willworship
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2009
- Messages
- 1,196
Time for another battle royale!
This time, it's the battle of the beasts -- The Becker BK2, the Fehrman Last Chance, and the Scrapyard Scrapper 6 -- going at it. These are my three favorite knives, and I was pretty pumped about seeing them go head-to-head.
Some specs on the knives:
Becker BK2
Steel: 1095 Cro-Van
Thickness: .25"
Blade Length: 5.25"
OAL: 10.5"
Hardness: 56-58 Rc
MSRP (KA-BAR website): currently (01/30/12) $112.06
Mods: Stripped coating, Convex edge, added thumb jimping, removed the main bevel shoulder
Fehrman Last Chance
Steel: CPM 3V
Thickness: .25"
Blade Length: 5.5"
OAL: 11"
Hardness: 57-59 Rc
MSRP (Fehrman's website): currently $340 black coated + $25 for sheath. I bought mine a while ago, so it was a little cheaper then.
Mods: Stripped coating, Convex edge, Removed sub-hilt
Scrapyard Scrapper 6
Steel: SR-77
Thickness: .275"
Blade Length: 6.5"
OAL: 11.5"
Hardness: 58-60 Rc
MSRP: Out of Production - somewhere around >$150, not including a sheath
Mods: Stripped coating, Resharpened convex edge
For this battle, the knives were compared in areas of chopping, finer wood-working, and some batoning for the top two. All three of the knives have convex edges (the Scrapyard comes with one, but I have touched it up significantly, and I put the convex edges on the BK2 and the Last Chance). They were all shaving sharp before the work began.
First Test: Chopping - same as my last test, counting the strikes it takes to get completely through the branch. This one was a little thinner than the one used for the big boys, just to save my arm. They were all tested on the same branch in sections without knots.
I apologize for some missing pics - apparently the Photobucket app on my phone lost a few of them. Bummer. This was the first time I tried to activate the camera directly from the app. Not doing that again...:thumbdn:
Becker BK2 - 60 strikes
Fehrman Last Chance - somewhere between 56 - 60 strikes (I'll explain the discrepancy later)
Scrapyard Scrapper 6 - 51 strikes
My Conclusions:
- The Fehrman did alright, but it was so incredibly uncomfortable for this task, I lost track of counts a few times. My hand was killing me while chopping with it, and I was getting pretty irritated. The heel of the handle where the lanyard hole is was abusing my little finger (even wearing gloves the entire time). It also makes it impossible to choke down on the handle to get more leverage. No way I would want to use this thing as a chopper, unless I completely remove that protrusion (which I am planning on doing).
- The Scrapper 6 performed the best of the three in this area, but it also has at least a 1" advantage to the other two, with a little greater thickness (.275"), so I expected that. It was, by far, the most comfortable for chopping, too, because of the Respirene C handle. You can choke down on the handle very easily and get some great swings in that way. It almost becomes as long as the BK9 when you choke down to a pinch grip (1st and 2nd fingers only, thumb over the top, with 3rd and 4th fingers off the end of the knife handle), which gives it an even greater advantage.
- The BK2 was in the middle of the two in this area. It chopped really well for its size, despite giving up over 1" to the Scrapper 6, and the handle is pretty comfortable, too. Choking down to a pinch grip on the 2nd gen BK2 isn't as easy as its predecessor because of the hammer pommel, but it can still be done effectively. The convex edge definitely makes it easier. I don't feel like it gave up too much to the Scrapper here, and I would take the Becker handle over the Fehrman's handle any day.
Winner: Scrapper 6
Next Test: finer cutting - I had some fatwood that I wanted to make shavings from, so I used this as an opportunity to see how these boys could carve. This was done after the chopping test, without touching up the edges.
BK2
Fehrman Last Chance
Scrapper 6
My conclusions:
- The pics don't really tell you much about the test, other than they were able to shave some of the wood off. Both the Fehrman and the Scrapper have choils so you can easily choke up and get in there when you're doing the finer stuff. I thought this would give them an advantage...
- The Fehrman did the task pretty well. The finger choil allowed me to apply pressure more directly over the cutting edge. I wouldn't say it did great.
- The Scrapper did better than the Fehrman. I tried it both with and without using the finger choil, and I honestly think it did better without using the choil. The convex edge cut through the material nicely, and it got the job done. It tended to want to dig in a little too much at times because of the thicker blade, but it functioned well.
- The BK2 was beautiful. No need for a choil, because the handle comes very close to the beginning of the edge. Its convex edge cut through the wood like butter, and I had perfect little shavings from the fatwood. I didn't want to stop, because it was so enjoyable to use for this task. I shaved the fatwood down to a point and until it broke from being whittled so thin. Seriously impressive. It was very comfortable, as well. The Becker handle is perfect for this kind of work.
Winner: BK2
Last test: batoning
For this one, I only pitted the BK2 against the Scrapper, because I felt like they were the winners of the previous two, and this was kind of like a playoff.
Also, I was curious how the FFG of the Scrapper would do against the saber grind (with a modified, smoothed-out shoulder) of the BK2.
My Conclusions:
The FFG of the Scrapper went through the oak easier than the BK2's saber grind. Also, the length of the Scrapper gave it an edge in this test, because I had more real estate to hit with the baton. The BK2 also got stuck a few times, while the Scrapper did not.
Winner: Scrapper 6
The Bottom Line (my opinion, because this isn't exactly scientific testing
):
The Scrapper 6 or the BK2 are the knives I want with me when I'm in the woods. Depending on the work I am anticipating, both of these are great all-around knives. While the CPM-3V of the Fehrman might hold a shaving edge longer than either of these two steels (I'm not testing for that, but that is what I read), the geometry and handle shape are not as functional or effective as the Scrapper 6 and BK2. If I anticipate more fine work in the field, I would take my BK2, because it excelled there, and it can still take a pounding if I need it to. If I anticipate more batoning and chopping, I will probably take the Scrapper, and I can still do some finer work with if it I need it to.
Both the Scrapper and the BK2 are great knives, but in terms of value, there is no competition. The BK2 wins. For somewhere around the $60 mark, you can get a great all-around woods knife that won't fail you, including a sheath; compare that with at least $175 to get out the door with the knife and a sheath in the case of a Scrapper 6.
This time, it's the battle of the beasts -- The Becker BK2, the Fehrman Last Chance, and the Scrapyard Scrapper 6 -- going at it. These are my three favorite knives, and I was pretty pumped about seeing them go head-to-head.
Some specs on the knives:
Becker BK2
Steel: 1095 Cro-Van
Thickness: .25"
Blade Length: 5.25"
OAL: 10.5"
Hardness: 56-58 Rc
MSRP (KA-BAR website): currently (01/30/12) $112.06
Mods: Stripped coating, Convex edge, added thumb jimping, removed the main bevel shoulder
Fehrman Last Chance
Steel: CPM 3V
Thickness: .25"
Blade Length: 5.5"
OAL: 11"
Hardness: 57-59 Rc
MSRP (Fehrman's website): currently $340 black coated + $25 for sheath. I bought mine a while ago, so it was a little cheaper then.
Mods: Stripped coating, Convex edge, Removed sub-hilt
Scrapyard Scrapper 6
Steel: SR-77
Thickness: .275"
Blade Length: 6.5"
OAL: 11.5"
Hardness: 58-60 Rc
MSRP: Out of Production - somewhere around >$150, not including a sheath
Mods: Stripped coating, Resharpened convex edge
For this battle, the knives were compared in areas of chopping, finer wood-working, and some batoning for the top two. All three of the knives have convex edges (the Scrapyard comes with one, but I have touched it up significantly, and I put the convex edges on the BK2 and the Last Chance). They were all shaving sharp before the work began.
First Test: Chopping - same as my last test, counting the strikes it takes to get completely through the branch. This one was a little thinner than the one used for the big boys, just to save my arm. They were all tested on the same branch in sections without knots.
I apologize for some missing pics - apparently the Photobucket app on my phone lost a few of them. Bummer. This was the first time I tried to activate the camera directly from the app. Not doing that again...:thumbdn:
Becker BK2 - 60 strikes
Fehrman Last Chance - somewhere between 56 - 60 strikes (I'll explain the discrepancy later)
Scrapyard Scrapper 6 - 51 strikes
My Conclusions:
- The Fehrman did alright, but it was so incredibly uncomfortable for this task, I lost track of counts a few times. My hand was killing me while chopping with it, and I was getting pretty irritated. The heel of the handle where the lanyard hole is was abusing my little finger (even wearing gloves the entire time). It also makes it impossible to choke down on the handle to get more leverage. No way I would want to use this thing as a chopper, unless I completely remove that protrusion (which I am planning on doing).
- The Scrapper 6 performed the best of the three in this area, but it also has at least a 1" advantage to the other two, with a little greater thickness (.275"), so I expected that. It was, by far, the most comfortable for chopping, too, because of the Respirene C handle. You can choke down on the handle very easily and get some great swings in that way. It almost becomes as long as the BK9 when you choke down to a pinch grip (1st and 2nd fingers only, thumb over the top, with 3rd and 4th fingers off the end of the knife handle), which gives it an even greater advantage.
- The BK2 was in the middle of the two in this area. It chopped really well for its size, despite giving up over 1" to the Scrapper 6, and the handle is pretty comfortable, too. Choking down to a pinch grip on the 2nd gen BK2 isn't as easy as its predecessor because of the hammer pommel, but it can still be done effectively. The convex edge definitely makes it easier. I don't feel like it gave up too much to the Scrapper here, and I would take the Becker handle over the Fehrman's handle any day.
Winner: Scrapper 6
Next Test: finer cutting - I had some fatwood that I wanted to make shavings from, so I used this as an opportunity to see how these boys could carve. This was done after the chopping test, without touching up the edges.
BK2
Fehrman Last Chance
Scrapper 6
My conclusions:
- The pics don't really tell you much about the test, other than they were able to shave some of the wood off. Both the Fehrman and the Scrapper have choils so you can easily choke up and get in there when you're doing the finer stuff. I thought this would give them an advantage...
- The Fehrman did the task pretty well. The finger choil allowed me to apply pressure more directly over the cutting edge. I wouldn't say it did great.
- The Scrapper did better than the Fehrman. I tried it both with and without using the finger choil, and I honestly think it did better without using the choil. The convex edge cut through the material nicely, and it got the job done. It tended to want to dig in a little too much at times because of the thicker blade, but it functioned well.
- The BK2 was beautiful. No need for a choil, because the handle comes very close to the beginning of the edge. Its convex edge cut through the wood like butter, and I had perfect little shavings from the fatwood. I didn't want to stop, because it was so enjoyable to use for this task. I shaved the fatwood down to a point and until it broke from being whittled so thin. Seriously impressive. It was very comfortable, as well. The Becker handle is perfect for this kind of work.
Winner: BK2
Last test: batoning
For this one, I only pitted the BK2 against the Scrapper, because I felt like they were the winners of the previous two, and this was kind of like a playoff.
Also, I was curious how the FFG of the Scrapper would do against the saber grind (with a modified, smoothed-out shoulder) of the BK2.My Conclusions:
The FFG of the Scrapper went through the oak easier than the BK2's saber grind. Also, the length of the Scrapper gave it an edge in this test, because I had more real estate to hit with the baton. The BK2 also got stuck a few times, while the Scrapper did not.
Winner: Scrapper 6
The Bottom Line (my opinion, because this isn't exactly scientific testing
):The Scrapper 6 or the BK2 are the knives I want with me when I'm in the woods. Depending on the work I am anticipating, both of these are great all-around knives. While the CPM-3V of the Fehrman might hold a shaving edge longer than either of these two steels (I'm not testing for that, but that is what I read), the geometry and handle shape are not as functional or effective as the Scrapper 6 and BK2. If I anticipate more fine work in the field, I would take my BK2, because it excelled there, and it can still take a pounding if I need it to. If I anticipate more batoning and chopping, I will probably take the Scrapper, and I can still do some finer work with if it I need it to.
Both the Scrapper and the BK2 are great knives, but in terms of value, there is no competition. The BK2 wins. For somewhere around the $60 mark, you can get a great all-around woods knife that won't fail you, including a sheath; compare that with at least $175 to get out the door with the knife and a sheath in the case of a Scrapper 6.
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