- Joined
- Sep 11, 2010
- Messages
- 176
Ok guys, my BK10 was waiting for me Friday night on the front porch when I got home from work. I pulled into the driveway and got out of the car, and I won’t say that I ran up to the USPS box, but my pace was a bit rushed. I took the box inside and promptly tore it open like a bear just out of hibernation that came upon a trashcan filled with jelly donuts. Upon opening the Ka-Bar box I was surprised that in addition to my BK10 and Micarta scales was also a pen with Tomar’s and Ka-Bars logos on it. I must say that was a nice surprise from Tomar’s. In fact every time I’ve gotten a knife from them, there has been an added small gift in the box. Very nice from Tomar’s, and that just ensures I will continue to order from them. Not for the gift itself but for their thoughtfulness towards the customer.
Anyway, upon inspection of my 10, I find that the fit and finish is flawless. The Zytel scales are as usual a perfect fit, but not my cup of tea. I change out all my Zytel for Micarta on my Beckers. Nothing wrong with them, I just prefer the Micarta scales. So I installed the Micarta scales and in my opinion just makes the BK10 so much more attractive and warm in hand. The Micarta also just seems to make the knife balance better for my hand. My only minor gripe is that I’m not a fan of the sheath; it is functional and does what it is supposed to do, but again just not for me. I ordered a new Kydex “taco” style sheath in coyote brown with dark brown leather attachments from The 710 Custom Sheaths. JD makes great stuff, cannot wait to get it.
The new finish appears to be tuff. I batoned on the spine while splitting small chunks and it is holding up just fine. When I was done with the 10, I cleaned up the blade with WD-40 to get the pine sap off the blade and the finish is defiantly ruff. I used an old t-shirt and honestly the finish had white fibers from my shirt after the cleaning. I don’t know if this is a good or bad thing as far a friction goes, but it will certainly protect the blade from the elements.
Next came the sharpness test for me. The knife is very sharp out of the box, but typically all my knives get a few passes on my round ceramic sharpening rod then a pass or two on an old leather gym belt that I have. After that I run the edge down my forearm to see if it will cut hair. The edge was so sharp it felt like I could have filleted my arm if so desired. Ouch!!
Saturday morning arrives and I head out to the woods for a little fatwood recon. Recently I have become obsessed with looking for and then processing fatwood. Guess it gives me an excuse to enjoy my knives and the woods without getting weird looks from my wife and daughter. Lol. It rained again during the overnight here in NJ again. No big deal, the wetness does not bother me so off I go. After about an hour of making my way through briar patches and blow downs, I find this rotten old pine that was wedged into the crotch of another tree. I give it a couple hits from my hawk and find a nice chunk of fatwood. Out comes my tree saw and cut out the chunk and make my way back to the car. Discovered I’m covered in ticks, evidently I forgot to treat my gear the night before, and did not bring any bug repellent with me either. I get home and start to clean up the chunk of fatwood. It was a good find. I can assure anyone that the BK 10 is great at making shavings and feather sticks. I don’t have a lot of experience in this area but the 10 made it fairly simple. I also need a new pair of leather gloves because the 10 was so sharp that as I was holding the wood making shavings, the right glove (I’m left handed) was accidentally shaved in various spots too.
I think my 10 will become my new favorite Becker, followed by my 2 then the 5 with my 14 and 11’s pulling up the rear.
Finally, here are a few pics. Hope you guys enjoy.
Off we go
Making my way into a small clearing
How sweet it is
This is the tree. Going back next week to finish her up
One of the creeks that I crossed to get back in there. It looks shallow, but the bottom is nothing but mud, step into it and sink to your knees. Joy!
Might hang a treestand back here in a few months
What a tangle of branches to get back out
The Bounty. Looks good enough to eat
In all her Glory after carving a feather stick
And after the work is done. Did I say work, it was my pleasure
Anyway, upon inspection of my 10, I find that the fit and finish is flawless. The Zytel scales are as usual a perfect fit, but not my cup of tea. I change out all my Zytel for Micarta on my Beckers. Nothing wrong with them, I just prefer the Micarta scales. So I installed the Micarta scales and in my opinion just makes the BK10 so much more attractive and warm in hand. The Micarta also just seems to make the knife balance better for my hand. My only minor gripe is that I’m not a fan of the sheath; it is functional and does what it is supposed to do, but again just not for me. I ordered a new Kydex “taco” style sheath in coyote brown with dark brown leather attachments from The 710 Custom Sheaths. JD makes great stuff, cannot wait to get it.
The new finish appears to be tuff. I batoned on the spine while splitting small chunks and it is holding up just fine. When I was done with the 10, I cleaned up the blade with WD-40 to get the pine sap off the blade and the finish is defiantly ruff. I used an old t-shirt and honestly the finish had white fibers from my shirt after the cleaning. I don’t know if this is a good or bad thing as far a friction goes, but it will certainly protect the blade from the elements.
Next came the sharpness test for me. The knife is very sharp out of the box, but typically all my knives get a few passes on my round ceramic sharpening rod then a pass or two on an old leather gym belt that I have. After that I run the edge down my forearm to see if it will cut hair. The edge was so sharp it felt like I could have filleted my arm if so desired. Ouch!!
Saturday morning arrives and I head out to the woods for a little fatwood recon. Recently I have become obsessed with looking for and then processing fatwood. Guess it gives me an excuse to enjoy my knives and the woods without getting weird looks from my wife and daughter. Lol. It rained again during the overnight here in NJ again. No big deal, the wetness does not bother me so off I go. After about an hour of making my way through briar patches and blow downs, I find this rotten old pine that was wedged into the crotch of another tree. I give it a couple hits from my hawk and find a nice chunk of fatwood. Out comes my tree saw and cut out the chunk and make my way back to the car. Discovered I’m covered in ticks, evidently I forgot to treat my gear the night before, and did not bring any bug repellent with me either. I get home and start to clean up the chunk of fatwood. It was a good find. I can assure anyone that the BK 10 is great at making shavings and feather sticks. I don’t have a lot of experience in this area but the 10 made it fairly simple. I also need a new pair of leather gloves because the 10 was so sharp that as I was holding the wood making shavings, the right glove (I’m left handed) was accidentally shaved in various spots too.
I think my 10 will become my new favorite Becker, followed by my 2 then the 5 with my 14 and 11’s pulling up the rear.
Finally, here are a few pics. Hope you guys enjoy.
Off we go
Making my way into a small clearing
How sweet it is
This is the tree. Going back next week to finish her up
One of the creeks that I crossed to get back in there. It looks shallow, but the bottom is nothing but mud, step into it and sink to your knees. Joy!
Might hang a treestand back here in a few months
What a tangle of branches to get back out
The Bounty. Looks good enough to eat
In all her Glory after carving a feather stick
And after the work is done. Did I say work, it was my pleasure
Last edited:
, I did not catch that. Thanks for pointing it out...fixed