Eskabar First Impressions

F

FalconerPhoto

Joined
Jul 31, 2012
Messages
49
I call my newest Becker the "Brook Trout". It performed very well at fire building and food prep tasks. I do not like carrying it around my neck if only wearing one shirt. The swinging and banging against my chest bothers me. If I am wearing a flannel or jacket it's much nicer and I like having the knife close at hand. I do NOT like wearing it against my skin or reaching under my shirt to draw and replace. I will be ordering a kydex sheath w/fire steel from Grizzly Outdoors. I like the Ka-Bar scales and used one of each color since the knife has a split personality and, I like high-vis orange more and more as I get older. The blade retained a sharp edge though I do draw and replace it into the sheath with care. Once I get a new sheath it will replace my vintage Schrade Sharpfinger as a belt knife. Funny thing is when I first got the BK-11 for my gf I didn't think I was going to get jealous! The more I used it the more I liked it. The BK-14 just fits my hand at the guard where your index finger wraps around better.

http://s917.photobucket.com/user/falconerphoto/media/photo3-1_zps8701cf8f.jpg.html
http://s917.photobucket.com/user/falconerphoto/media/photo2-1_zpsb8117fa4.jpg.html
 
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The 14 is a hell of a blade. I like the looks of yours.
 
Glad to see you are sticking around, and a little faith has been restored! Welcome to the asylum!
 
The 14 is a heck of a great knife! I carry a similar sized blade on me regularly, and it has proven to be infinitely useful, to the point of causing me to remove several folders from my pocket.
 
DerekH said:
The 14 is a heck of a great knife! I carry a similar sized blade on me regularly, and it has proven to be infinitely useful, to the point of causing me to remove several folders from my pocket.
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I was a black tactical knife guy for awhile but I missed being able to use my right front pocket for other things. That led to my "cargo pant" phase. Royal Robbins/5.11, BDU's etc. For some odd reason I find the need to fill any and all pockets. Whether it's pants or packs I always seem to have enough for everyone. I'm currently in my "less is more" phase. Now I can't stand the weight of anything in my pockets. I come home and can't seem to empty them fast enough! This is why I need a Becker Field Pack. :)
 
I have a few of them that are older. Curious, do the new 14's come with the old style black coating or the thicker black coating that the other beckers are using now?
 
FalconerPhoto said:
Mine had the older, smoother coating. Might just be an older one...
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No, I think that is the way they still come. Anyone know why the 14/24's still have the smooth black coating when the other models now have the newer style coating? Are they going to eventually change also?
 
I'm also a proud owner of a 14, but the sheath on mine is god awful! It dulls the blade unbelievably fast... Anyone else have this issue?
 
Navyblu said:
I'm also a proud owner of a 14, but the sheath on mine is god awful! It dulls the blade unbelievably fast... Anyone else have this issue?
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no, i like the stock sheath. but also have an azwelke kydex that i scored on a trade. both good but custom obviously a little better.
 
I just picked up a BK-14 and have yet to use it for anything yet other give it a good sharpening. I like it. Don't know anything about the kydex/plastic sheath dulling the knife from a practical point of view yet. The BK-14 has the old thin black coating which I prefer to the newer one. I like this size of knife a lot and I have a Dozier Personal (K-42 I believe) that I carry as an EDC sometimes. I find that for the most part, it does everything I need done, even in the woods. As a result, the BK-14 may well fit in with my normal needs. However, the BK-16 has earned a soft spot for woods use. Now I have to see what I think about the BK-7 (old style coating also) in the woods. I'm a bit skeptical about using it much as I have other 7" bladed knives that see little use. But I can see myself choosing it over the BK-2 which was my very first knife in the Kabar Becker line.
 
I also like the size for a EDC knife. I like it better with the handles and dislike the sheath. Would like to see this blade with a regular handle and a belt sheath.
 
Like others have said the eskabar is one hell of a nice blade and surprisingly usable for its small size.

Regarding the coating my eskabar was delivered with the same thick texturized coating and laser etched markings as my BK15, so you probably got an older one. I allso prefer smoother coatings, but it's not a big deal for me because i strip my blades anyway.
 
Navyblu said:
I'm also a proud owner of a 14, but the sheath on mine is god awful! It dulls the blade unbelievably fast... Anyone else have this issue?
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Most certainly. My sheath has loosened up to the point that the blade clicks against the inside of the sheath all the time. I have reformed the sheath at the retention point a couple times to remedy this but after two or three draws its back to looseville. It is this I believe that causes the dulling with MY 14. I'm looking into replacing it with a kydex sheath, just don't know from whom yet.
 
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tueller said:
No, I think that is the way they still come. Anyone know why the 14/24's still have the smooth black coating when the other models now have the newer style coating? Are they going to eventually change also?
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I just picked up a 14 a few weeks ago for my son for Xmas, and it has the new rougher coating and is laser engraved instead of stamped. I have an older 14, which is my EDC, which had the smooth paint (by the way, the smooth paint was way harder to remove than the rougher paint, even with kleen stripper).
 
Tdhurl1103 said:
I just picked up a 14 a few weeks ago for my son for Xmas, and it has the new rougher coating and is laser engraved instead of stamped. I have an older 14, which is my EDC, which had the smooth paint (by the way, the smooth paint was way harder to remove than the rougher paint, even with kleen stripper).
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Mine came off like melted butter with Kleen Stripper. I had to rough the surface up with sand paper so it would penetrate better.
 
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