BK7 Surprise!

F

FCFER

Joined
Aug 18, 2006
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474
I had an interesting weekend.
Now that the temps have cooled in the Valley of the Sun, the wife and I have been buying and burning wood from the grocery stores to relax in the backyard.
We found ourselves in Flagstaff this weekend so decided to head into the woods a ways to take some wood home to burn. As always, I had my BK2 and BK7 on hand and found a nice blow-down ripe for firewood harvesting.

I always use my BK2 for heavy chopping work, but was noticing that it was taking some time and effort to get through this pine bough. About 4-5 inches thick. On a whim I took out the BK7 and it actually chopped better than my BK2! I was more than a little shocked! I eventually cut this bough into 4 four foot lengths, so the 7 got a decent workout.

My BK2 is the best log splitter I’ve ever used with a baton, but it sure couldn’t chop as well as the 7! Is it the thickness of the blade that makes it a better chopper?

After witnessing this, I’ve placed the BK9 higher on the list for “Things to buy before the year ends”. I figure if the 7 chops that well, the 9 must be a jewel to behold!
 
the length makes the 7 a better chopper. You get more velocity for the same weight-in-hand. The further out in the arc, the more energy the blade has. See: axes.
 
My 9 year old daughter wanted to learn how to baton and make feather sticks today so I took out the bk2 for the batoning. Then she wanted to delimb some downed birch trees. We did it but as you noted my bk7 would have been much better suited for this task. I keep the bk7 stuffed away in my ghb so I was lazy in not getting it out. I too have wondered about the bk9 and if I really need it.
 
I've never thought of the 2 as a chopper. But then again I never thought of the 7 that way either. The 9 on the other hand is amazing! I tested it out once on a 2x4. All the way through in 20 chops, less than a minute.:D
 
Im not 100% on the "whys" but i have noticed my bk9 chops better than my other beckers and my ontario sp8. the ontario sp8 has a longer blade at 10". the bk9 is .188 thick and the sp8 is .25 thick. same steel. The bk9 chops cleaner and quicker. The sp8 is my favorite knife for batoning and beats the bk9 and the bk2 at ONLY this task.

From what i have seen with my own knives, id say thicker is better for batoning. Between .188-.2 thick and longer is better for chopping FOR ME!

ymmv! <------ i just learned that :)
 
As far as batoning, the added thickness of the BK2 practically splits the wood on its own. The BK7 batons well also, but the BK2 does it with more authority! My take on it anyways.

It was strange, the BK2 just didn't seem to penetrate as well as the BK7. It would go so deep and then stop. Both were shaving sharp and used with the same amount of force, so I was wondering if it had something to do with blade geometry or something. I'm no math whiz so was hoping someone could enlighten me.

This was also the first time really using the BK7. It usually sits in my bag waiting for something to do. That's going to change I think!
 
Well incidentally, the bk2 being thicker, it has a thicker blade than the seven and the nine, so it is gonna stop at a certain point. Just like an axe takes out chunks, and a machete digs deep. Which is why machetes are used in the jungle, the green stuff is flimsy, so it swipes through, have you ever tried to use a hatchet on a sapling? It doesn't work so well:D
 
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