BRab's Official BK-17 Passaround Review Thread

[brewcitymike]

Brother you have got an awesome campsite:thumbup: Did you make everything there cuz ir looked like you have a chair and some kind of bench or something, plus the shelter. It all looks amazing. Is it somewhere on your property? I really hate living in the inner city when I look at pics like that. I'm gonna have to find a way to get some kind of decent pics with the 17 when it arrives

"It's heeeere"

First - thanks to BRab for doing this. Knife appears to be Brandy New (never used ?)

Second - weather is not very accommodating right now 'round these parts. Thunderstorms and Tornado warnings
So as soon as I can get into the woods, be some action shots.

So here are my initial impressions:

Very comfortable in hand.
GREAT ergos on the handle too. Big handle for a small knife.
Knife has good weight. (not a light weight for a small knife by any means - feels solid)
Very good balance.
Sharp a H3LL too

:thumbup:

Great Sheath - best I've seen with a stock Becker yet

Couple size comparisons. About the same size as an ESEE 4 or a Benchmade Pardue Rant

Little bigger than a BHK Bushcrafter.

Like I said, great handle for a small knife. Big and very comfortable.

Top view compared to my ESEE 4

Compared to the stock BHK bushcrafter

Compared to a BK 7 and a BK 11

So on initial impressions, if the price point on this knife, with this sheath, is $50 ish ... "Winner, winner chicken dinner"
Serious - this knife can hang with stuff twice, three times the price.

GREAT little knife.

Will add more as the weather improves.



Mo pics ...

Just had to take it apart and see what was underneath (don't worry put it back together)

Gave it a quick wrap while it was apart. Just to see how it looked all "Chris Reeves Professional Soldier" like (LOL)

Anyway ... Weather broke, took it over to the barn to help with barn chores

Opened grain (real tough I know)

Opened some hay

Some more hay

Some MORE hay

"Farm Tough Baby !"

Fine point was good for leather work

It even helped keep the dogs in line (lol)

Then look who showed up ... Joe Isuzu

"I had to give Cobra a hand ... So I cut up that old dead tree with the BK 17 and overhauled all the old equipment using just the 17"

"No really"



Some Mo Pics

Took it to the campsite for some woods action

Carrys well on the belt (did I mention I like the sheath ? lol)

It helped get the fire going (kindling)

Spring has sprung at the site

Bunch of trees with vines growing around them, all around the campsite.
Going to make a walking stick out of a smaller one.

The 17 got the project going. Chopped the stick down to size.
I should have battoned it, but it's not my knife and was only going to wail on it so much.

Cut away the dead vines

Got the start of a cool walking stick. Strip the bark, let it dry, seal it, it should look sweet.

Christened it (BRab should name it though - it is his)

Did a little "carving" - Actually worked great for it.

So ...

All in All - GREAT knife. Highly recommend it. HIGHLY !

Will definitely be one on my side. :thumbup:

And thaks again to BRab for the opp. - enjoyed it.

Note: Thing is still as sharp as when it arrived.

Added a leg tied down to the sheath - My contribution.
Doesn't need it, but extra cord is always handy.

 

[Cobra281]

Thanks.

Yeah - made most of the shelters and stuff for contests here on the forum. It's at the back of our property.
Makes for some quick woods time.

Work in progress - couple more things planned this year.

 

[BRab]

Excellent write-up Cobra, and thanks for all of the great pictures! :thumbup:

 

[brewcitymike]

Hey BRab, just so you know that there is NO way I can follow a review like cobra's. I'll do my best but I'll probably end up with some pretty simple common tests that I can do around the house or yard. Maybe head to the park down the block but if all the guys playing b-ball see me with a knife they might pull out their guns and shoot me,lol. I'll do my best though.

 

[MrKnifekid]

I need to keep this at the top...

And ask if mike has gotten it yet, I think it has been a week...

 

[MrKnifekid]

one more thing...

Can we get this stickied until it is all said and done? Maybe in place of the BK-17 pics thread?

thanks.

 

[brewcitymike]

Well I got it on Friday and after 2 days of phone tag w/ my buddy to help me take pics he finally showed up today while it was pouring rain. So I got few shots of me splitting some boards in my basement to make kindling for my little hobo stove, my pathetic attempts at feathersitcks(they just don't work for me), and a few other tasks around the house. Like I said I live in the inner city and couldn't get away so I did the best with what I had. As for my review and opinions about this knife- It feels great in the hand, and mine normally prefer the more robust handles of the full size BKs. It was decently sharp and worked pretty well for the feathersticks, though my skill at making them leaves something to be desired I did my comparisons with two knives that I thought were kinda 'off the beaten path' for what most people will probably compare them to. Most will probably pit it against their Esee 4, Moras, maybe some Izulas, I chose my Gerber Big Rock camp knife and a Condor Bushcraft 5 for a kind of eclectic variety. Now when it come to the thin blades in the 1/8" and 3/32" area my thumb can't handle much pushing to make feathersticks and make shavings. With the splitting of the lumber(some 1x4's) the Gerber didn't have enough heft to do very well whereas the bk17 worked with a bit of assistance and the condor which was the heaviest so it chopped the best but not the smoothest. the edge of the Bk17 just slid right through the board like butter once it got going. Plus I was able to split them down to very thin pieces with no trouble at all. It also worked great making a nice tin of shaving for my tinder can. I tried to start a fire but the spines of the BKs just can't throw sparks for a damn. I gave up before I starting messing the coating up bad. I took it outside and it worked pretty well for batoning a couple smaller logs. I also used it to cut a soda can in half to make a base for testing some old tinder cubes I wanted to test and I even made my lunch with it. It cuts wood and bread just about the same way-easily I got a couple 'just cuz I could' pics too. I hope this isn't too disappointing for those who wanted some 'real' bushcraft shots, but here the best I could do was ghetto bushcraft For the urban woodsman Well without further a do here's some shots of what I would sum to be a great all around, all purpose knife.

 

[brewcitymike]

Well here's more pics, though I don't know why those didn't load properly

The nice fine clip point was pretty good for removing a splinter:thumbup:



In the end I had a nice little wood pile for my hobo pocket stove

 

[brewcitymike]

And some more...I had to go for quantity over quality



This was like cutting through butter

Just had to do it to do it Knife one, can done

 

[brewcitymike]

and the last few...

This is the lunch my daughter made for me, healthier than mine but kinda bland


I shot this guy with my pellat rifle this morning but the tail was all I wanted since these city squirrels are nasty as hell:barf:

 

[CCMI]

Man, they really got the clip point perfect on this thing....

Thanks for the review and pics.

 

[MrKnifekid]

Oh, thank God, I thought either

A. Somebody decided to keep it for themselves. But I know A probably was wrong.
or
B. it got lost in the mail.

either of those things would suck. But I'm glad it got safe to you mike.

PM or e-mail me when you need my addy.

Thanks.

 

[BRab]

Great pics brewcitymike, thanks for that! :thumbup:

 

[cz9r]

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed this knife so far

 

[MrKnifekid]

I got it friday. I'm sorry For the late reply, My wife-unit jacked up the computer and have spent the whole week fixing it. It shall be sent out this friday to ocnlogan. I have taken lots of pics, but I can't upload them at the moment because I am running in safe mode.

Thanks.

MKK

 

[ocnLogan]

Thanks for the info MKK, although don't worry about rushing the shipping, as I'll be gone Monday-Wednesday of next week for interviews for an internship. My compy is also sick (dying HDD), so I need to take care of that before the review (getting on that tonight ).

Good luck with the compy, and I'm excited for more pics .

 

[MrKnifekid]

ocnLogan, it was sent out to you today via USPS priority Flat rate mail with insurance.

I'm uploading pics now, but it may take a while, my PC is running slow.

 

[ocnLogan]

Just updating everyone, so no one thinks I ran off with the thing .

The knife came in on Monday, but I was out of town until Wednesday night, and have been absolutely slammed with schoolwork (due to the previously mentioned being out of town for three days two weeks before finals week). I haven't done the comparison review yet, but its on my list of things to do today if at all possible.

First impressions are pretty good. The handle and balance of the knife are great. I think I might have slightly larger than average mitts, or just prefer large handles because the handle does feel a bit thin for my taste, but I felt the same way about my 9, so that might not mean anything .

The knife as it came was pretty dull, and so I've put a bit more of an edge on it (still not perfect, but its at least slicing paper now) in preparation for the comparison review (the Bushlore is normal sharp, while the MK1 is a laser beam right now).

Thats it for now, but if my plans go right (and I finish this midterm and project today) then I should have a review up by Monday sometime, and will be shipping the knife out sometime this week if thats ok with everyone.

Thanks .

 

[MrKnifekid]

Alrighty, it's been a while since i've been on the forums and had time to do a review. Here we go. finally.

Opened with a BK-11.

size comparison and sheath.

profile

feels great in hand. I love the tweener handle.

alright. first up, the sheath.

Lemme say this. the sheath is spec ops quality if not better. Molle compatible, liner is not to fat, so it does not rattle like the large beckers, and a velcro belt loop. all in all i give the sheath a 10 out of 10.

pics.
here is is attached to the molle straps on my murse.

Next: the handle.
The handle is epic. It has a perfect palm swell and great feel to it. I love the tweener handle. It just feels right in my hand. Here is some pics.

The jimping is awesome to. it bites your thumb, which is a good thing.

the blade shape is O.K. to me. I'm not a fan of clip point, I like drop and spear point much better.

the clip is pretty sick.

next to Bk-11 for thickness comparison.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/76437180@N02/6863480188/[/IMG]

i took the handles off to see the insides.

handleses.

the screws are a lot shorter than regular becker screws.

the scales are not hollowed out like it's ancestors, just 2 small holes in the top and bottom.

I put an okay edge on it, but it got dull after i used it, and did not have time to sharpen it before sending is to Overclock-Logan (inside joke)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/76437180@N02/7009682249/[/IMG]

next up: some wood stuff. I only had time to do battoning and fuzzies, nothing else. Maybe logan can pull a ribbit out of his hat and do all the stuff that i did not have time for.

I was really suprised at how well this battoned. I mean it just drills through wood like nothing else. It is thicker than you think.

victory pose

another

now, fuzzies

this thing makes amazing curls. the Tweeners are the best bushcraft knives in the galaxy.

fun fun fun

some cool shots.

Alright, so all in all. I give this an 8 out of 10 because of the clip point. If this was a BK-16, I would give it an 11 out of 10.

Thanks for this BRab, I had lots of fun.

 

[Stark Knives]

Your pics aren't working.

Great reviews so far guys!

Erd