BK21

oops, double-post. satellite internet problems.
Ka-bar's straight edge knives have always come with great factory edges, IME.
 
I'm really not too concerned about the recurved part as all of my chopping impact will be forward of that area. I will touch up the edge this weekend though!
 
Sweet! I am looking forward to a good old fashioned chop off. The 21 is a knife that hasn't appealed much to me in the past but 91bravo 91bravo can make anything look good, this should be fun.
 
The last time I really used my 21 was while horseback riding. I had the 20 within reach for small limbs above the saddle but packed the 21 for anything fallen.

We came to a 4" sapling across the trail and I hopped off and went straight for the 21!
To my dismay, the tree was so bouncy every time I struck, that it was wearing me out lol.

I snatched the 20 off the saddle and made short work of it.
The 20 did have a reprofiled edge of about 20dps or less and the 21 had a factory edge still in great shape. I may have even touched it up, I don't remember, anyway...
I'm not sure if it was me, the weight of the 21, the sharper 20 or some combo, but I haven't used the 21 much since and I haven't dealt with any big stuff since either.

I still really like it and have no intentions of getting rid of it. I'm just looking for a task more suited for it.

Could probably use more practice with it too
 
91bravo said:
I'm really not too concerned about the recurved part as all of my chopping impact will be forward of that area. I will touch up the edge this weekend though!
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Video it for us if you can. I'm with Warrior on that one. We need a good vid. Thanks bravo
 
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The khukri shape requires some technique adjustments too, due to the off-axis impact area. It can deflect in odd ways. But once you've got it down, watch out!! (watch out before you have it down too, because deflection!)
 
Just finished reprofiling the 21 last night. My 1311 and 20 both have also been reprofiled. More yardwork and decided to do a little chopping with all the large choppers I have....

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And the bk20 is up for grabs on the exchange. The 20 came in last place for me in the chopping department. My 1311 and bk21 will do everything I need out of a large woods knife!
 
So, are you telling me that reprofiling the edge of the 21 made a difference?
 
I don't really notice that much of a difference. I just like for all of my blades to be as sharp as they can get. The weight forward design of the 21 lets you "snap" cut harder and deeper than the 20. Out of all those blades, the 20 didn't bite as deep as the other blades. Maybe the 1/4" thickness has something to do with it. I really like the 21, it's a chopper from hell! lol My 1311 is still the most balanced of all these blades and you can chop all day long with it, without tiring too bad.
 
I probably should have spent more time with the 21 I had, but, oh well. Nothing to date will replace my 9, haha.
 
I love my 9! It's my favorite large fixed blade. Paired with my gso 4.7, it will be my backpacking combo for our next outting. The 21 is an absolute beast and chops about as well as my 1311. It's just different to swing each of them. The 21 will probably ride in my truck box this winter and I'll use it as my car camping knife or brush clearing tool. I'm sending the other two 21s back to nutoknives tomorrow since I have my own 21 now. 20 is on the chopping block as the 1311 and my new bk21 will do everything I need a large knife to do!
 
Nutoknives was correct in that the satin Blackjack version threw massive chunks and felt like it generated the most power on the swing. Although I liked the lighter weight sand blasted 21, it was thin and had a tendency to "stick" into the wood. All the others threw nice big chunks in comparison.
 
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Thanks 91 for your review, not that I have days beating the 21. The little time I've spent with it seems to me its the best chopper I have , but hearing others give not so good reports I just figured I need to use it more and see how it goes. I grin from ear to ear when I've used mine so far :D
 
Xr6x said:
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Thanks 91 for your review, not that I have days beating the 21. The little time I've spent with it seems to me its the best chopper I have , but hearing others give not so good reports I just figured I need to use it more and see how it goes. I grin from ear to ear when I've used mine so far :D
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I grin every time I chop it into something now! It's a hefty chopper and does in fact out chop the 20 by a significant margin.
 
91bravo said:
It's a hefty chopper and does in fact out chop the 20 by a significant margin.
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Sure wasn't my experience. I wonder if I go a bad one maybe.
 
The Warrior said:
Sure wasn't my experience. I wonder if I go a bad one maybe.
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A very sharp edge, with a lot of weight behind it, swinging in a powerful arc, can surely sink deep and make some chips fly. The 21 feels like it does this extremely well. It feels like it chops so much harder than the 20 in the same amount of swings. You can see my happy spot, dead in the middle of the belly. And I just chop it like I would with any other chopper. The 1311 is the best chopper I have ever wielded, so everything gets compared to it. Not much has come close, but the more I use this 21, the more I feel it can match the chopping prowess of the 1311.
 
I was chopping up a bunch of dead stuff mostly. I did chop down about a 4 to 5 inch tree though. Sometimes it would bite deep, and sometimes there was a lot of shock in the handle, and not penetrating much at all. And I was pretty much hitting the same spot on the blade.

IIRC, I think Ethan said someone took a deer head off in a single blow with the 21.
 
The Warrior said:
I was chopping up a bunch of dead stuff mostly. I did chop down about a 4 to 5 inch tree though. Sometimes it would bite deep, and sometimes there was a lot of shock in the handle, and not penetrating much at all. And I was pretty much hitting the same spot on the blade.

IIRC, I think Ethan said someone took a deer head off in a single blow with the 21.
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I remember when you did your review on the 21. It was a great review, but it did bum me out . Seeing you not liking the Blade that was so long getting to market .Haha. That was a fun time on this Forum by the way . You and few others mentioned shock from the handle at times. So far so good here . Been trying to figure out why and what would cause that .The only thing I can think that would cause that would be if you hit with the side of the blade instead of the edge. With your big mitt that skinny little handle might be tilting in your hand causing the blade not to hit the same spot each and every time . I could tell before I ever used mine I needed To fatten the scales for a more secure hold . The right size scales makes useing a heavier blade more relaxing and comfortable in hand .Maybe you to maybe not, just trying to make sense out of the shock wave. Or maybe you hit something very hard large knot ?
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Nah, I'm talking about hitting the same part of the blade in the same cut even. Not sure really. I don't believe I was hitting the side of the blade. You can see in my review where it sometimes bit deep, and other times didn't. Who knows? I don't really dislike the blade, just not my thing. Hard to replace my 9. Like the 20, and it's a chopping machine, but it's also a lot heavier than the 9. The 9 to me, is the best all rounder.

Also, my review wasn't intended to bum anyone out. These were my honest findings. I always appreciate when someone gives an honest review, even if I wish their results would have been different. Those were my results, and perhaps different than what others experienced.
 
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