Has anyone tested the BK9 against...

C

captainclemmys

Joined
Jun 18, 2012
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178
Friends,
Has anyone personally tested the chopping, batoning, prying/leveraging, and draw knife capabilities of the BK9 vs. other large knives built for a similar purpose. I am particularly interested in finding out how the BK9 does against the following knives- Bark River Bravo III, Fehrman Final Judgement & Extreme Judgement, Busse Battle Mistress, SwampRat R9, SYCO 911, and/or Cold Steel Trailmaster. I have seen it tested against a few knives that are ~3/16" thick and these include the ESEE Junglas, OKC RTAKII and a few others. But, I have not seen it tested against any of the heavier blades previously mentioned.
Thanks and Chop on (or Chop off...if it doesn't go as planned)
CC
 
I have a Busse ASHBM and a SYKCO 911 I prefer the BK9 for all around use it is lighter in hand and balanced better. I don't care for the resperine handle for batoning it transfers the shock right into my hand is is quite painful. Others have not had that issue. It does split better due to no swedge and the wider blade. The ASHBM will out chop and split the BK9 by a good margin, but is heavy and with my extra large hands I still get the pinkie pinch. None of the above observations take price into consideration but since you can buy about 7 BK9's for the price of the Busse and you still need a sheath that might matter to you.
 
Psyop said:
I have a Busse ASHBM and a SYKCO 911 I prefer the BK9 for all around use it is lighter in hand and balanced better. I don't care for the resperine handle for batoning it transfers the shock right into my hand is is quite painful. Others have not had that issue. It does split better due to no swedge and the wider blade. The ASHBM will out chop and split the BK9 by a good margin, but is heavy and with my extra large hands I still get the pinkie pinch. None of the above observations take price into consideration but since you can buy about 7 BK9's for the price of the Busse and you still need a sheath that might matter to you.
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Psyop,
I certainly see and understand your points. The BK9 is certainly one of lightest knives in the hand when compared to those heavy weights I listed. It is also the least expensive. I did not want to bring price in to the equation as I was more interested in functionality. However, realistically cost and the cost to performance ratio are factors that most people need to consider when making a purchase. In short, I like the BK9 better than ESEE Junglas and OKC RTAKII. I find it to be a better all-rounder when compared to those two. However, in general, I prefer the SYKCO Dogfather for heavier tasks when compared to the aforementioned three. I have not encountered any issues with the res-c handles.
CC
 




I have a thing for big knives and I use them hard. If you want something heavier than a BK9 I can HIGHLY recommend the M-18 By TM Hunt it is an incredible tool that is very well thought out and Todd is a great guy as well.

 
Psyop said:




I have a thing for big knives and I use them hard. If you want something heavier than a BK9 I can HIGHLY recommend the M-18 By TM Hunt it is an incredible tool that is very well thought out and Todd is a great guy as well.

Click to expand...

Great info and good pictures. I am not familar with the M-18 it looks like an interesting knife. Is that a hollow grind in front of the scales?
CC
 
captainclemmys said:
Friends,
Has anyone personally tested the chopping, batoning, prying/leveraging, and draw knife capabilities of the BK9 vs. other large knives built for a similar purpose. I am particularly interested in finding out how the BK9 does against the following knives- Bark River Bravo III, Fehrman Final Judgement & Extreme Judgement, Busse Battle Mistress, SwampRat R9, SYCO 911, and/or Cold Steel Trailmaster. I have seen it tested against a few knives that are ~3/16" thick and these include the ESEE Junglas, OKC RTAKII and a few others. But, I have not seen it tested against any of the heavier blades previously mentioned.
Thanks and Chop on (or Chop off...if it doesn't go as planned)
CC
Click to expand...

The BK9 is a better all around tool than most you have listed because it can slide better into small knife tasks better than most of them, the exception is the R9 from Swamp Rat. For me it does everything the BK9 does it just does them better, now one thing I will say about the R9 is that the handle either fits you or it doesn't there really isn't any middle ground on that lighting bolt handle design. While I haven't tried any of the large Fehrmans I will say the First Strike will out do the BK9 in everything I used them both on. Then again with large knives the performance is more dictated by the handle than anything else you can for example have much better results with a BK9 than a R9 if the handle of the R9 doesn't fit you. I left the Trail Master out because I wouldn't trust one enough to put it to hard use and would easily choose a BK9 over it. Another thing the BK9 has going for it is is 1/3-1/4 the cost of the knives you listed.
 
I've owned the Busse Bushwacker Mistress. While it is a great chopper(after thinning the edge considerably), it was very heavy, and to me, felt unbalanced for a large knife.
I've had a Junglas and Rtak ll. They both chop well, but feel very clumbsy when performing any task other than chopping. The blocky handles don't fit me right either.

The BWM is heavier and will out chop a 9'er.
The Junglas and Rtak ll are very similar choppers compared to the 9.

All things considered I'll take my BK9 over those three for general outdoor use. It chops well(surprisingly well), is comfortable over extended periods of time, and I find it to be balanced quite well. It can chop on par with the above mentioned knives, give or take, but seems to feel better doing "small work".
And as others have mentioned, at half the price of the Junglas and a fraction of the cost of a Busse, the BK9 really is an incredible value.

That being said, I really enjoyed owning and using the BWM and Junglas. Spectacular blades. I just like my BK9 better. :D
 
It depends on the person wielding the knife - a CS Trailmaster can outchop a BK9 or some folks -- others find the BK handle more comfortable and easier to control.
As stated above, Fehrman and Busse are in a different chopping class due to weight if nothing else, and the M18 is a class unto itself.
The M9 and 911 are good knives, and whether or not they will outchop a BK9 depends largely on comfort, just like the Junglas and RTAK II. (for example, even though they look almost identical, I love the Junglas and hate the RTAKII -- totally different feel in hand)
I have no personal experience with the BRKT

Keep in mind, the BK9, M9, 911, and trailmaster are all knives that can chop.
Busse, Fehman, Junglas, & RTAK II are choppers that can be used as knives.

At the spring gathering Psyop used a BK9 to chop through roughly 5.5" of green poplar in a shade under 15 seconds. (he was highly motivated)
 
How does it preform vs. the nine. Guess I'll read up on it. Even though I just be teasing my self if I like it.
 
I Love my Beckers, but the M-18 eats the 9's lunch for chopping and some other chores. The 9 is more knife like, for some things, like stabbing, but the M-18 hits like a freight train.
 
Ok the M-18 is 2lbs of O1 tool steel with a hrc of 57. Named after the M-18 anti personal Claymore. ( Front toward enemy ) Never gets old. Impressive but still can't find a suggested retail price.
 
samclaymore said:
How does it preform vs. the nine. Guess I'll read up on it. Even though I just be teasing my self if I like it.
Click to expand...

well, at the spring gathering, after everyone else was done with the chopping contest, I used Murph's M-18 #33 to chop through the 7+" thick log (they started at the skinny end) in 15.4 seconds, so I would say it's a capable chopper. it also works well as a draw shave, scraper, cleaver, Ulu, 2x4 disintegrator (6 swings to cut through one)........

At Blade show Todd was asking $600 for them.
On a different forum one recently sold second hand for $300 -- and the seller specifically stated he was low-balling the price for a quick sale because he needed funds urgently.
 
Yep very impressive. Yeah that won't even be possible next tax time. Thank you for the details Vik.
 
For the money you cant beat the Becker series of knives, period. In my opinion, the BK9 tells the other knives in its class..."you will sit to pee"! It's not nicknamed the "KING" for nothing. Just my two cents.
 
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