Hey, Im new here! Looking for opinions on some knives...

T

"That Guy"

Joined
Aug 13, 2013
Messages
10
Hey guys and girls, I was just wondering if you all could give me some opinions on certain knife companies. Before purchasing every knife I have, I came here as a guest and checked the forums to see reviews, comments, and concerns of knives. I must say you great people have helped me avoid the crappy knives and have steered me into the good knife category. Now in no way am I a knife guru or expert on steels, but I have learned a great many things from reading the forums here. And for that I am appreciative. Now, allow me to get to the point :D. I've been in scouting for a few years and have recently left the program. However I'm an avid hiker, as well as a camper. I love the survival aspect of the outdoors. When I say camping, I'm not talking about in an RV or in a cabin, I'm talking in a sleeping bag in a tent.. and sometimes just outside. However The only knife I have for camping is the tops BOB knife. Don't get me wrong, its a fantastic blade and I even got black and green micarta handles with it, Special model? But I digress, I'm looking for some very solid medium to hard use knives for around camp and woods areas. I am currently considering the Becker knives from Kabar. Any and all opinions are welcome!! -T~G
 
Welcome and love the name. I personally love esee and becker knives as outdoor knives. Like my bk12 the most so I just sold my esee and benchmade fixed blade knives. I really think you only need one good "go to" knife in the 5 to 6 inch range. It really depends on what you actually use it for. If you are like me you may try 15 different ones before you figure out exactly what you want..... and hopefully your needs won't change for a while.
 
Beckers have a great reputation and a lot of support here. I personally went with an ESEE 4 over a Becker for the stock micarta handles and sheath, but Becker has a lot more options available. Can't go wrong with either, IMO. I also carry a Fallkniven F1 occasionally.

What don't you like about the Tops BOB? Are you looking for something larger, smaller, about the same? Is the blade steel important to you? Just some questions that may help you narrow the field and get some better feedback.
 
I absolutely LOVE my BOB. problem is.. the blade is too small for tasks like chopping and clubbing larger logs, I usually have an axe for most wood splitting, however when I go on overnight hikes, an axe isn't the most practical tool to strap to your belt. -T~G
 
I am new here as well, I do not mean to thread jack. I have done a lot looking as well for a new knife which has lead me to ESEE, may want to look into the junglas or esee-6. Those are the ones I decided on when looking for a new knife for hunting and camping. I am hoping the junglas will be good for helping me clearing up my new hunting lease I got this year!
 
That's actually pretty good information! I was also looking for something to clear brush on hikes and "adventures". Haha. Thanks for the input everyone! -T~G
 
Rather than an axe, try a folding saw. The Bahco Laplander is lightweight and posers through everything I have thrown at it.

My go-to blades for camping etc are either the ESEE-4, Bark River Aurora, or Fallkniven F1 with the Bark River micarta scales. Nothing wrong with the Beckers except for the fact that the handles on the smaller BK-15/16/17 didn't quite work for me. I love their bigger knives though and my BK-9 is one seriously tough chopper.
 
+1 ozgooner

I've been tempted by the ESEE 6 & Junglas, but decided to stick with my 4" blades and a folding saw (mine is a Felco).

My "chopper" is a 14" Tramontina trail machete I picked up from Baronyxknife.com (BF paid dealer), who put a wicked convex edge on it and squared the spine for a few extra bucks. IIRC, it was under $20. It suits my needs very well.
 
Becker BK7 and BK9 both get a seal of approval from my uses of them. The Ka-Bar Johnson Adventure Potbelly has also done well for me. Never used any ESEE blades personally, but Ethan Becker is a man with my respect and Jeff Randall is a man with Ethan Becker's respect, so between that, the warranty, and the reviews I'll say those are probably worth a shot.
 
For a larger, but not to large for belt carry, the BK 7 with a BK 13 piggyback works quite well. The black finish wears or strips off easily. I made Micarta scales for the 7, and G10 scales for the 13. Less than $100 for the whole package.
 
Ok, so im definitely getting the bk9 bk2 and bk7, however I need something like a machete or hatchet to get through larger brush, but need something light enough to carry on-person. Hoping for input! Thanks for the opinions so far! -T~G
 
[QUOTE="That Guy";12529938]Ok, so im definitely getting the bk9 bk2 and bk7, however I need something like a machete or hatchet to get through larger brush, but need something light enough to carry on-person. Hoping for input! Thanks for the opinions so far! -T~G[/QUOTE]

A piece of advice that I wish I had when I made my purchases - consider the BK22 instead of the BK2. The only difference is the sheath. The hard shell plastic (glass filled nylon, IIRC) sheath that comes with the BK2 is a real bear to use, The knife is very tough to get out even after substantial use. The BK22, OTOH, comes with a heavy-duty Polyester sheath with front cargo pocket & Velcro closure. Much more useful and easier to use, IMHO. In the end, I bought the polyester sheath to replace the glass filled nylon

Also, take a look at the BK12, aka Doug Ritter Perseverance. A bit more costly, but it is my current favorite in my Becker stable.

Best of luck on your decision. :)
 
Thanks breeze! your a saint! (see what I did there, hehehe). But I checked out both and I'm definitely going with the BK22, however I still need something for clearing brush, Ideas?? -T~G
 
[QUOTE="That Guy";12531824]NICE! how about the cold steel jungle machete?[/QUOTE]

I like Cold Steel's machetes just fine, but they take some work to get sharp as the factory edge is abysmal. They also use a lower carbon grade than Condor and thus need sharpening a little more often. But to be honest, my Magnum Kukri Machete hasn't let me down yet so I have to give them a thumbs up, at least for the price.
 
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