Cold Steel SRK or a diff one for outdoor use

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egroeg555

Joined
Jun 4, 2006
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I'm considering getting this knife for camping, hikeing, and backpacking. What kind of preformance should I expect out of this knife?
I read around a bit on the SRK and someone mentioned needing to grind the edge down to get a sharp edge. Anyone know anything about this?

other knives in consideration:
K-bar 14 1/4 Bowie - This looks like a very awesome knife and would serve me well for any chopping task, but this knife purchase will be my first fixed blade. So, I think I'd want something more versital. Any thoughts?

Becker Crewman - I've been recommended this knife. What kind of preformance should I expect out of it? Why is it so much less expensive than the Companion that seems to me to be very similar?
Also, I'm concerned that the smooth metal on the handle of the crewman would become hard to grip with sweaty hands. Any thoughts?
 
If you can find one, get a becker cu/7. It is an awsome knife, it will slice and chop every thing you need. The srk is also good, but its been referred to as a sharpend pry bar. So yes regrinding the edge will give alot more cutting agility.
 
wow I just had missed that knife when I was looking at the Becker knifes. This knife looks pretty good. I'm just concerned about the handle though. My hands tend to sweat a lot and from what I can tell from the pictures, the handle surface is smooth metal. Will this become difficult for me to grip?
 
unfortunatly it does, it gets very slipprey, but with a little steel wool, and or sanding it will get very grippy. I you want also you can buy after market handles, I didn't but its another option. I just sanded the handles down with some 600 grit sand paper, it took a little more time but i had more control over how much was sanded. But the handles are actually GV6H, a really hard plastic, like when you flick you finger against the handles it "tings" like metal, but its not.
 
So, all I need is to sand it with 600 grit sand paper to get a good grip? This dosn't sound bad.

after market handle? is this something made by a different company to work with the knife?
 
Check out the Scrap Yard Knives Scrapper 6. The Res-C handle is perfect for the type of use you have described and the 6 inch blade is great for camp use.

Scrap Yard is a spin off of Busse Combat Knives and they make their line to the same high standards, but at more affordable prices.
 
the scrapper 6 seems very nice, but i'm not sure i'm willing to spend $90 on a knife right now. Do they sell for less than $90 somewhere?
 
What's wrong with a standard Kabar? The night raider (or whatever they're calling the all black one w/ kraton grips) should do well.
 
Of the ones you have mentioned , I would go with the Becker Crewman .

Chris
 
The BK2 Companion is made of thicker steel than the BK10 Crewman, and comes with a Kydex sheath. That is why it is more expensive. I really like the Becker handles, and haven't had problems even when sweaty. I do have several sets of the micarta grips that come on the BK77, and I have to say I like them a little better than the hard plastic std ones. I have every knife mentioned above, and like all of them...that being said, I would have to say that my choices for overall fitness balanced by price are:

#1)Becker BK7
#2)Becker Companion
#3)Becker Crewman
#4)KaBar LHB
#5)SRK
#6)Scrapper 6

Of the knives mentioned, and with price not being an object between them:

1)Becker BK7
2)Scrapper 6
3)Becker Companion
4)Becker Crewman
5)Kabar LHB
6)SRK

These are just my opinions having used these knives, and each knife has tasks it will perform better than the others. These ratings simply represent what I feel is my ranking of these knives based on my feeling and experiences. All of these knives will perform the functions required in a good manner, and are all IMHO great knives.
 
picture081nx3.jpg


Becker BK9 is my choice for everything I have thrown at it over three years.
-Yes the grips got slippery once then left for vacation, now done with 400lb mountaineering cord.
-The thickness of blade is .188 which is not as sexy as a quarter inch or 5/16 but don't tell all the wood, branches, hog bones and once even a 35" BFG Mudder Tire that its not enough.
-Ground a penetrator tip on the point
-ground off the black coating on the back of the blade as it didn't agree with my firestarter once.

So for 65 bux and some elbow grease there is a knife that'll take you to places that suck and get you back in one piece.
 
The Chief, did you mean to say BK7? The BK7 has .188" thickness like you said and judging from the picture it looks like a BK7 to me.

From what you 2 just said, you may have sold me on the BK7. I'm not concerned about the handle now. I now know that I can try sanding the handle for better grip and if that doesn't work I can take the handle off and wrap it with cord.

the chief, a penetrator tip? does that mean you sharpened both edges at the tip?
 
egroeg555 said:
I'm considering getting this knife for camping, hikeing, and backpacking. What kind of preformance should I expect out of this knife?
...
Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
I suggest you to have a look at RosArms knives. They have similar to BG42 steel, they light, have termofriendly, durable and grippy handles - stacked birch bark (this is why they light), exteremely ergonomic and have beautiful design. Only when you choose them - check blade thickness.

This one is pretty good:

RosArms-Utes-005.jpg


Here it is with Solution which is exactely twice heavier and weight is what really important outdoor.

Thanks, Vassili.
 
egroeg555 said:
The Chief, did you mean to say BK7? The BK7 has .188" thickness like you said and judging from the picture it looks like a BK7 to me.

From what you 2 just said, you may have sold me on the BK7. I'm not concerned about the handle now. I now know that I can try sanding the handle for better grip and if that doesn't work I can take the handle off and wrap it with cord.

the chief, a penetrator tip? does that mean you sharpened both edges at the tip?
Click to expand...


Sorry, that wasn't clear in the post mine is a BK9 or Combat Bowie with 9" blade. The BK7 is .188 which'll do just fine unless your going use it as a pry bar. The tip is ground about 1/2" back on the false edge at a 20 degree angle. It was a tip I found on this forum (thanks guys). As you can see I am no bladesmith in any sense of the word, my ideal grip consists of cord and gorilla glue. I hope this helps. ;)
 
Thanks nozh2002, but I think the RosArms are a bit expensive for me.

with what did you grind the edge down? grinder? file? lots of bench stone?
Also, why is the knife not sold like this? Is a tip like this illegal in some places?

What is a good angle to sharpen the rest of the blade at?

The Chef said:
Link it, I haven't seen em.
Click to expand...
the grips
 
egroeg555 said:
Thanks nozh2002, but I think the RosArms are a bit expensive for me.
Click to expand...

It is bit price friendly then it looks - it is around $95 on their site
http://www.rosarmsusa.com/catalog/p...id=35&osCsid=b2507df19af34c3168fc5451e6a1f964
But there are models less expensive.

Again for camping, hikeing, and backpacking this knives preferable for me because they light, stainless, ergonomic. And this is why they are so popular in Russia among hunters, fishermen - outoorsmen. If you have to hike for several days weight came to be most critical.

Thanks, Vassili.
 
The Beckers and SRK are made out of the same steel, with ostensibly the same heat treat. It is a very good steel for general purpose use outdoors, at least I like it. I prefer the SRK to the Beckers in general, as it is smaller and lighter to carry. It's great for most camp tasks, but isn't a chopper. The edge on the SRK and Beckers are all a little thick for my liking, but that's easy to fix on a benchstone. I really like the SRK.
 
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