BKT-15 0r BKT-16

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Pistolpete

Joined
Oct 10, 2002
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After recently skinning several hogs and realizing that the knives I had were not holding an edge on that tough hog hair, I have decided to look around for something better. Hog hair is extremely tough on knives and some of my knives that do well on deer are not making it on the hogs. I like the looks of the Bkt-15 and the Bkt-16 and would like to hear opinions from people that own these knives and how well the edge holds up. Thanks in advance..
 
Pistolpete said:
After recently skinning several hogs and realizing that the knives I had were not holding an edge on that tough hog hair, I have decided to look around for something better. Hog hair is extremely tough on knives and some of my knives that do well on deer are not making it on the hogs. I like the looks of the Bkt-15 and the Bkt-16 and would like to hear opinions from people that own these knives and how well the edge holds up. Thanks in advance..
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oooOOOOoooh... real world application! nice! ;)
What are you using now, for comparison?
 
as much as I love the BK16, in a work environment that's that abrasive, I'd recommend something made of D2 or 3v for the extra wear resistance -- like the BK24 that's supposed to come out in a couple months.
 
I love my 15 and both of my 16s however if it had to pick. I would use the 16 to gut it and the 15 for the rest. But then again I've never dressed a hog. Just deer.
 
1066vik said:
as much as I love the BK16, in a work environment that's that abrasive, I'd recommend something made of D2 or 3v for the extra wear resistance -- like the BK24 that's supposed to come out in a couple months.
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I would agree, D2 would hold its edge alot longer then a bk15 or 16, but it might be too small for what you are doing (I believe it is the same as a BK14, just made out of D2). Also its not out yet till next year.

With that in mind, of the 2, and for what you are doing, I would lean towards the BK 16.

Good Luck!
 
Right now using Buck knife which holds edge the worst, to some Cold Steel knives with Carbon Steel and 2 homemade knives in 1084 that do better. I think that 1066vik may be on the right track as something along the lines of tool steel might be better. I am trying to not break the bank and would like to get 2 knives for my sons for Christmas presents but I am wondering who makes a good production skinning knife in D2. These hogs are full of dirt and coarse hair and will let you know real quick how good a blade you got.
 
Get the 15! Then, for skinning hogs, go to Academy or a medical supply place and get a tape cutter. It goes over your knuckles and has a hook with a razor blade in it. Razor blade is replaceable. Small incision with the 15, then place the hook in there and zip right down the animal. Then go back to the 15 and begin peeling the hide off.
 
First off...I love the BK-17 I have. It's a great knife in the field doing general utility, but with an RC of 56-58 (and likely hitting around 57) I don't think either will show the type of edge retention you're looking for versus the tough hog hair. For that I'd be looking for something like the D-2, as mentioned by others before, at a hardness of around 60-62, or maybe something in, VG-1, or VG-10, or 3G with a relatively high hardness for that sort of abrasion resistance. Some knives do pop in mind, but since this is the Becker forum I'd feel odd throwing names out there. A little research should pop up some results though.
 
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Between the 15 and the 16 for skinning, is a tough call, I just got a 16 a month ago... and am holding off on a 15 till after the holidays... don't think I've been good enough ;) Anyway, I'm a wrist skinner... one of the reasons I like a drop point over a clip point, the curve of the 16's blade is very good for skinning, but I'd be choking up on the blade, and only using about 2" of sharpened edge. The 15's curve is larger, but of greater radius, so how good it would be for skinning sort of depends on how you prefer to hold and work the blade while you're skinning. For some people (me) the 16 is better, for others, the 15 would give you a lot more edge to work with, so it should stay sharp longer.

Steel, blade geometry, heat treating, and edge style and angle all combine to determine how long your edge will last, especially while skinning. Google "buffalo skinning knife set" sometime and see how much sharpening those guys did while skinning, they worked in teams with 2 or 3 skinners per bison, probably skinning at least 25 a day, I wonder how many times they'd hone their edges per critter. I've read that the limiting factor to how successful, i.e. how much money the buffalo runners were, was how quickly they could skin them, they were paid for the pelts (and tongues), they would only shoot what they could skin, so the faster they could skin, the more money they made.

One of the best knives I've got for skinning is made of 440C, I've had it for going on 30 years now. It's a very small blade, smaller than the 2" curve I'd use on the 16, and I have no trouble getting through 2 elk without sharpening it, course I think your pigs would be harder on the edge. That said, I've had really good luck with Knives of Alaska D2 steel. Haven't followed their prices, I bought mine when they first came out, and they were a very good value (relatively inexpensive for the quality). I've noticed that its a lot easier to sharpen the Becker 1095 steel than my D2 blades, I haven't really used them hard enough to judge if they'll hold an edge as long as D2, my guess is they won't, but I tend to dress my edges with a strop pretty regularly, so they never really get dull.

I'm guessing that no matter what steel you end up with, and no matter what blade design you choose, you'll probably find that you need to sharpen/maintain your edge while skinning. Remember, the whole goal of skinning is to remove the skin without contaminating the carcass, the sharper your knife is, the easier the job will be. If I knew I was going to have to skin in the field, I'd carry a way to touch up and maintain my edge.

Erik
 
Of the two (and of almost all the BKT series) I am partial to the BK15. It's a great field knife, IMO, though some find it too long for game cleaning.

I don't often point people away from Becker or ESEE, but you might want to look at something like the Benchmade Bone Collector or Adamas series for some good D2 steel in a fixed blade. However. I might go with the razor recommendation, too, especially for opening up the skin. Razor blades will slice like mad and are cheap to replace. I've hunted with a couple of guys that use utility knives or those snap-off razor knives with much success.
 
I own a bk-15 and try to keep it shaving sharp most of the time. I gutted and began skinning a hog with it the day after thanksgiving. The hog was around 300lbs or so. Gutting went great with the 15 but the edge only lasted for a few minutes skinning. The long blade does work well but I had to touch it up frequently and ended up switching to a custom tool steal knife that I know holds a great edge for quite a while. Next time I will try a more toothy edge and see if it holds up a little longer but it was very easy to restore. I don't have any D2 blades to compare but if you are looking for a knife that will last skinning a hog, I would recommend looking at something else.
 
I'm gonna say, go with the M-18. You can skin the hog in one pass, and it's 0-1 steel so you can skin several of them before even having to THINK about sharpening!
 
Thanks guys for all the great suggestions. I think I am going to try the utility knife route for making the initial cuts and then use one of my knives for skinning. I have one of the older BKT-7 knives with the 0176 blade. Might try that one for grins.
 
I've used my BK-15 quite a bit this fall helping neighbors butcher and skin some hogs. It does a fantastic job.
 
zerimar said:
I own a bk-15 and try to keep it shaving sharp most of the time. I gutted and began skinning a hog with it the day after thanksgiving. The hog was around 300lbs or so. Gutting went great with the 15 but the edge only lasted for a few minutes skinning. The long blade does work well but I had to touch it up frequently and ended up switching to a custom tool steal knife that I know holds a great edge for quite a while. Next time I will try a more toothy edge and see if it holds up a little longer but it was very easy to restore. I don't have any D2 blades to compare but if you are looking for a knife that will last skinning a hog, I would recommend looking at something else.
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I don't mind touching up my edges during a job. But if you want some good edge retention during a lengthy skinning session, try obsidian.
 
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