Great expectations.....

[CAVEDWELLER]

I finally got a BK7, I orginally wanted a BK9 but couldn't pass up on the price I got it for. Anyway I had some pretty high expectations of the knife based on several post from this forum and the knife just looked well made from the various pics I've seen. When I got the knife I was blown away. I didn't expect it to be this thick, looks like a sharpened prybar. I didn't expect the BK7 to be so big, man this thing is huge! I can't wait to get a BK9. I can't understand why someone would pay so much for one of those other knives when you can get the same quality from BK&T for the fraction of the cost.

 

[calyth]

one thing you may have overlooked is that even though it looks like a sharpened prybar, it is probably still very sharp.
The steel is pretty insane IMO.

 

[averageguy]

I purchased a BK7 sometime back - one of the finest production knives I have ever seen.
I recieved a BK9 today. It's not a bigger version of the BK7.
This one is more chopper than utility - rather thick behind the edge.
It looks like sharpening this when it goes dull will mean reprofiling the edge.

 

[glockman99]

Originally posted by averageguy
I purchased a BK7 sometime back - one of the finest production knives I have ever seen.
I recieved a BK9 today. It's not a bigger version of the BK7.
This one is more chopper than utility - rather thick behind the edge.
It looks like sharpening this when it goes dull will mean reprofiling the edge.

William,
You are correct...The BK-9 is more of a chopper than a slicer (or stabber)...It's pretty much a short, stout machete, with a good handle and excellent steel.

(PS...If you want another BK-7, I'll trade you mine for my "old" BK-9 back, as I like BIG knives..).

 

[Moine]

I have recently got a Becker Brute. I hate to say that, but I don't really like that knife. I also had great expectations. I had heard many great commentaries on this knife as a good chopper with a great, ergonomic handle. I'm a bit disappointed.

I believe that there are many great knives from Becker that I could (should) have chosen, but I'm stuck with that brute for now... Let me explain what's wrong with it, IMHO:

First of all, that damn thing weighs waaay too much. Hanging on my belt (standard military belt), it's really bothering. That brute is so heavy that I actually attached my survival kit pouch to it and I wear the whole thing on my shoulders like a back pack!

When it comes to the chopping power, it's great for a knive, of course. But the blade is so thick (a quarter of an inch...) it can't penetrate wood efficiently. Pound for pound, my old tramontina bolo is a lot lighter and has a much better momentum and reach... I also found out that the you get the most momentum for chopping very near the point of the blade, instead of where the curve of the blade should be helpful. IOW : the brute is probably just that... a stupid grunt.

When you talk about utility stuff and slicing, cutting and everything, the kukhri-style curve in the blade adds some efficiency, but still the blade is much too thick to be good at cutting or slicing. Besides, the blade is heavy and long, and not very easy to work with as a utility blade.

I was asking myself a question... why suck a thick blade ? Wy idea is that it's because of the high steel hardness (58-59 RC), which probably makes susceptible to break... ? I don't know.

For what comes to the handle... well. There was so much bragging about that handle, claimed to be ergonomic and stuff... It's actually a bit too big for me, and, worse of all, it's slippery as a piece of ... when it's wet. Not very good for chopping around, huh ?

The kydex shealth is not very well finished (for example, the nylon strap attached to it is going sideways). The blade moves around in it, making quite a lot of noise whenever I shake the shealth. I don't use this knife as a tactical tool, of course, but it's impossible to be silent when walking...

There still are very good points to this knife: The steel is tough enough to endure serious punishment, and edge retention is great for a knive of that price. Really amazing. The steel is great. The coating is also extremely tough.

It's the blade geometry that doesn't work, period. Okay, okay, my fault: I shouldn't have chosen that one. But hey...

Finally, I customized my brute to give it a bit more wits. I took those handle scales off, and wrapped around some 5mm nylon rope (fits perfectly in the holes) to get myself a secure grip. This gives me a great handle (and a small supply of rope, which can eventually become helpful). I also grinded away some of the obesity of that blade. I took off about 20% of the steel (not kidding), making the edge angle somewhat lighter and the blade thinner. It now chops better, and it's a lot lighter. I hope it will still be tough enough... If it breaks I'm in trouble... I guess I don't deserve the warranty anymore ;^)

Cheers,

David

 

[t1mpani]

Originally posted by Moine
But the blade is so thick (a quarter of an inch...) it can't penetrate wood efficiently.

The thickness adds strength and mass, and makes a shorter blade chop like it's much longer, but you're right, the thickness should taper down behind the edge. I have a number of khukuries and goloks with spines ranging anywhere from 5/16 up to 1/2 inch, but probably narrow to about an 1/8 or less as they approach the cutting edge. I say probably because they're convex and it's hard to say exactly where the edge begins. I turned my Patrol Machete into a narrower convex edge, and its performance skyrocketed. Of course, you have to be a careful to avoid glancing/sideways blows, as the thinner edge won't stand up to them as well, but it's still not fragile. Way back when I received my first GB axe, I wrote and asked them if the "hair popping" edge would really survive much chopping. Their with-a-wink reply was "If you don't know how to use an axe, it might not."

That knife, modified or not, should last you for years and years. It really is awesome steel.

 

[stich]

David, I hear your pain. The BK9 at 18oz is as big (heavy) as I want in a knife, and I'm not even carrying that except in my truck. The Brute is what, about 23oz? And about the same length? My BK9 is 9.3". The sheath is not great on either of my Beckers. On the BK7, I even ripped the nylon getting the plastic out so I could iron it tight, so I had to super glue it back. With that one under my belt, so to speak, the 9's sheath was fixed with no problem. Then I had to sand the inside of the slabs down on the 9 to the same width the 7 has in order to fit my hands properly. Now I'm gonna have to sand blast them in order to cure the slippery problem, and I'm gonna probably drill a hole in the knuckle of the ricasso of both to add a braided D guard. Next, I have to spend another $60 for the BK5 in order to have the best $160 I've ever invested in knives. You would think that they could have got it right the first time! I'm not dissin you pardner, just funnin'. These are great knives. You gotta get the 5,7 & 9.

 

[Moine]

Originally posted by t1mpani
I turned my Patrol Machete into a narrower convex edge, and its performance skyrocketed. Of course, you have to be a careful to avoid glancing/sideways blows, as the thinner edge won't stand up to them as well, but it's still not fragile.

My thinner Brute performs very well for now. It still is tough enough to endure serious chopping. My feeling is that the better penetration in wood is somehow removing stress from the blade while chopping... Any data about such things?

Thanks,

David

 

[t1mpani]

Hey, that makes sense to me. The deeper it cuts, the more slowly the blade will decelerate. I know for a fact that it creates less stress on my hand not to have to swing so hard to get the results I want. For specific data, we'd need a Cliff Stamp or Burchtree or someone to join in here.

Warren