BK-9 - Holy Cats what a great knife!

T

thombrogan

Joined
Nov 16, 2002
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Came home from work tonight to see my loving family and my daughter showed me some holiday crafts she made at school today. My daughter makes a mean Santa!

Also noticed a box from Tennessee. Inside was a new Kabar Becker Knife and Tool BK-9/BK-13 combo! OMG! My family was as psyched as I was and my daughter said the BK-9 looks like a sword. Very cute, touching family moment brought into my life by angry, unforgiving steel. Oh yeah!

When Camillus used to make the BK&T line, I was a little dissuaded because of talk about the handles. From the reviews, I had assumed I'd need mammoth hands to wield all but the BK-11 (my brother's first Becker), so I held off from treating myself.

:grumpy:

There is pity I feel for this knife set as it's going to make up for lost time.

Just got the knife tonight and am working through Christmas, so when I post the first pics, they'll be disgustingly pristine.

Many thanks to Ethan Becker for this incredible knife and to Ka-Bar for bringing it back to life for idjits who should've known better and for people new to knives who want a dependable tool or seven without paying a large chunk of the mortgage money to get it!
 
I have two...(cammilus) with another (kabar) coming....

they are monsters and i love them so much.
 
When I get home from work today, a seemingly oversized knife will be breaking down the boxes we open. And maybe getting the twist-ties, too, if any are left.

Was putting the BK-9 away last night and couldn't resist using to practice Arnis cuts I'd normally make with a much smaller knife. Very lively even in my inept hands.
 
Just broke down two boxes with the BK-9 and this large knife; with Ka-Bar's factory edge; floats through cardboard like a Kershaw Junkyard Dog II or Spyderco Manix! All three knives; one noticeably larger; have beefy blades with surprizingly nimble edges. Here are some pics of the BK-9, BK-13, and the sheath and box they rode in on:

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No room in the tool chest for the box. It'll hang out on top for now.

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Why I didn't just throw the box away. It's autographed!

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Showed up at my doorstep sheathed lefty; the BK-13, too. Works well for right-handed people, too.

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Aaahh yeah! Looking at that saber grind makes me ask "do you want to get high, man?" To which the blade responds "Does Pinnochio have wooden legs, man?"

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Angry steel. It won't let me name it "Snookums" or "Lil Bubbadoo" like the rest of my knives. Bossy....

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Hard to photograph without using a tripod.

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Hi! I'm a logo! Pleased to meet you.

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Appalachians, Himalayas, behind the house of that Brogan idiot; I'm ready!
 
Congrats man! and thanks for the pics!! I think I'll have to put this on my "knives I need" list! I think a BK9 would make an excellent bigger brother to my Necker(my first Becker)!!
 
Thom, thanks for the pictures. Now take it out and use it then post more pictures. ;)

Heber
 
The world new you'd say that, Mr. Ellsworth, and knocked a tree down in my back yard. It's right beside the brush compound area so I don't 'need' to chop it up, but, well, I need to chop it up....
 
what to see some pics of the BK-9 in action!!!
my BK-9 won't be here for another week.but looking at the pics you frist posted
besides being alittle thiner(wich I can't tell till I have mine) I think they tryed to make up for it,the saber grind looks to me about 1/4 inch lower then the camillus version.
that would give the blade more strength. maybe Ethen would know?
 
I really wanted to use my BK-9 for chopping some wood (we heat our house with propane, so it wouldn't serve any essential purpose) and, lo and behold, one of the ice storms snapped a huge limb off a tree in the backyard and it fell near the brushpile.

When I was home during daylight hours, another icestorm hit and coated said branch with three inches or so of frozen sleet. Whatever. At least we have electricity this time.

Today, most of the ice is gone and I'm totally ready to chop, but now we have 8" of snow in the backyard.

I'm now at the point where I've sent a PM to a sheathmaker for an IWB sheath (belt stud instead of a belt loop) so I can have my BK-9 on hand at all times just in case chopping needs to be done. Hoping he replies because you never know when you've seen something in need of chopping and might not be able to chop it unless you act immediately.

edited to add:

Regarding the lower-looking grind. The new BK-9 is 0.188" thick and the old BK-9 is 0.22" thick at spine. Were the new BK-9 to have its grind start at the same distance from the spine as the old BK-9, it would be an even thinner angle leading up to the edge with even less meat to back up one's chopping chores and occasional twisting and prying. Were the new BK-9 of the same spine-thickness as the old, I believe their grinds would be more identical.
 
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The grind lines look good though; typical KaBar precision.

Towards the end, the grinders at Camillus were getting sloppy. The grind lines on my Magnum Camp and Becker Machete are great, but on my BK9HH and BK7 they meander a little. On the BK7 I bought for my brother, right before Camillus folded up, the grind lines make me wonder if someone hadn't come into work a little buzzed that day. It still works though.
 
Thanks for the pics 'Ol Bud , I think the Wife just placed an order for one of those New BK-9 for me for my B-day:D the down side is she wont let me see it until my B-day (Feb. 18) Oh well I can wait 1 more month I guess :rolleyes:
I could kick myself, last year I had a Cam. BK7 & BK10 & traded them both :o Now I miss them :(
 
The more I use my BK9 the better I like it. It really is an all around camp/utility knife. When you need very fine detail, the small companion knife that comes with it will get you by nicely.

I went out and tested my BK9 against the larger SP8 Ontario Machete, and a smaller yet thick and brutish Son of Dogfather in a variety of tasks...and in hardwood cherry and pine....the BK9 was the clear winner in terms of detail work, precise cutting, hacking off small limbs, batoning through wood,chopping through hardwood cherry, and overall edge retention. It is exceeding all of my expectation.

Great job Ethan!
AI
 
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