if you can learn the big-knife-handling techniques.

(BTW, this makes me want a BK-7 with a FFG!)

What do you need to round out your King? Custom Kydex!!
Trailbum generously gifted me a sheath to go with my new short sword. Let me tell you something: this guy knows what he is doing.
He has figured out how to produce perfect retention every time, and he has a LOT of practice. I saw literally DOZENS of sheaths in many color combinations for various Becker models, and they were shockingly identical. One of the hallmarks of quality is *consistency*, and he has this down pat. You'll see some odd shapes in the sheath below, which are the results of his highly refined process for squeezing kydex. Retention is positive, release is easy, and after a short pop, the blade slides out easily without binding. His rivets are even, cleanly eyeletted, and edges glued. Top notch quality. And now my 9 can double as a canoe paddle or cricket bat. :D

Mods I'm considering? Choil and de-remp if it doesn't affect the sheath fit ('cause I LOVE this sheath). I kept wanting to choke up on the 9, which is unusual for me. Time will tell...

Ok, the pix!:

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Congrats on a couple of great knives!
That's my favorite Becker combo. The 16 handles almost all of your edc knife needs and the 9 can do the rest. A really great pairing for all your cutting and chopping needs.:thumbup:
 
Of course, this is why the 9 & 16 ride together. If one can't do it, the other can. Can be a bit of a pants dragger, tho ;).
 
Awesome man. The BK9 is my most frequently used Becker. It chops better than my hatchet while still being able to lots of other knife tasks. Whats not to like?

And one of these days I'll finally pick up a 16 (or maybe 15 first since its going to be going away).

Grats on the new steel :).
 
Great writing. If anyone was undecided about getting a Becker or which to get, I can't imagine they have any uncertainty now. Like others said, this is my favorite tag team for the woods. Thanks for the write up and pics!
 
Great observations daizee. I am glad to see you enjoying larger blades. With those two Beckers you can get a lot of work done.

As for the trailbum (northeastkydex1 on the bay) sheaths. They are awesome. Amanda and I are fortunate enough to have a pile of them. I even have his first one! He has made a lot of progress in such a short time.

Jeremy
 
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