Condor Rodan or Ka-Bar BK2?

[beta464]

I've been looking for a small bushcraft/survival knife with a blade under 6 inches. I've narrowed it down to these 2, could someone help me choose which one to get?

*NOT MY PICTURES, ALL CREDIT GOES TO THE ORIGINAL UPLOADER!*

Condor Rodan:

Ka-Bar BK2:

 

[chiral.grolim]

You'll get a great many more responses in the General forum.

And WOW, neither of those qualifies as a "small bushcraft/survival knife" imho - WAY too fat & HEAVY. Mora, any Mora would better fit that description and carry a better price tag (as well as substantially less weight). There are better knives (e.g. Bussekin) but the price goes up with quality of materials, etc.

But, if you're not actually interested in a "small bushcraft/survival knife", then of those 2 I'd pick the BK2 for quality and USA. Still not a "small" knife of any kind.

 

[SharpArt]

You'll get a great many more responses in the General forum.

And WOW, neither of those qualifies as a "small bushcraft/survival knife" imho - WAY too fat & HEAVY. Mora, any Mora would better fit that description and carry a better price tag (as well as substantially less weight). There are better knives (e.g. Bussekin) but the price goes up with quality of materials, etc.

But, if you're not actually interested in a "small bushcraft/survival knife", then of those 2 I'd pick the BK2 for quality and USA. Still not a "small" knife of any kind.

Agree Not a bushcrafter knife. More a survival knife. If that is the case the Becker BK2 no question about it. Outstanding survival tool. you are most likely want to upgrade to Micarta scales $40 to $50 . And if you really get into it check out Headgehog leather works sheath (not going to mention the price check them out) for it. this knife gives $400 knives a runs for their money. You will be happy

 

[Mountain Wildman]

I would go with the BK-2, It's a solid well made fairly priced knife, Has the removable scales, Micarta and custom wood scales are readily available, Made in the USA, Plenty of sheath options available and has been used successfully for bushcraft applications.

Here's mine with IPE wood scales and Blue liners:

 

[McGrain]

No question, the BK2 and the Condor Rodan "can" do the job but will tire you out very quickly. They are very hefty and more in line with "chop & pry" tools like hatchets and crowbars than knives. However if you are deadset on one of your two above mentioned knives, take the BK2. It's build like a tank and may or may not, feel just impeding and heavy like a tank to work with. Why favor the BK2 over Rodan? Simply for the plastic sheath it comes with.

Go with Mora and or Helle knives.
They don't come in black (so you can find them easier when lost) and don't look all that tactical but are the better deal for what you intend to do plus they only cost a fraction.

+ scandi grind, simple resharpen
+ stainless properties, hardly any maintenance in the field
+ simple plastic handle and sheath, no rotting on you
+ integrated ferro rod for firemaking
+ diamondsharpening pad on the sheath
+ Very light to carry and use
+ durable enough to baton at the same time

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

The Rodan will NOT tire you out quickly. It's similar in profile to the BK-2, but it's a much lighter animal. While the BK-2 can chop if you hold it at the end of the handle, the Rodan is MUCH more of a slicer. Thinner stock with a full flat grind and a thin convex edge. Yet it can take tons of abuse, in spite of its lighter build. The sheath that comes with it is now different than the one in the OP--it's now a "taco" style one like seen on the Bushlore. The Rodan is my most used woods knife in spite of all the more expensive knives I own. It cuts like a Mora but can take much more abuse.

The BK-2 is a great knife (hell--I carry it in my shop!) but my vote goes to the Rodan.

 

[trailbum]

 

[thrillbilly]

 

[plumberroy]

can't give you an opinion on the becker Never touched one . The rodan is a lot of knife for the money, I like mine a lot
Roy

 

[TheGame]

The Rodan will NOT tire you out quickly. It's similar in profile to the BK-2, but it's a much lighter animal. While the BK-2 can chop if you hold it at the end of the handle, the Rodan is MUCH more of a slicer. Thinner stock with a full flat grind and a thin convex edge. Yet it can take tons of abuse, in spite of its lighter build. The sheath that comes with it is now different than the one in the OP--it's now a "taco" style one like seen on the Bushlore. The Rodan is my most used woods knife in spite of all the more expensive knives I own. It cuts like a Mora but can take much more abuse.

The BK-2 is a great knife (hell--I carry it in my shop!) but my vote goes to the Rodan.

I'm going to second this. The BK2 will tire you more quickly.

Although you can't go wrong with either of them..

But, the real answer? Get them both.

 

[endurawave]

Love my Beckers, but the Rodan is a more usefull blade around camp, or about anywhere. It always amazes me how well it will preform small knife tasks, yet still have nearly the brawn of a BK2. And at half the cost I can beat it without care. When it needs touched up I take it to the Kalamazoo sander, with 400, then a leather belt, and it will shave with the best of them. Its a great knife with a nice sheath as well.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Love my Beckers, but the Rodan is a more usefull blade around camp, or about anywhere. It always amazes me how well it will preform small knife tasks, yet still have nearly the brawn of a BK2. And at half the cost I can beat it without care. When it needs touched up I take it to the Kalamazoo sander, with 400, then a leather belt, and it will shave with the best of them. Its a great knife with a nice sheath as well.

Quoted for truth. I absolutely adore my Rodan. It consistently surprises me at how well it's able to perform a full spectrum of tasks with so little compromise. I find that when I need to touch it up all it takes is a few licks of the fine side of my DMT Diafold.

 

[diced]

The becker is higher quality imo, I have two each of the rodan, varian, kumonga and a bunch of beckers. One of my BK2 sheaths dulls the blade though I think its the older model with more glass in it. The condor has a nice leather sheath intead of kydex. The grinds on the condors can be a bit inconsistent but the value for dollar is in the rodan. Both perform well, with the money saved buying the rodan you could also get a mora companion and a fire steel.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Yup--the BK-2 is definitely the higher-end knife, but the value goes to the Rodan and it's a different knife performance-wise. They're really only similar in profile.

 

[upnorth]

I wore a BK-2 pretty much an entire summer and fall a couple of years ago. It is short enough not to be a real nuisance and I got used to the weight fairly quickly. I tried to break it on stumps to prove a point, I failed.

 

[coaldigger]

The BK-2 is awsome but don't knock Condor's , they are a real good knife & you can't beat them for the money !

[/IMG]
Just a heads up...you can get a Condor Hudsonbay & a Condor BushLore or Kephart for about the same the price of the one BK2 ....Just say'n'

 

[22-rimfire]

The recent talk about the Rodan has me curious and interested. I have a BK-2. I base my sense of quality of the Rodan on other Condors I own. I don't think you can go wrong with a BK-2, but it is not a small knife and may or may not fit with your typical usage in the field. So I would get both.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

The Rodan rocks. Get one--you won't regret it. One heck of a hard-use knife that doesn't suffer from "sharpened pry bar" syndrome.

 

[TheGame]

Whenever someone asks something or a Condor, I usually tell them the Condor, since they typically have more bang for the buck. No different here. Beckers are great blades, but Condors are great, too. Can't go wrong with either.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Whenever someone asks something or a Condor, I usually tell them the Condor, since they typically have more bang for the buck. No different here. Beckers are great blades, but Condors are great, too. Can't go wrong with either.

^Bingo.