BK9 design update....

H

Hawgsnawt

Joined
Aug 16, 2015
Messages
732
Ok, I've said it before, but durnit I can't shake my NEED for a modified BK9.

The 5 and 15 are a perfect match, so are the 7 and 17......it just seems to me the 9 and 16 should be as well!

I'm dreaming of the ultimate Bushcraft woods big chopper!....

A BK9 made of the same thick stock that the BK2 uses....I'm talking PRYBAR! then slightly reshaped to eliminate the swedge and become a true mimic of the BK16s drop point.

Between the thicker bar stock, and more weight forward stance the knife would take by retaining the extra metal in the drop point over that of the swedge, it would shift the weight forward and allow it to strike with AUTHORITY in wood!

You also get the added benefit of the knife no longer chewing your batons up on the swedge...IMHO its the perfect pair, the new 9 and the 16!

Yes, I know the 9 is " king " and it's been " good enough " for YEARS.... but in the search for perfection.....am I crazy?

Love to hear some honest discussion on why or why not....yes, it would add a little weight, but lets be honest, if you are already carrying a 9, weight is not even in your top 10 list of concerns...
 
Good enough? It's damn near perfect.
A 14 3/4 inch long piece of 1/4 inch thick 1095, makes for tired arms very quickly.
 
The BK9 is perfect, but I could get behind your design too. A heavy, dedicated chopper would be OK, but the BK4 already does that, and so does a Bk9, while being more than just a chopper. But I've never met a BK that I didn't want to own, so I'm sure I'd buy one even if I didn't use it as much as a BK4 or 9.
 
Buy a Busse and see if you still feel the same. The 9 is perfect the way it is. Trust me. Ethan's geometry is almost impossible to beat.
 
I could get behind the drop point, even though in my mind you have it backwards (the BK16 came out far far after the BK9, so no need for it to "mimic" the BK16's drop point). Its just that in general I haven't needed "pointy" knives so far, so a drop point would be fine by me. Although, personally I haven't ever had a baton break on my because it had been chewed up by a swedge, so that particular reason for one isn't a huge deal to me. But anyway, I could get behind a drop point.

As far as thickness... I think I honestly like it better with 3/16in stock. So far I've never had a problem batoning anything that would need it, and I really don't chop much because I carry a folding saw, so 1/4in would be overkill for me in both ways. That, and the BK9 weighs dang close to what a BK2 weighs, but the BK2 has 4in less blade length (which is another reason I carry the BK9 instead of the BK2. Basically the same weight, but much more versatility). A 1/4in thick BK9 would weigh quite a bit, and that much more forward weight would make it harder to use for non-chopping/batoning knife tasks, which is an area that I think the BK9 excels at at the moment.

I guess a thicker larger blade could be fine if it was a different model, I just don't think I'd want to see the 9 go away, as I feel its a very usable/versatile blade as it is, which I personally think is one of the reasons its so popular.

If you're wanting some 1/4in thick big blades, check out the BK1 (if you can find one). And just so you know, its generally accepted that the BK1 doesn't chop as well as the BK9.

You might find this interesting to read. An oldie, but a goodie.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/784781-Beckerhead-Chop-Test-at-Half-Moon-Ridge

But I'm all for new Beckers getting designed/brought out, and Ethan obviously is active here, so you never know what he'll pick up on and use as design influences for upcoming blades :).
 
Although this would be neat to see, I honestly dont know if beefing things up to 1/4" would increase chopping performance all that much. Maybe if it ended up being full flat grind and the edge and bevel geometry could be roughly similar. The grind is one of the BIG reasons why the BK9 cuts so well. There are a lot more factors than just this but its something to think about... I just kind of relate a hypothetical 1/4" BK9 to the BK&T Brute. Even though I have not been able to try one out, most who have say that the BK9 at its 3/16" still out cuts/chops the bigger thicker brute. Also that the newer BK9s out cut the older Camillus BK9s that were "slightly" thicker. Who knows?! a BK9 in 1/4" could be awesome!

I am sure one of our resident knifemakers could whip you up a 1/4" drop point "BK9" toot sweet if you asked nice enough and the Boss did not mind.

Either way, what I can say for sure is that I have spent the last couple of weekends breaking down cut limbs from my trees as I get stuff ready for fall. No gloves, no blisters, no sore arms, no damage, and no accidents. Not to mention that the 9 just flat out kicks booty... So I say thats all a win for me at least.
 
I agree with most of you guys, I would not want to see it REPLACE the 9 in the line up....the 9 is a GREAT general camp knife, but I'd like to see it added to the line up as a dedicated chopper...for those of us who already carry the 16 along with and don't have much need for the utility side of things....

It does strike me that the blade would end up very Busse BMish / Esee Junglasish....but those knives have 2 problems....

1. They do not have the Becker handle
2. they just aren't Beckers....

I'm willing to bet Uncle Ethan has this EXACT knife laying around his house somewhere....an old prototype or something...wonder if he'd sell it >.> LOL
 
Hawgsnawt said:
I agree with most of you guys, I would not want to see it REPLACE the 9 in the line up....the 9 is a GREAT general camp knife, but I'd like to see it added to the line up as a dedicated chopper...for those of us who already carry the 16 along with and don't have much need for the utility side of things....

It does strike me that the blade would end up very Busse BMish / Esee Junglasish....but those knives have 2 problems....

1. They do not have the Becker handle
Click to expand...

Hah, I was thinking that same thing...

And yeah, as long as we're not talking replacement, I'm ok with it :).

One last thing. If you're looking for a big dedicated chopper, why not go big? I mean a 9in knife is "pretty large", its not really that large in the grand scheme of big chopping blades. So maybe while you're putting in dreams/requests, ask for an 11-12in blade?

In the mean time, here are ones I'd be looking at for "dedicated chopper" roles.

The JAB parangatang in 14in of 1/4in FFG 1095 cro-van.
The RBK will be coming out, and while I don't know the thickness, I'd suspect that it chops much better than the BK9.
Any number of Bolo/golok/machete type objects in the 12-18in range (Condor Golok, village parang, Tram bolo, etc).

Just a thought :).
 
The 9/16 combo as is... it's pretty damn sweet if you ask me. I've been carrying that duo for a while. Nothing it can't handle.
 
I have a Camillus 9 and the extra thickness does make it a bit tiring to wield. I love its authority though.
In fact I would be willing to trade my camillus 9 minus the handles for a Kabar 9 minus the handles.
 
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I'd love a drop point bk9 that's slightly thicker....I don't think I'd want bk2 thickness thou, that would probably wear your shoulder and arm out pretty quick.
 
Don't think you need the extra thickness IMO.

It's a simple mod to drop the point if you have a couple of simple tools. I hate clip points and have modded most of my Beckers to either drop or wharny style points.

For a woods knife, the BK-9 with a drop point is perfect.

IMG_2510_zpse97hdoy5.jpg~original
 
Ok, you got me wondering, so I had to check some numbers and do some "maths".

#####################
From the Becker Blade Database.
#####################

Cam BK9 == Knife Weight: 18.25 ounces

Kabar BK9 == Knife Weight: 16.8 ounces

Thats a weight difference of 1.45oz.

The Cam BK9 is .21in thick, and the Kabar version is .188.

#####################

If you grab the current bladestock thickness and divide it by the weight, you get a semblance of a ratio to work with.
.188/16.8 == .01119047619

Just did some quick really basic algebra (and a good thing it was basic, I'm not good for much more than that anymore :P).

.01119047619 = .25/x

*math*

x = 22.3404oz

I just did the same thing with the Cam numbers, and came out to a guess of 21.72oz.

You could also figure out the amount of weight gained per in of thickness from the cam/kabar comparison, but I was too lazy to do that right now.

TLDR:

Some "math" by a random guy on the internet guessed that a 1/4in thick BK9 would weigh ~22oz, or approximately 6 oz more than the current BK9.
 
You would really feel that extra 6 ounces though. The K bar 9 feels so lively in the hand and i find that the cammilus feels dead and heavy compared to the K bar.
 
This is a recurring fantasy, called the 'BeastK-2".
If I were to make such a blade, I'd bring the grind higher. It would be awesome.
 
ocnLogan said:
TLDR:

Some "math" by a random guy on the internet guessed that a 1/4in thick BK9 would weigh ~22oz, or approximately 6 oz more than the current BK9.
Click to expand...

yyes....yeeess...YES!!! ....ok 22oz, less than my 26oz Kukri and brother, I can swing that thing till the cows come home...it would have the same weight forward feel and be " snap cuttish " as a chopper letting the weight do most of the work for you...I honest to god believe it would be a more efficient chopper than the current 9 even with or perhaps because of the added weight...

and it would do it with the Becker handle......ohhh I'm in love.....!
 
tobiism said:
You would really feel that extra 6 ounces though. The K bar 9 feels so lively in the hand and i find that the cammilus feels dead and heavy compared to the K bar.
Click to expand...

Yeah, my thoughts exactly. Although, I haven't handled a Cam BK9, so I can't exactly compare it. It just "seems" like 6oz would be pretty noticeable. Thats right about 30% heavier. But again, thats based purely on some psuedo-math (seems ballpark though).

And somewhat satisfyingly, I decided to look at the BK1 weight, and its listed right at 22oz (given, its not an "exact" comparison as the blades have totally different profiles), so I do think that math-based guess is closeish.

daizee said:
This is a recurring fantasy, called the 'BeastK-2".
If I were to make such a blade, I'd bring the grind higher. It would be awesome.
Click to expand...

Yeah, a FFG could help reduce some of that weight, and keep the thing slicing about as well as a current BK9.
 
I like the idea you have in mind. The 9 is perfect as is, but the new design is cool for a new blade.
 
You'd probably like my bush sword design then. I've got to lower the grind a bit though, so it doesn't end up with edge damage.
 
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