first fixed blade

D

devdev98

Joined
Mar 11, 2014
Messages
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hi guys like the title says im looking to buy my first fixed blade knife. I really have 3 in my sights. 1. is the esee 6 2. the becker bk2 3. condor primitive bush knife
i know three totally different knives. im looking to do some batoning and light chopping. mainly just something to help get some firewood and clear a bit of brush at my campsites.
 
You did not mention budget. I recommend the Bark River Gunny. Or similar BK.

MIKE
 
sorry budget is under $175. I do like the looks of the bark river. and heard a lot of good about them. just another one for me to consider I guess.
 
Depends on what your going to use it for, for the price the Becker is hard to beat but the ESSE is the one I would go for.
 
devdev98 said:
im looking to do some batoning and light chopping. mainly just something to help get some firewood and clear a bit of brush at my campsites.
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Well ... since you're already looking at the BK2, for batoning, light chopping, brush clearing, and firewood, take a look at the BK4. Not only does it excel at these tasks, it's not called Machax for nothing, it is currently on sale for $60!

ka-bar-bk4-becker-machax-thumb.jpg
 
TravisH said:
Well ... since you're already looking at the BK2, for batoning, light chopping, brush clearing, and firewood, take a look at the BK4. Not only does it excel at these tasks, it's not called Machax for nothing, it is currently on sale for $60!

ka-bar-bk4-becker-machax-thumb.jpg
Click to expand...

the bk4 is a bit bigger than im looking for. preferably I want the blade 7 inches and under. although I recently took a look at the tops silent hero and im really taking a liking to it.
 
devdev98 said:
hi guys like the title says im looking to buy my first fixed blade knife. I really have 3 in my sights. 1. is the esee 6 2. the becker bk2 3. condor primitive bush knife
i know three totally different knives. im looking to do some batoning and light chopping. mainly just something to help get some firewood and clear a bit of brush at my campsites.
Click to expand...

What other tools do you have? The BK2 can chop but it takes a fair bit of effort. Plus it's as heavy as a BK4/BK9. For $175 you could get two, three or even four pretty good tools. Or one really nice one.
 
I would recommend the BK7 or BK10, if you want something lighter than the BK2. The BK7 is a good size for batoning, with the longer blade and all.
 
For any sort of brush clearing, your going to want more blade length than what you're looking at currently. Same thing with chopping. So, with that in mind, the bk4 really is quite a deal, even if its not quite what you thought you were looking for.

Alternatively, maybe just adjusting expectations is all you need. If you remove the clearing brush requirement, you can get by with a much smaller knife. I'd go with the bk10, bk12, esee laserstrike, esee 6, or bk16.

Good luck with the choice :).
 
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ocnLogan said:
Alternatively, maybe just adjusting expectations is all you need. If you do the clearing brush requirement, you can get by with a much smaller knife. I'd go with the bk10, bk12, esee laserstrike, esee 6, or bk16.

Good luck with the choice :).
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I think your right I really don't need brush clearing its just something I would like. the bk7 might not be such a bad idea. at this point I almost just want to draw out of a hat.
 
Even though I Love my 4, for straight brush and up to medium vegetation clearing, I would take a BK5.
If including wood processing, chopping and batoning, I would then take the BK4.

Regarding the BK2, it is a Tank. Hell, someone has batoned it through a steel lawn mower shroud and an AC unit just to show what it can do... Most people don't need to have that kind of durability, strength and weight. Go with a BK10 or better yet a BK12. Take a look at the following thread for a BK10 vs BK12 comparison.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1080709-bk-10-vs-bk-12-picture-request
Knifeworks has the 12.

But, if I personally had to spend $175 on a fixed blades, it would probably be 3 Beckers, one from each line below:
BK4 or BK5
BK15 or BK16
BK 11/14/24
With those you would have your firewood procurement and processing, food prep (including the capability to break down animals as large as an elk or zip open a trout), camp work, a belt knife, and edc blade and clearing a camp site. All in one fell swoop.
Those three should land you under $170, if you shop smart.

Fwiw: I would venture to say that Most of the people who have purchased a BK7 first, end up going for the 9 and the 7 collects dust.
 
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NJBillK said:
Even though I Love my 4, for straight brush and up to medium vegetation clearing, I would take a BK5.
If including wood processing, chopping and batoning, I would then take the BK4.

Regarding the BK2, it is a Tank. Hell, someone has batoned it through a steel lawn mower shroud and an AC unit just to show what it can do... Most people don't need to have that kind of durability, strength and weight. Go with a BK10 or better yet a BK12. Take a look at the following thread for a BK10 vs BK12 comparison.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1080709-bk-10-vs-bk-12-picture-request
Knifeworks has the 12.

But, if I personally had to spend $175 on a fixed blades, it would probably be 3 Beckers; BK4, BK5 and BK16.
With those you would have your firewood procurement and processing, food prep (including the capability to break down animals as large as an elk or zip open a trout), camp work, a belt knife, and edc blade and clearing a camp site. All in one fell swoop.
Those three should land you under $170, if you shop smart.

Fwiw: I would venture to say that Most of the people who have purchased a BK7 first, end up going for the 9 and the 7 collects dust.
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Agreed on most counts there :).

While I don't own a BK7, I do own a Kabar USMC (same blade length, even if its a different profile), and a BK9. I've found that I use the 9 FAR more than the USMC. The 7in blade length is somewhat akward for me. It works great as a combat knife, but its not got enough length to chop, and is still "big" for doing small tasks.

I'm a big fan of the "two knife" system for outdoor work. A smaller blade for most tasks, and a larger heavier one for... the larger tasks. For my, mostly its been a BK9 and a Carbon Mora. But the BK9 could be swapped out with many other larger blades, and even most machetes, and possibly an axe or hawk (depends on if you need to split more or less wood). The BK9 and the Mora weigh a tad more than just a BK2, but will be better at BOTH small work, and chopping/batoning work.

However, if you're looking for a first fixed blade to help baton some firewood, and feather stick some stuff, I think the BK10 will do you nicely. It is also still relatively cheap, and you can keep the rest of your budget for when you learn more what you prefer in a fixed blade (for instance, if you decide that the BK10 is too "small", you could get a BK9 and still be under your total budget).

I would also say that maybe a $13 Mora is in order as well. I got mine at the same time that I got my BK2, just to hear what all of the fuss was about. And as it happens, I use it far more than my BK2.

Good luck. The upside though is that none of these are "bad" choices. Its just which one is "best" for you and what you think that you're going to be doing with it.
 
devdev98 said:
im looking to do some batoning and light chopping. mainly just something to help get some firewood and clear a bit of brush at my campsites.
Click to expand...

Of your choices, I would go with the ESEE 6. The ESEE 5 compares to the Kabar Becker BK-2. Both are over built for normal knife tasks, and undersized for chopping. The BK-7 might be an option. But if you are serious about chopping and batoning, I would lean toward the BK-9 which weighs about the same as the BK-7 and the chopping will be more efficient. I have a BK-7, but not the BK-9.

I bought a Condor Kumunga in June and have been playing around with it since. It is knife shaped with a 10" blade. I thought it would be too long for me to be willing to carry it on my belt. But it feels pretty good on the belt in the leather Condor sheath. This knife is my suggestion for you. I really like the price at about $40 and it will do the defined tasks with ease with a comfortable handle to boot. You always get something else later. But I do tend to go with two knives in the woods and the length of the long knife is primarily related to the tasks I'm mostly likely to perform.

Added: I might say that a 10" knife might just be a bit large for a first fixed blade. But I still like the Kumunga. Hard to choose one blade to do it all without it being less useful for some tasks over others. Can't see slicing vegies with the Kumunga or cutting a steak to eat. That calls for a smaller knife.

The Condor Hudson Bay is another one that is similar to your initial choices in terms of heft. The Matt Graham primitive survival knife is cool, but I can't see myself using it more efficiently than the Kumunga. If for whatever reason you don't think the Kumunga would work well, I'd go with the BK-9.

The BK-15 makes a great general purpose woods knife and it is handy for food prep, general cutting, and batoning. I tend to carry a folder in addition to my fixed blade in the woods. By far, the more common knife I carry these days is the BK-15 or the Dozier Pro Guides knife. I like the BK-15 mostly because I have no hesitation using it and not worried that I might mess up a $300 knife.
 
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