Haze's Tough Guy BK9 Passaround Discussion and Review thread

[Pa_Slasher]

I love the way this BK9 looks. I have both the 7 and 9, and I was wondering which one you guys think would be better to do. And who to have do it because I have nothing to do the blade mods. I would pay not looking for a handout just recommendations.

 

[crimsonfalcon07]

Well, you may note from the thread that the guy who did the mods on this was our very own Haze. So that might be a great place to start...

I took a bunch of pics and filled my garage with splinters and wood chips and stuff. Will post probably on Sunday when I get some more down time.

 

[crimsonfalcon07]

The review continues! I've actually shipped this knife off already to Godspeed, and am sorry to see it go. It's a heck of a blade. Anyways, here's what I did with it in the short time I had it.

I went out and chopped up some scraps of 2x4 that I had left over from making my workbenches for my shop, to start out. I had a tough time getting the wood to NOT split like moses and the red sea. I finally managed to get a light enough wrist flick to only cut halfway. Seriously, this is just flicking my wrist, no arm at all:

Cutting with the grain is like nothing. I was impressed, but then, all of the other blades I tested also destroyed 2x4's along the end grain with very little effort. My 18" HI WWII model couldn't NOT split it, it seemed, since moving it at all gave it too much momentum given the heft of the blade. It's way heavier than Haze's 9, so it was a bit of an unfair matchup. So instead, I ended up trying to cut them across the grain. Turns out that's quite hard. Here's how far it did (or didn't) sink in on one good thwack, using a snap cut:

It got in a bit, but not much for sure. It does better on diagonal cuts, but straight in, it didn't seem too happy. None of the other blades fared well at this either, however:

Next I tried a diagonal swipe at the edge of one of the pieces:

Bit in a lot better. The HI was the clear winner on this test, however. The extra heft and forward balance bit in quite deeply:

The Ka-bar Kukri Machete did pretty well too.

I wanted to see how stabby it really was. Pulled a Cold Steel, and, haHA!, slammed it into a 2x4. Forget that cardboard stuff! Tip had pretty solid penetration, and didn't deform or roll the edge or anything. This is a sturdy blade! I think it would penetrate web gear and Kevlar body armor quite well. It's got a good profile for that.

Draw cuts along the edge were like butter.

Well, then I decided to try it on a big sheet of plywood I have, that exists purely for being smashed by sharp objects. I took a good solid swing, to see how deep it would bite, and...

Whammo! Not too shabby! The convex edge came out quite nicely too, without much tugging required, which is nice. I hate it when the blade binds. The HI eats that stuff quite well with it's thick convexed wedge of a blade, and the sheer heft of it, but you'll notice that it's barely cut deeper than the BK9, and it's nearly twice as heavy. It doesn't bind at all, however, so it's got a bit of an advantage there.

The Ka-bar did quite well in terms of how deep it cut, but it binds a lot, and was hard to get out. It clearly loses this competition:

By this point, I'd sharpened the sword I made, and had Darrin Sanders heat treat. It bit in deeply, and I was happy to see that a 23" OAL, 18" blade with balance seriously forward, was able to outchop the smaller blades.

Had to use the Hanwei Viking Axe, just for fun, also:

I followed up with cutting up an old carpet that we'd been using as a bath mat. It ate that stuff up nicely. Unfortunately, at this point, my camera battery died, and then my wife threw out the scraps. So no pictures Did a fine job at that task, and it barely touched the finish at all. It was still capable of push-cutting newsprint after all that punishment. It's a fantastic knife, and probably my favorite to date, although the 10 is my favorite of the ones I own. Haze's improvements and mods were very useful and well-thought out, and the performance of the 9 is stunning, considering it can chop with much heavier blades. I'd say the HI WWII was overall the best, but it's got an additional 3" on the BK9, and is twice as heavy to boot. Haze's 9 can go to town with the big boys, and at a much lighter weight. More, it's a fast blade, and would serve well as a combat blade. I liked the balance of it, and you can pretty much chop a shipping box in half with one swipe in reverse grip even. My wife flat refused to let me use it in the kitchen. She said that it was too much of a scary knife to be allowed near her food.

Okay, so before I shipped it off, it was time for looking tough. I had planned on just doing a martial arts pose, but I managed to snag my finger on the lanyard and the blade got a little away from me. Not much, but got a bit of blood:

I managed to get a B out of the real blood, and then used some beet juice and corn starch to mock up some fake blood. Yeah, it's fake. I didn't bleed THAT much.

Rar!

I'll be sorry to see this blade go. It's a lean, mean, chopping and fighting machine, and it definitely puts the BK9 on my list of Beckers that I think everyone MUST have, especially with Haze's mods. I think my favorite part is how well the finish is holding up, although the tip profile comes in a close second. I'll be excited to see what Godspeed comes up with as well. Thanks very much for letting me try this out. I'll be looking forward to seeing who ends up getting to keep this gorgeous blade, and buying one of my own if it's not me.

Godspeed, it's on it's way to you, should have it by Monday at the latest.

 

[Moosez45]

Godspeed, it's on it's way to you, should have it by Monday at the latest.

Freakin' awesome review, bro, I loved it.

Good pose too, sexsay.

Moose

 

[crimsonfalcon07]

Glad you enjoyed. You were right, that's one sweet knife. Nothing like holding one and getting to use it to tell you that yes, I do indeed need this knife. My 2 hangs on my knife rack, and rarely gets used. The 9, I already know I'd use for a number of different things. It would probably be my go-to fondle knife. As soon as I get employed again, that one's going to join my collection.

 

[B.Mauser]

Great review! :thumbup:

Man I love the BK9. My 2 is mad at me for neglecting it but just cant put down the 9.

 

[Moosez45]

Great review! :thumbup:

Man I love the BK9. My 2 is mad at me for neglecting it but just cant put down the 9.

Knive abuser.

Shame on you and your epic beard.



Moose

 

[mrn8]

Nice job cf! It's been cool seeing how people decide to use this beast.

I'm going to grab a 9 once the new one's come out. I found a 7 for a great price, but it just doesn't match up to the 9 for chopping and splitting.

 

[B.Mauser]

Knive abuser.

Shame on you and your epic beard.



Moose

The DevilMoose made me do it.

 

[Murphnuge]

This is coming along pretty damned well guys! Mauser, awesome pic!

 

[crimsonfalcon07]

I would be happy to get in on a Machax pass-around

Getting to use this knife for a week really helped me know that I definitely want a 9.

 

[The Warrior]

Just getting caught back up on this thread. Nice reviews gents.

 

[GODSPEED TACTICAL]

Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait!

 

[GODSPEED TACTICAL]

Just wanted to make a simple update. I got the 9 yesterday A customer of mine had just taken down a tree and while I was at this house I figured I'd try chopping on a good sized piece of trunk he had and Man! This thing feels really good and bites deep. My initial impressions..... I'm surprised at how sharp the edge is and I really llike how the finish has held up.... and I like the flatness of the finish too.

I'll be setting up an obstacle course, and building a sheath for this knife too. I've got an outing with one of the ESEE instructors this weekend so It'll be going along for some "Camp" chores and wood processing... plenty of pics to come but I might not have them posted till Monday.

So stoked,

Eli

 

[Moosez45]

Just wanted to make a simple update. I got the 9 yesterday A customer of mine had just taken down a tree and while I was at this house I figured I'd try chopping on a good sized piece of trunk he had and Man! This thing feels really good and bites deep. My initial impressions..... I'm surprised at how sharp the edge is and I really llike how the finish has held up.... and I like the flatness of the finish too.

I'll be setting up an obstacle course, and building a sheath for this knife too. I've got an outing with one of the ESEE instructors this weekend so It'll be going along for some "Camp" chores and wood processing... plenty of pics to come but I might not have them posted till Monday.

So stoked,

Eli

Reuben or Reza?

Moose

 

[mrn8]

Can't wait to see what's in store for the outing! I wanted to get out and do some winter camping to test it out, but having just gotten back from a 2 week trip, the timing didn't work out.

 

[GODSPEED TACTICAL]

Reuben or Reza?

Moose

Man if I handed this blade to either one of them I might not get it back! No it's one of their survival instructors (AverageIowaGuy) and he's bringing a ZT and a Benchmade Adamas for me to check out and he doesn't know about this knife yet cause I wasn't sure of the timing but it's about to get "Beat-up from the feet-up" Can't wait to put this through it's paces, I've designed a mechanical arm to test side-by-side with a stock BK9 that hasn't been used for anything but making sheaths yet.

Now I need to design/spec out a sheath for it.

MRN8, speaking of sheaths yours is on it's way:thumbup: In Wisconsin you have a "real" winter, it's been raining hard here but it'll warm up by this weekend. There'll be some Youtube reviews being made at the outing that I'll post up too.


Eli

 

[Moosez45]

Man if I handed this blade to either one of them I might not get it back! No it's one of their survival instructors (AverageIowaGuy) and he's bringing a ZT and a Benchmade Adamas for me to check out and he doesn't know about this knife yet cause I wasn't sure of the timing but it's about to get "Beat-up from the feet-up" Can't wait to put this through it's paces, I've designed a mechanical arm to test side-by-side with a stock BK9 that hasn't been used for anything but making sheaths yet.

Now I need to design/spec out a sheath for it.

MRN8, speaking of sheaths yours is on it's way:thumbup: In Wisconsin you have a "real" winter, it's been raining hard here but it'll warm up by this weekend. There'll be some Youtube reviews being made at the outing that I'll post up too.


Eli

Eli, my friend, you are in for a treat. I know Doc, well. And he's one of those few friends that I have, that I would fight Hell with a super soaker for. Doc is absolutely one of the best people I know, and so funny, you're guts are gonna be hurtin' for a few days.

Awesome stuff, and glad to see Doc out and about.

Moose

 

[scouter27]

Isnt Naval Infantry better than Navy Boi lol.

Infant Navelry?

Marines make the best tuff guy poses.



Moose

You betcha...

tough cookies! I realized not too long ago that in every picture of me from Iraq, I'm smiling like an idiot. But not only that, I'm the only one smiling at all... Is there something wrong with me? Probably.

One of three is actually a Corpsman (you figure it out, it's not too hard), but you get the idea




Great review guys. That park'd finish just keeps looking better Keep it up!

 

[Psyop]

Infant Navelry?

Marines make the best tuff guy poses.


Moose[/QUOTE]


You betcha...

[IMG]http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/praharin/marines/P1010085.jpg




WTF where are their weapons? I guarantee you wont find a pic of me in the Sandbox with no weapon.