BK&T, Ranger Knives, ESEE and Others...Is There That Much of a Difference

[22-rimfire]

That's pretty much the rub with big knives no matter how much they appeal to the knife enthusiast. You buy them, play with them a bit and then you park them for a rainy day or when you are set up camping at a state park. I can live with that personally.

 

[Balls Deep]

My honest non trolling advice is get whichever you think looks coolest.

The knives you're thinking of are all excellent quality and won't fail you unless your secretly nuts with your blades or you get the 1 and a billion knife with a bad heat treat. I went esee 6 because I thought it looked the coolest in the category and haven't regretted it.

Also iv posted this before in the forums. Esee seems expensive but think about upgrade cost. A bk7 is like $85, micarta or g10 scales adds another $30 to $40 and kydex sheath adds another $30, no were around $150z The esee 6 plastic sheath is excellent and it comes with micarta scales. I got mine off knifeworks for I think $112 or $120.

 

[Nalapombu]

Thank you everyone for the GREAT info and opinions. Really great stuff to look over and consider.

As for the BIG knife like the BK-7 or BK-9, I fully admit that I might be overthinking this and looking at a knife that won't get much actual use. That's what kinda got me thinking the other day whether it would be a smart idea to do what some of you are advocating, carrying 2 knives, a big and a small. Get a set of sheaths made where they can piggyback while on the belt. I've seen a lot of pics where the Bark River owners do it. They lash those leather sheaths together and have a knife system on their belt, if you want to call it that.
I would just like to get a nice setup that will handle what might crop up. I'm in SE Texas and will be chasing these hogs with a bow or a handgun. I'm not going to be out in the wilderness where my life depends on a knife. Sure, it could happen, but I won't be hunting more than 5 miles from my truck or my campsite...or a road.

So, I thank you all again for taking time to give your opinions to someone that's far less knowledgeable than you all are about these knives and capabilities.

Now I'm going to make a list of all the knives you all mentioned and start looking them up to check them out. I've got a lot of looking ahead of me.

Have a great weekend everyone.
Larry

 

[19-3ben]

That's pretty much the rub with big knives no matter how much they appeal to the knife enthusiast. You buy them, play with them a bit and then you park them for a rainy day or when you are set up camping at a state park. I can live with that personally.

Absolutely agreed. Smaller blades will almost always get used more frequently or at least in my house.
That said, I think of a large knife the same as any other tool. All tools sit there until needed. My compound miter saw sits on the bench in the garage until called upon. Still glad I have it though because when I need it, no other tool would do.
I keep a Condor Moonshiner in my car. The other day I noticed a couple of thin branches had overgrown my parking sign at work. The Moonshiner fixed the problem in about 2 minutes. Right tool, right job.

 

[22-rimfire]

The Moonshiner is a pretty cool knife. My eyes (pupils) dilate when I pick it up. Yes, knives are tools and it for me it's not a big deal that something isn't used very often, but they come in handy from time to time. Plus I just enjoy getting them out and messing with them just because I like knives. I keep a machete in my vehicles for those little "landscaping" chores that pop up from time to time. I suppose it could just as easily be the Moonshiner.

 

[22-rimfire]

...As for the BIG knife like the BK-7 or BK-9, I fully admit that I might be overthinking this and looking at a knife that won't get much actual use. That's what kinda got me thinking the other day whether it would be a smart idea to do what some of you are advocating, carrying 2 knives, a big and a small. Get a set of sheaths made where they can piggyback while on the belt. I've seen a lot of pics where the Bark River owners do it. They lash those leather sheaths together and have a knife system on their belt, if you want to call it that.
I would just like to get a nice setup that will handle what might crop up. I'm in SE Texas and will be chasing these hogs with a bow or a handgun. I'm not going to be out in the wilderness where my life depends on a knife. Sure, it could happen, but I won't be hunting more than 5 miles from my truck or my campsite...or a road.

In the woods I almost always have two knives, and often three on me. The two knife approach is a good one and one I advocate. Speaking for myself only, if I had a double sheath that included a "big knife" (something with a blade at 7" or more) I probably end up just leaving both knives behind. You have the two knife approach satisfied with a folder and a moderate fixed blade. There are times we all want to just play and that's when you bring out the big ones... I don't advocate serious batoning to break down a lot of wood to size, but I still might do it from time to time. It's kind of fun actually.

If you think of the big knife approach as a camp knife (non back packing), you might consider going bigger than 9". That is sort of where I ended up picking up the Condor Pack Golok and Village Parang. Still compact enough to carry on your belt if you want to. Condor comes out with enough new models that I'm always looking at them, but these two work for me for chopping. The practical side of me says use a saw or a real axe in these situations, but it's still fun to pound away with a big knife. It is mostly for grins.

For skinning or hunting chores, the smaller knife wins almost every time until you get to meat processing and then a larger knife wins. But you can do almost all of this stuff with just a sharp folder if you want to.... the "one knife system". But if you like knives, where's the fun in that option?

 

[Cereal_killer]

(need to field dress a Buick? then the BK2 is your knife).

I'm done interneting for the day, you sir just won.

 

[NJBillK]

I'm done interneting for the day, you sir just won.

I can't take credit for that statement. That came from Ethan Becker himself.

Check out Becker knives, they are worth every penny. And a bit addictive, so consider that a word of warning.

 

[Nalapombu]

I saw one the other day on one of the retailer sites that I really liked a lot. It was the Ranger RD-6, I think was the model. Really nice looking knife and not too awfully big where it would be hard to manage.
They did have another one that was similar in blade shape and was model RBS-6, I think. The difference was that the latter has a thinner blade. The first one was more expensive by about $25 or so and is 0.25 inches thick and the latter is like 0.166 inches thick. It's discontinued though.

Seems like they could be had USED for a good deal if you are able to find one.

What do you all think of these 2 fixed blades?

Oh and I do like the Becker knives a lot too. Most of the ones you all mentioned are really great knives. I don't know about the BK-5 though. That's an awfully big knife. I can see why so many love it though.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Yonose]

I saw one the other day on one of the retailer sites that I really liked a lot. It was the Ranger RD-6, I think was the model. Really nice looking knife and not too awfully big where it would be hard to manage.
They did have another one that was similar in blade shape and was model RBS-6, I think. The difference was that the latter has a thinner blade. The first one was more expensive by about $25 or so and is 0.25 inches thick and the latter is like 0.166 inches thick. It's discontinued though.

Seems like they could be had USED for a good deal if you are able to find one.

What do you all think of these 2 fixed blades?

Oh and I do like the Becker knives a lot too. Most of the ones you all mentioned are really great knives. I don't know about the BK-5 though. That's an awfully big knife. I can see why so many love it though.

Thanks for the help.

The rd6 is great! I've never had the rbs version to compare, but the rd9 can still be found new if you get lucky. Ontario is the only of these 3 companies using 5160 steel, which is a lot tougher than 1095 when heat t'd properly. And Dan Maragni, who is in charge of this at Ontario, knows what he's doing. I can say I haven't heard of the slimmer ranger knives breaking by accident though, if you prefer a thinner knife.

 

[crom]

I like my Ontario RD7. Don't know what I could do to hurt it, and the grind allows for decent cutting characteristics. It's got blocky handles that I've smoothed out, and the sheath though low quality, is perfectly functional. I think it's been disco'd.

 

[Yonose]

The rd sheaths are all terrible, that adds $25 to $35 to the price, still worth it imo!

 

[Nalapombu]

I'd like to see some pics of your RD-6 and RBS-6 knives. Something about that overall shape really appeals to me. I've never seen one at a store though. I might just have to keep my eyes peeled at the auction site and see if one happens to come up.

If anyone has pics of these knives, or any of the knives that I asked about from these companies, I'd like to see them. It would especially be great if you have a really nice aftermarket sheath for it.

Thanks for your help and time.

 

[mec003]

My all time favorite knife is hands down the Becker BK16. I will say that each person will find the comfort and fit of a knife to be very different from user to user. The Becker BK2 and BK4 get a lot of love by many. I personally can't stand either of them. I have smaller to medium sized hands (I'm not a big dude) and the 2 is just too cumbersome for me. I personally have no interest in learning to use and sharpen the 4 effectively. I'm sure that they are well built, just not suited for me. This is one reason that similar knives from different brands/makers can all be so similar and so populat with different people.
I also love Esee knives. My Izula is a constant companion in my edc. The Esee handles are made from a better material, but many find them to be an uncomfortable shape. Esee is also regarded as having better stock sheaths. I find both Becker and Esee sheaths to be perfectly adequate. Neither are amazing, but they work and don't add too much extra cost to the knife.

Esee has a more renowned warrenty. I do believe that Becker would honor any reasonable warrenty request as well though. Ethan Becker himself frequents these forums and seems to be a stand up guy.
You really wont go wrong with any of the major brands featuring 1095 steel. I own Multiple Beckers as well as Esee and Ontario knives. All are terrific quality. I personally gravitate towards Becker but that's just my personal opinion.
If you get a chance, you should really try to handle them in person. Good luck!

 

[Yonose]

 

[tradja]

I'd like to see some pics of your RD-6 and RBS-6 knives. Something about that overall shape really appeals to me. I've never seen one at a store though. I might just have to keep my eyes peeled at the auction site and see if one happens to come up.

If anyone has pics of these knives, or any of the knives that I asked about from these companies, I'd like to see them. It would especially be great if you have a really nice aftermarket sheath for it.

Thanks for your help and time.

Justin provided me a Ranger Afghan for the first 500 miles of my 2650 mile thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail. As others have noted, Ranger knives are very well thought-out and executed. It was a real pleasure to carry and use. The sheath -- at least on mine -- was functional and practical, but it wasn't fun or sexy. The other RD knives I have seen have been similar.