Hunting knife

Cwilliamson

Cwilliamson

Joined
Jun 2, 2011
Messages
243
Hi All,

First post in the Ka-bar forum...Seems to be a bunch of familiar faces that frequent the Becker forum here...fancy that.

I was getting ready to pull the trigger on a BK-5 and someone had to post about the Baconmaker fixed blade...now I thought to myself this looks interesting...both are sorta similar and functional...I have had long discussions with a hunting buddy of mine on the necessary features of a hunting knife when you will be pulling the quarters, backstraps, tenderloins, etc...for the long haul from the backwoods. My friend being a former butcher by trade gave me his insight as it needing at least a 5" blade and some width to cleanly remove the backstraps. I believe the 5 and Baconmaker can both do this, perhaps the slightly wider belly on the Baconmaker would give it an advantage. I found this fall that the buck vanguard and BK-11 I was testing out didn't have fine enough points to get into the hip joints to easily sever the cartilage the way I suspect the 5 and Baconmaker probably can.

This leads me to my quandary...does anyone have experience using both blades in the field for field dressing game? What size animal was it? Elk? Deer? How did they fair? I know I know...buy both... :D

Any input would be wonderful.

Regards,
CWilliamson
 
Lemme get Steve Johnson to field this one for you, brother.

He's used the Baconmaker on game before, so, we'll get his input.

Moose
 
I have no experience with this blade (or with hunting sadly), but I am interested to hear the answer.
 
I called or actually texted Steve about this thread.

Bastid didn't show up.

Lemme see, Steve Johnson, Ok, texting again, with photo of this thread and nasty verbal assault to go along with picture......

There.

See if he can make it in here, this time.

Moose
 
Moosez45 said:
I called or actually texted Steve about this thread.

Bastid didn't show up.

Lemme see, Steve Johnson, Ok, texting again, with photo of this thread and nasty verbal assault to go along with picture......




There.

See if he can make it in here, this time.

Moose
Click to expand...


(grinning) sorry Moose & gang, day from hell.... Baconmaker on game.... it will definitely do the job. To be 100% straight up, the Baconmaker is designed for sticking things; hogs mostly. That said, I've used it to take quite a few deer apart and it works just fine. Ethan is one of my favorite people, and I love the BK-5, hell, I even have one...maybe 2.... (grin) but I am not a huge fan of trailing points for dressing & breaking game. The reason being is it's hard to split the skin on the belly and fore legs without the tip diving much deeper than you want it to and cutting stuff that doesn't need to be and probably shouldn't be cut. For all other aspects of cutting meat I think trailing points are great, you'll find a lot of butchers favor the "scimitar" blade shape for cutting steaks, they're also great for skinning or anywhere else you're making a long, sweeping cut. The Baconmaker is on the big side of what I PERSONALLY like to carry for a field dressing knife and that's why we include a Piggyback with both it and the Potbelly, standard from the factory. The BK-5 or the Baconmaker will work fine for the purpose in question and both will serve you well for a lifetime. If you're asking me to pick, it would be the Baconmaker as the tip is much more conducive to splitting hide without nosediving to places it ought not be and it's got enough belly for efficient skinning of big critters and cutting big pieces of meat into smaller ones. At the end of the day, pick the knife that you like the most and you believe will fit your style of breaking critters. Holler if you have any more questions, I'm happy to help in any way that I can.

Steve
 
Wow, amazing response time Steve (and Moose).

I think it would have taken a taxi more time to get to my house than the time it took for Moose to get Steve from JAB to answer a post.

Thats impressive right there.
 
ocnLogan said:
Wow, amazing response time Steve (and Moose).

I think it would have taken a taxi more time to get to my house than the time it took for Moose to get Steve from JAB to answer a post.

Thats impressive right there.
Click to expand...

We aim to please.

We ask you please aim.

:D

Moose
 
Thanks for all the insight. Of course I will probably end up picking up one of each but I think this seals it for having the Baconmaker as the carry knife and keep the BK-5 in camp for cooking chores or cutting steaks if we happen to be lucky enough to harvest one early next season. 10 or so years ago I carried a caping knife and a hunter but never cared for carrying a combo set.

Well shoot, I'm going to have to get out more so I can use all my knives. :D

Best Regards and thanks again,
Clark
 
Cwilliamson said:
Thanks for all the insight. Of course I will probably end up picking up one of each but I think this seals it for having the Baconmaker as the carry knife and keep the BK-5 in camp for cooking chores or cutting steaks if we happen to be lucky enough to harvest one early next season. 10 or so years ago I carried a caping knife and a hunter but never cared for carrying a combo set.

Well shoot, I'm going to have to get out more so I can use all my knives. :D

Best Regards and thanks again,
Clark
Click to expand...

Clark,

Happy to help out. Holler if you need anything else or have further questions.

Best,

Steve
 
So...It's been over three years since I started this thread and to paraphrase Treebeard “You must understand, it takes a long time to decide on a proper knife and I never buy anything unless it is worth taking a long time to decide.” :D

So after 3 years was it worth the wait? I think so. Both the BM and Piggyback came shaving sharp (from tip to choil), it fits my hand nicely, The scale material is not offensive to my hand but I can see why some would not care for it and it may be replaced at some point. It doesn't feel too heavy and the balance feels good. To be perfectly honest I expected it to be bigger after reading all the reviews. Even the sheath doesn't seem oversized, excluding the huge pocket. The thing that surprised me most about the sheath was that it is so solid. It doesn't flex and won't flop around with the knives removed which is really nice.

I'm well pleased with it and I'll have to put it through it's paces before hunting season arrives. More photos will be appearing and I have ideas for mods. There are always the mods. :)

Obligatory group photo.

baconmaker2_zpsy4olgtly.jpg



Clark
BH #244
 
At 8", the BK5 is too long.

The Becker Tweeners 15/16/17 are better suited.
At 5.5", the BK15 is a smaller version of the BK5 and is my fav.
At 4.4", the drop pt BK16 is favored by many including Ethan Becker, while others prefer the clip pt BK17.
 
If you're going to necro-thread, this is the way to do it. With a useful follow up - preferably to your own post.

Good stuff here.
 
DunkEm said:
If you're going to necro-thread, this is the way to do it. With a useful follow up - preferably to your own post.

Good stuff here.
Click to expand...

I didn't notice the date on the original thread, but this is a great one to bring back from the dead. Designer's thoughts on knives is always good to have. I hadn't really seriously considered using the Baconmaker for dressing game, but may have to give it a shot. Although I'm thinking the Potbelly may be better for this purpose and may try it first.
 
Bladeforums is being stubborn...I can't seem to post with two quotes...

Trying to quote TravisH has been an exercise in frustration.

This has been my experience on the limited number (3) of wild pigs that I've dressed in the last year or so. Before I got my Beckers, I was using a Buck 121 Guide that I've had for more years than I care to remember. It worked well, but I wanted something different. A friend steered me towards Becker knives, and I've since used the BK16 and BK15 on the last pig I worked on. I personally preferred the BK15 for the method that the group I hunt with uses to field dress the piggies. We hunt pigs at night, and typically shoot them in the shoulder to put them down on the spot if possible (using a 300 Blackout or 458 SOCOM). As a result, we don't generally get meat from the shoulders, so we just remove the straps and hams. The coyotes, vultures and other critters enjoy the rest. We start skinning from the center of the spine down each side (like an "I"), so no poking around the guts is required. Using this technique, the trailing point works great since it is the "sliciest" blade design. The tip of the blade is also plenty strong enough to get into the hip joint and break that apart.

I can see where the BK16 is probably better for deer and similar game, but those things generally cost money to hunt here in Texas. Regardless, I much prefer wild pig over deer when it comes to eating anyway. We mostly seem to find young sows, and they are delicious!

Looking foward to your updates, Clark.
 
Thanks for the kind words. I figured it was easier to raise my own zombie than start over.:D

I also do the gutless method in the field depending on the critter and time left on my hunt. I really think the baconmaker will be a good around hunting knife. I've put in for antelope, deer, and elk this year so hopefully I'll get to put it to the test this fall.

Since I'm doing a backpacking hunt the sheath will probably go away and be replaced with something sleeker for when I'm crawling through the scrub oaks and fallen aspen.

I'll test out the handles with some blood and sweat to see if I'll need to replace them as well but they seem to grip my hand back like a cheese grater barbell.

When I recently decided it was time to pull the trigger on the baconmaker I was surprised that there were no reviews after about 2012 so I figured I needed to rectify that. :)

I do love the Beckers and will need to get a bk5 at some point for camp duty but since my camp will be mobile I need to minimize the knife goodness.

Clark
BH #244
 
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