BK2 or Esee?

T

trudog07

Joined
Apr 18, 2011
Messages
6
Hello,
I am new to this forum and am in the market to get a new camp/survival knife.
I know by posting here I will probably get a lot of Becker enthusiasts. Basically i cannot make up my mind between the BK2 and the Esee 4. I don't really want to spend much more than $100. So, please lend me some expertise.

Also, I would definitely want some micarta handles for the becker, so feel free to post some pictures of your becker with handles.
 
Most of us here in this sub-forum known as Becker land love and have knives from ESEE also. So you shouldn't worry too much about getting flamed.

I think a good thing for us to know to help properly answer you question is what kind of camp chores are you planning on doing with said knife you want to get?

Hang around a while. There are always fun things going on in here; well most of the time.:)
 
Hey,

I just posted another thread showing photos of micarta being fitted.
I was pretty much in the same boat except it was between BK2 & Esee 5, which are probably more similar in design geometry & purpose.
I went for the BK2 because of what I read & saw here, price, handle design & extended pommel. Also the fact that it can be customized to your liking. The BK2 came in cheaper than Esee 5 even with micarta & international shipping included.
The glass breaker pommel on Esee 5 though it may be practical when you need it, isn't that practical in normal camp use. Still a good knife with excellent warranty & sheath. I may still get one WHEN I can afford it.
Just my 2cents, it's all about what you want & what rocks your boat.
Cheers
 
Thanks for the input. I am leaning toward the Becker I just am unsure if it will be able to do the smaller camp/ bushcraft stuff. I know it could handle the wood processing, but can it clean/skin smaller animals? How does it fair with making feathersticks?
 
the BK2 is a fine knife. good price. makes fine feathersticks (though you might have to work on that skill). choking up on the fat blade makes small chores easy.

go through the last 50 or so threads, many with pictures, about the BK2, and you'll see what it can do.
 
i have extensive experience with both and here's my take on it:

- if i'm hiking for a few miles and want a belt knife i'll take the esee-4. the bk-2 is too heavy for me to hang on my belt so it stayed in my pack all the time until i set up camp.

- between the two, the bk-2 is a much better chopper especially when you hold the lower handle/pommel between your thumb and two fingers (using a lanyard to make sure it doesn't fly away).

- the bk-2 has a much more comfortable handle but i prefer the esee-4 a little better for making feather sticks because it weighs less and feels a bit more maneuverable for finer carvings. the bk-2's handle feels especially better when i'm wearing thick gloves (say 8 deg f winter gloves). for a "no bs playing around and just get the camp fire started asap because i'm cold" i'll take either one.

- using a sharpmaker with the 20 deg per side setting i find that i can sharpen the esee-4 to shaving sharp noticeably faster and it holds the edge longer in my experience.

in summary, for urban survival, bk-2...woods, esee-4 for me. that's my un-biased as possible opinion. how so? i'm a beckerhead and rat pack member but i don't own a bk-2 or an esee-4 anymore so i don't have a dog in that fight.
 
JV3 said:
in summary, for urban survival, bk-2...woods, esee-4 for me. that's my un-biased as possible opinion. how so? i'm a beckerhead and rat pack member but i don't own a bk-2 or an esee-4 anymore so i don't have a dog in that fight.
Click to expand...

I'm glad you clarified that as I was about to razz you for not owning even one anymore :D

I went with the BK2 simply because I liked the shape a little better, and most of all it was cheaper.. As JV3 stated this is a heavy knife and not one I'm sporting on my hip while hiking, unless of course its a one knife show..

If you want/ or have to have micarta and a better sheath get the 5, as these priced out separately will bring you in the same price range as the 5 anyhow..

either way they're both great knives, but neither hold a flame to my tramotina !! :D
 
Just buy the BK2, then wait until you get some more money and get the Esee 6...
 
TheLastDaze said:
I'm glad you clarified that as I was about to razz you for not owning even one anymore :D

I went with the BK2 simply because I liked the shape a little better, and most of all it was cheaper.. As JV3 stated this is a heavy knife and not one I'm sporting on my hip while hiking, unless of course its a one knife show..

If you want/ or have to have micarta and a better sheath get the 5, as these priced out separately will bring you in the same price range as the 5 anyhow..

either way they're both great knives, but neither hold a flame to my tramotina !! :D
Click to expand...

ha! i knew you guys would keep me honest. rob - between here, spyderco, and the w&ss forums, i knew you'd be reading one of posts and keeping track :p i still have 4 esee knives (2 i won or from a trade) but no beckers presently. on the other hand, i gave away 3 prizes to beckerheads and only 1 to the rat pack...i try to keep everything in balance :D

as for the bk-2 vs. esee-5, i'll take the bk-2 anyday regardless of price or sheath quality. aside from the downward sloping handle of the 5, i can't stand using it because the scales are too squared off, creating lots of hot spots. the bk-2's curvy scales is a pleasure to use and really fit my hand well. also, the 5 is fugly but the bk-2 is pure sexiness for me.

i agree with the machete. the only reason i still have the junglas is because it's for the hikes where i don't want to carry an axe and i'm not comfortable with my skills yet to be able to start a fire in all kinds of weather without batoning at all.

the mora is dead to me by the way - the spyderco bushcraft is the way to go :D
 
trudog07 said:
Thanks for the input. I am leaning toward the Becker I just am unsure if it will be able to do the smaller camp/ bushcraft stuff. I know it could handle the wood processing, but can it clean/skin smaller animals? How does it fair with making feathersticks?
Click to expand...

for $100 you should be able to find a BK2 and a BK14 (Eskabar) - for small tasks like dressing out squirrels & making fuzz sticks.
just a thought.
 
ESEE 4 and BK2 are both great but very dissimilar knives. You can't go wrong with either but one is a really nice apple whereas the other is a really nice orange.

Anyway - BK2 is great at small tasks. I wouldn't make that my goto for processing game (BK11 and BK14 are perfect for that) but it would work. I've used mine to make snares, feather sticks, spoons smaller than I can use, and so on.

If you end up with the BK2, do yourself a favor and try the grivory for a bit before ordering the micarta. It may not be as pretty as micarta but it works well, grips better than you would guess and protects you from blisters. If you still don't like it, you can always order/add micarta whenever you want.

---

Beckerhead #42
 
Trailbum summed it up. I have a BK2 and an ESEE 5. Both are very similar....big, thick chunks of premium heat treated 1095 steel. I do not have an ESEE 4 (yet). Both ESEE and Becker are excellent knive and honestly you won't be disappointed with either one.
Cheers
Balding
 
Both are great knives ! the ESEE 4 is a good all around camp blade as is the BK2
The ESEE5 was not designed to be a woodsman blade due to the Saber grind, the edge geometery was for strength more so than making fuzz sticks and what not, not saying it will not do the job but the BK or another ESEE model with a Flat grind would serve you better IMO :thumbup:
 
BK-2.

P1010880.jpg
 
Thanks to all. I think i am going to go with the BK2, and then possibly get the esee 4 stainless when it comes out. I think what pushed the becker over the top was seeing it attack that lawnmower. That was pretty sweet!

Guyon, what sheath is that? I like it.
 
You couldn't have gone wrong with either of them. Both of them are great. I prefer the ESEE4, as I have the RC5, but if I didn't I may have leaned in favor of the BK2 as well. Good choice, either way.
 
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