Bk4 and Bk17 Good Bushcraft Combo?

M

Mr. Dickiss

Joined
May 14, 2014
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185
This is my first post on here and I figure what better way to introduce myself than to ask for some advice on some blades.

Seeing as how my birthday is just around the corner I recently had been "window shopping" online for a new camping/bushcraft pair of knives to put on my wishlist and I had decided I would go with the Bk4 for a hard use "jack of all trades" as well as possibly the Bk17 for the light work. Combined with a Bahco Laplander folding saw I feel I would be pretty well covered.

So essentially the purpose of this post was to see if you guys could give me any insight or recommendations for my selection.

-D. Dickiss
 
Seriously? No one else has chimed in? The 9 and the 16 typically inspire an intense passion that makes me a bit surprised you haven't gotten folks recommending them.

I'm perhaps the least qualified to speak to this for multiple reasons, not the least of which is I've never touched a 4. The 17 was the first Becker I ever saw, touched, and bought. I think it's a great knife.

I suspect the 4 & 17 combo will be just fine, but history seems to indicate that once you begin your collection (working or not), that you will end up with an ever growing collection.

Someone with some real experience help him out.

Welcome to the forum!
 
I've never owned ether of these knives.

The 4 is very cool and fun blade, and the 17 looks very bada**, but the 16 and 9 with outperform both by a noticeable amount. If you're lookin' for a extremely practical pair, the 9 & 16 will serve you best. You certainly won't be disappointed by the 4 and 17 though......
 
Thank you for the warm welcome and for the insight. I have been stuck on the 4 for quite a while now, there is just something about it that screams "SEXY" to me. I did look at the 16 as an option as well as the 9 as well. There are just so many great blades i could chose from... In the future when money becomes available I planned on getting the 9.
 
The 4 is a great blade, but the 9 is better imho. The angle of the 4 allows great chopping power despite being much lighter than the 9, but batoning is made more difficult by the shape.
If you dont mind a little more weight, I think the 9 is a much better all rounder, and also has a shorter learning curve. The 16 or 17 or 15 any of them will do you right for a smaller blade.
 
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Silverthorn said:
The 4 is a great blade, but the 9 is better imho. The angle of the 4 allows great chopping power despite being much lighter than the 9, but battoning is made more difficult by the shape.
If you dont mind a little more weight, I think the 9 is a much better all rounder, and also has a shorter learning curve. The 16 or 17 or 15 any of them will do you right for a smaller blade.
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Balderdash!! (when's the last time you've heard that??) The 4 batons quite nicely. See here Go to page 2, post #32.

I own both the 4 and the 9 and while the 9 is a great blade, I prefer the 4 everytime, and as mentioned above, the 4 is quite a bit lighter.

Doc
 
My advice:

Go for a 9/16 combo. I have them all and have used the 4/17 quite a bit. The 17 hurts your fingers for push cuts when handling the spine plus chews up batons. The 9 is a much better chopper much easier to sharpen. Much of it is up to personal preference and intended use tho. THe 4/17 will probably do all you need and more and both look for cooler (IMO) but for sustained hard use I'd choose the 9/16. That being said I love my 17 dearly and right now its bound to the strap of my BOB.
 
I'm set on the 4 as my primary go to knife but another option i looked at was the 14 with a set of the factory scales or a 2 cause the 2 seems to be very popular and it is built like a tank.
 
DOC-CANADA said:
Balderdash!! (when's the last time you've heard that??) The 4 batons quite nicely. See here Go to page 2, post #32.

I own both the 4 and the 9 and while the 9 is a great blade, I prefer the 4 everytime, and as mentioned above, the 4 is quite a bit lighter.

Doc
Click to expand...

I didnt say it doesnt baton, but I should have said "For me" on the comment. I found that for me, I prefer the angle of the handle, and the straight blade on the 9 for batoning, over the 4. Your milage may vary.
 
I have the 4 and the 9, and the 4 is my go-to woods knife. It is lighter, and in some ways sexier, but it's also a bit finickier especially when sharpening. I love it though. It will also go very well with the tweener of your choice. I have the 15 presently, but soon I will be relegating that to kitchen duty and I want to pick up a 16 to go with it. The 17 is tempting sometimes, but the drop point gives me blade strength which I need more than stabbiness. For me these are tools not weapons.
 
4 and 17 good bushcraft combo? -Yes!

........but I'll suggest the BK16 for lighter work, FFG is a better slicer!
 
Yes they are just fine! Some prefer the 9, some prefer the 4, some prefer the 1. They are all great "main" blades. As for the tweeners the 16/17 are pretty much identical except for the drop vs clip points. Personally I prefer the 17 but I have several 16 as well.

I'm also a bit of a freak, if you're looking for "built like a tank" options I'd say go for the 3/10 combo.
 
Mr. Dickiss said:
What do you guys think of the 2 or14 instead of a 17?
Click to expand...

The two is built like a tank. Probably a bit too bulky for the finer tasks but I love it. Can't go wrong with a 14 either but I'd probably stick with a 16 for finer bushcrafting tasks since it will do basically everything you need it to do and it is heftier than the 14.

I EDC an 11 and have whittled with it a bit, I just find that it and the 14 lack a little bit when it comes to bushcrafting but to each their own. Just my two cents.
 
I took this lousy cell phone pic to give you a sense of scale.



The 14 will be a bit longer than my 11, but not a lot.

The 2 is not only longer, but seriously thicker and heavier. It really is a tank.
 
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