Fixed blade, outdoor/camping knife?

That Mk2 is right up my alley. I love the overall design. However, there were some great ideas in this thread, and as someone mentioned, it diverted off on a tangent, which benefited me in the long run. I like a lot of the Beckers, but the ESEE 5, the Cold Steel Master Hunter in San Mai VG1 and the Ontario Blackbird SK5 are all on my radar now (as well as the Becker 16). I don't see them replacing a folder as my backup, but they would fit nicely on my waist instead of the Mk2 should I be in a more prepared, and less demanding situation. Not that my little weekend trips are hard on my knives anyway.... :)
 
xyrium said:
Not that my little weekend trips are hard on my knives anyway.... :)
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Your weekend trips can be as demanding on your knives as you want them to be.

Next time, take two fire starting methods, food, water, and no shelter.

Start with an overnighter in decent weather, then move up to a weekend, and by the time the fall/winter sets in, you will have a whole new set of challenges to deal with (firewood, and insulation for your shelter, et al)...
 
On the topic of finding bevel angles: this way is the most fun.

There is the paper technique (fold a square into a triangle gets you 45 degrees, half again is 22.5), estimating half a thumb when pressing a thumb against the spine, buying plastic angle guides that rest on the stone (search Amazon), a useless stack of nickels trick, or you can just pick a random angle.

I have a theory though, based on the premise that you want the thinnest useable angle without the edge folding. It's crude, but this approach lets the knife tell you which angle is best. Instead of you telling the knife.

TLDR version
Do this at a low angle

Notice where the edge folds. Then do it again with a high grit stone (1000-10,000-grit +) at a slightly higher angle.

If you want the breakdown, here are the steps
1. Pick the lowest angle you're comfortable with. Usually I aim for a 1/4 inch grind at the edge of the knife. The angle will depend on the grind and thickness of the knife.
2. Once you're sure you're only going to be rubbing that last 1/4 inch edge of the knife, hone until you get a burr. A low grit ~400-grit stone is ideal.
3. Repeat on the opposite side, until you get a burr again.

Congratulations! You can now gently strop the burr away on denim with CrOx and you're done the first phase. Test with paper or arm hair as you strop.

Now, use the knife as you will. Try to avoid hitting tile/rock/stone/granite. Just use a cutting board with food and be careful in the bush.

The edge WILL fold for sure. At least in some parts of the knife. Now you're ready for phase 2.

4. Note where and how severe the folding is.
5. sharpen on a high grit slightly steeper then last time. Focus either in the problem areas or the whole knife. The grit just depends on how severe the edge folded and how much time you want to spend tuning your new edge.

If you want convex, just rock the blade between your old and new arbitrary angles as you do the phase 2 resharpen.

*Note*You could use a denim/CrOx strop down to a 1000-grit stone. Just don't go below 1000 for phase 2.

You've now created a secondary bevel that will hopefully not fold. If it does, rinse and repeat phase 2.

Eventually, you will have the ideal angle specific to your knife, it's steel and your usage.

Personally, I've had success with one to two passes through phase 2.

Here's some pictures of the result on my master Hunter with DLC.
http://vault.sfu.ca/index.php/s/BKw1rOULOuNRCm7
http://vault.sfu.ca/index.php/s/gSzKH4wjnVjGbjr
The tip to get a sense of how steep the angle is vs. The grind, keeping in mind this is the 3V for context.
http://vault.sfu.ca/index.php/s/p2fPj9auR5DrNHo
http://vault.sfu.ca/index.php/s/2QH5Z56dzrd9UMJ

Not flawless execution on my part, but it works. And now it slices like a mofo towards the tip and hacks like a champ at the heel.

Oddly enough, the thicker part seems to prefer a steeper angle (closer to 20 degrees) where the tip likes more of the 10-15 degree range.
 
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You may not consider it flawless, but that's wayyyy more effort than I put into any of my knives (if that wasn't apparent already). I'm curious about all this though, and started adding the dual-sided DMT 6inch stones to my cart for a potential purchase. Are they any good?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GD8WHY/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Edit: BTW, my Cold Steel Ultimate Hunter arrived with a beautifully sharp blade, I'm beginning to look at Taiwan as on par with some of the stuff coming out of Japan. Taiwan is definitely producing high quality products vs mainland China, IMHO.
 
Quick look at the link, there is no grit of the stone. It just says fine/coarse. I'm a nerd so I prefer numbers... not that that actually matters though. It would probably work "fine," of "coarse."

Seriously though, it'll probably suit your style.

Denim and Chromium Oxide - keep it in mind when you want an effortless slice.

I have faced some challenges keeping the DMT hones clean and clear of steel build up (on the tiny credit card size). I find using them dry keeps them the easiest to wipe clean. But I imagine someone else might weigh in on diamond honing maintenance... I hope.

Taiwan/Japan comparisson. Yes. Agreed. I kind of feel like Taiwan and China are an echo of the industrialization of Japan, in the context of manufacturing. People used to think stuff from Japan was junk. Only time will tell.
 
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My DMT came with an eraser to clean it, though it did not do that good a job and i lost it eventually, My DMT was really black so i just put some abrasive cleaning paste on it and used a scrubbing brush and i got most of the black off, then washed an dried it fully.

John.
 
Mora is very good for the price you pay. Not heirloom quality, but will take a beating and then some.

I, personally, need some style with my functionality, so Kellam's puukko lines are favorable for my frequently used bushcraft knives. They sharpen to razor sharp and hold an edge very well for a "factory forged" blade. Also under 100$
 
Thanks Lawlzor. I have a few Helle's that I've been eyeballing. I totally dig the hardwood handle look.

That said, #745 arrived today folks!
 
The DMT dia-sharp works well but I would recommend getting the stone stand thing with it as there is no height to them so you need to get it off of the table or you hit your knuckles. I tried a 2x4 which worked okay but it would slide, the bench just works better and it wasn't too expensive.

Here's a link, with a link to a chart that compares the abrasiveness of stones, DMT is on the right.
http://bladeforums.com/threads/the-grand-unified-grit-chart.856708/

I would also look into the buck knives edgetek diamond stick if you like sharpening with a rod. I bought it for my recurves and hawkbills but found it worked well for everything and there's less setup. It works well for touch ups and I've used it for bigger tasks also. It has 3 grits that tranition well from a very rough grit to a fine, bordering on extra fine in DMT, and a medium in between, all on the same rod.

I was also going to mention that there have been numerous threads about similar knives recently under "bushcraft knife recommendation" or similar. There is a lot of cross over from camp and bushcraft knives, at least based on the recommendations I was seeing at the start of the thread.
 
xyrium said:
Thanks Lawlzor. I have a few Helle's that I've been eyeballing. I totally dig the hardwood handle look.

That said, #745 arrived today folks!
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How do the Large sized Becker handles fit you?

Once you get out and use it, you will come to learn that the shape is where the grip comes from. Uncle E. is a firm believer that a properly shaped handle doesn't need the additional help (and detriment) that roughness adds... Hot spots, blisters, tears in the skin, et al... They all happen more often with a rougher handle than a properly designed smooth one.

There is video of someone coating the stock handle (and hand) in oil, then stabbing a tree trunk multiple times. This was only done to show that,even when wet, greasy, oily, the handle will perform incredibly well.
Give yourself the chance to know you can trust it.
 
If that's a large-sized handle, I'm surprised. It's definitely beefy, but I only take a medium glove, and this handle feels excellent. I feel as if I can control and maneuver the knife well. The blade sliced paper fairly well for a thick blade, so it arrived fairly sharp. I'm in NJ, so I probably won't do any camping for another month or two, but I might be taking this out just to split a few pieces of wood and see how it fares. I have about a cord of wood ready to roll for winter (primarily ambience) but I don't have any kindling. So, perhaps I'll split a dozen pieces, then feather a few to see how the knife feels.

And thanks Bike'. I'll probably add the Buck to my cart. I just ordered the low-priced Lansky Turn Box with diamond rods as well. Kershaw makes the
Kershaw Ultra-Tek Blade Sharpener, and it appears to be the same exact thing as the Buck, yet $8 cheaper. Any opinion on it?
 
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The handles on the BK-2 or similar are a little big for my hands. They are fine for chopping, but too big for finer work for me.

The 8" Coarse/Fine double sided DMT was the first diamond stone I purchased. You will find that you seldom use the coarse side of it on knives. Don't press too hard when you use it. I prefer the larger 8" size for general sharpening and yeah, they are kind of expensive. My second DMT was a 6" extra fine. and then I more recently purchased a Fine/Extra Fine 8" Duo-Sharp. This is the one I use the most along with my 8" two sided Norton stone that is very inexpensive.
 
Hell, if I knew you were in NJ, you could have handled a BK4 and a BK5 prior to your purchase.

Look at my user name...

I would suggest messing with the balance of your knife by messing with it and seeing if you want to remove some of the weights in the handle. Most find that they like the balance and weight a bit more with them all out.

What county are you located in? I am sure there are some hikes not too far from you.
 
My post that you are quoting wasn't in direct response to the OP. It was more in line with responding to the post that I quoted, hence my quoting it.

See below.
Alberta Ed said:
Any Mora would be all you really need.
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NJBillK said:
Any?

Would you include the Eldris in that classification?
Lol
View attachment 742407
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Now with taking the OP into account, while looking at my response as being targeted to Eds' post and how it applies as a whole, you can see that the Eldris wouldn't be ideal, and as such, Any Mora might be a stretch.
 
Thanks gents. I don't whittle any wood, so any of the Becker's would have been overkill for intricate work, IMVHO of course. The choice of the mid-sized Becker turned out to be an evolution of the original inquiry. I think it would be capable of handling almost any situation, though probably no individual situation with great proficiency. It seems to be a great knife, but because you guys forced my hand :p, I ended up getting an Ontario Spec Plus Marine Raider Bowie as well, very specifically for batoning. :)

Between the sharpening input, and the purchase input on this thread, I'll probably be set for the next year in purchases and practice. Well, other than those pesky impulse buys. :cool:

Edit: Oh yeah, I kinda looked right past your username Bill. Good stuff though. I'm in West Caldwell. BTW, I split some wood last night with the Mk2 for the fire pit, and it performed very well. I probably underestimated the need for a longer blade for dedicated batoning as many of the folks in this thread suggested, so that's why I ordered the Ontario. It will be a cheap, dedicated tool. The clip point is annoying, but at least it should catch the end of a baton (2x4 at home).
 
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