I think it's time to buy a Becker

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One handgun I think everyone should have is a 4" .357 Magnum double action revolver, preferably stainless. You can practice/target shoot with .38 Special, defend your home with hotter loads, or carry and conceal it if you have to. It might be a stretch to say you can hunt with it, but it makes a pretty good trail gun. It is not ammo sensitive like a semi-auto, and you can get loads from mild to hot, as well as shot loads. It can serve well enough in a lot of roles, but often it is not the best choice for a specific role. If you own a lot of handguns, you may not use it much. But if you ever consider seriously thinning the herd, it might be one of the last to go. Point of all that? Many knowledgeable folks here say similar things about the BK7. In an interview, Ethan said his goal was a modern, better version of the iconic KA-BAR US Military knife. I think he did an admirable job. IMO, The 7 should be looked at in that light.

It is difficult to do much with detail work with the actual point of a trailing point knife. But they slice really well, and they probably stab pretty well. The 5 and 15 are often mentioned for martial arts and kitchen duty. Seems a weird pairing, but it makes sense. My bet is the people who like them do more slicing than chopping and heavy batoning.

The 16 and 17 can do a lot of the things you do with a knife. I like straight clips on small blades, in case I want to do a bit more with the point, but that's just me. The 11, 14, and 24 are really easy to carry. I personally would like to see a shallower profile with a bit more point, but again, that's just me.

If you just want a big azzed blade of "conventional" shape, 9. Want bigger and heavier? 20 or 29. The 3, 4, and 21 each seem to be pretty darn purpose built.

You can take just about every Becker in the lineup and figure out how well it will do certain things. Every now and then, someone "discovers" a "different" use. A good example of this is people commenting on how well the recurve of the 4 and 21 works as a draw knife. However, I wonder if it was a surprise to the designer?

The point of all this rambling is this. Ethan may have designed or built an "art" knife somewhere in his past. I cannot say. But virtually all the knifes in the current lineup are designed to fulfill a purpose, to DO a job. "Becker knives work for a living" isn't something some advertiser thought up. Well, OK, maybe it is, because I don't really know. But it is truth, no matter where it came from. Once you figure out what you want the knife to primarily be used for, and the more you understand how blade shape helps you do it, you will do a good job of picking out good ones. Maybe more than one, but good ones.

What really needs to happen here is someone should persuade Ethan to write a mini history on the design goals, intended purpose, etc. of every model. I have never met the man, but on video he gives very insightful, engaging talks about any model you care to discuss. It would be cool if all that was written down in one place.

I guess I got a little long winded and sort of hijacked the thread. Sorry. But having typed all that, I'm NOT going to delete it!
 
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Gun Doc said:
One handgun I think everyone should have is a 4" .357 Magnum revolver, preferably stainless. You can practice/target shoot with .38 Special, defend your home wit hotter loads, or carry and conceal it if you have to. It might be a stretch to say you can hunt with it, but it makes a pretty good trail gun. It is not ammo sensitive like a semi-auto, and you can get loads from mild to hot, as well as shot loads. It can serve well enough in a lot of roles, but often it is not the best choice for a specific role. If you own a lot of handguns, you may not use it much. But if you ever consider seriously thinning the herd, it might be one of the last to go. Point of all that? Many knowledgeable folks here say similar things about the BK7. In an interview, Ethan said his goal was a modern, better version of the iconic KA-BAR US Military knife. I think he did an admirable job. IMO, The 7 should be looked at in that light.

It is difficult to do much with detail work with the actual point of a trailing point knife. But they slice really well, and they probably stab pretty well. The 5 and 15 are often mentioned for martial arts and kitchen duty. Seems a weird pairing, but it makes sense. My bet is the people who like them do more slicing than chopping and heavy batoning.

The 16 and 17 can do a lot of the things you do with a knife. I like straight clips on small blades, in case I want to do a bit more with the point, but that's just me. The 11, 14, and 24 are really easy to carry. I personally would like to see a shallower profile with a bit more point, but again, that's just me.

If you just want a big azzed blade of "conventional" shape, 9. Want bigger and heavier? 20 or 29. The 3, 4, and 21 each seem to be pretty darn purpose built.

You can take just about every Becker in the lineup and figure out how well it will do certain things. Every now and then, someone "discovers" a "different" use. A good example of this is people commenting on how well the recurve of the 4 and 21 works as a draw knife. However, I wonder if it was a surprise to the designer.

The point of all this rambling is this. Ethan may have designed or built an "art" knife somewhere in his past. I cannot say. But virtually all the knifes in the current lineup are designed to fulfill a purpose, to DO a job. "Becker knives work for a living" isn't something some advertiser thought up. Well, OK, maybe it is, because I don't really know. But it is truth, no matter where it came from. Once you figure out what you want the knife to primarily be used for, and the more you understand how blade shape helps you do it, you will do a good job of picking out good ones. Maybe more than one, but good ones.

What really needs to happen here is someone should persuade Ethan to write a mini history on the design goals, intended purpose, etc. of every model. I have never met the man, but on video he gives very insightful, engaging talks about any model you care to discuss. It would be cool if all that was written down in one place.

I guess I got a little long winded and sort of hijacked the thread. Sorry. But having typed all that, I'm NOT going to delete it!
Click to expand...

No, that is a great post, a very well thought out bit of verbage and whatnot. Surprisingly the 9 and the 4 find themselves being interchangeable among certain members. Definitely odd considering how different those two truly are from one another.

I love the idea of getting Uncle E to talk about them. Even better would be video for each of them. Would be a great undertaking for someone inclined to such things, like The Truth About Knives *hint hint*.

I believe at one point someone was going to try to do that but they flaked out or something, not really sure. I will call the boss though and see what we can make happen. But by all means, keep talking, discussing, challenging eachother, that is the point of this.

Knowledge, skills, the ability to do with these tools that which needs done, that is what we strive for here.
 
DerekH,

Thanks for the reply. I would prefer writing to videos, but that's just me. Either way, I think it would be a good idea if some type of outline were followed. Not necessarily a questionnaire format, although I guess it could be. From the videos I have seen of Ethan, and the things he writes, he will flesh out an answer in an engaging and interesting way. It doesn't seem to matter if he is talking or writing. You certainly wouldn't want to limit any interesting "side tracks", but it wouldn't hurt to have a bit of a "roadmap" to keep things on track. Just off the top of my head, I came up with the following:

When was it designed?
Why was it designed? (i.e. requested by a company, someone, or Ethan’s idea)
What were the primary uses it was designed for, i.e. the design goals?
What previous knives were influences? (e.g. the Collins “Marine Raider” for the BK20)
Who collaborated on the design? (e.g. Jerry Fisk for the BK5)
If the design has a name, who named the design, and how did that come about?
When was it first made, and by what company?
When, how, and why has the design changed?
When was it first made by KA-BAR?
When was it last made?
Why is it no longer made?
What was learned or what "surprises" happened as the design was created or perhaps after people began to use it?
What nicknames did the design acquire? (Allman Brothers' tune names don't count, if you get that obtuse reference . . . )

It would also be good if he gave some history on the handle designs, at least for the "big" handle and the tweeners.

Done well, I think this would be a pretty cool thing. But it is also a lot of work. If Uncle E agrees to it, whoever does it really should think about the outline in more detail than what I quickly came up with above. Some of that stuff is history that may be a bit dry or boring, but much of it is not. You wouldn't want to get deep into the process only to realize you were leaving something important out. To me, it is kind of like creating and grading an exam. I've found the more thought I put into an exam, the better a test it is and easier it is to grade. But no matter how much thought I put into it, it seems I always start to grade, grade a few, figure out what mistakes the students are making, start over, then repeat a time or two before the process gets rolling smoothly along.

If nothing else, it might help people decide which knives to buy, which is how this thread got started.
 
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Gun Doc said:
DerekH,

Thanks for the reply. I would prefer writing to videos, but that's just me. Either way, I think it would be a good idea if some type of outline were followed. Not necessarily a questionnaire format, although I guess it could be. From the videos I have seen of Ethan, and the things he writes, he will flesh out an answer in an engaging and interesting way. It doesn't seem to matter if he is talking or writing. You certainly wouldn't want to limit any interesting "side tracks", but it wouldn't hurt to have a bit of a "roadmap" to keep things on track. Just off the top of my head, I came up with the following:

When was it designed?
Why was it designed? (i.e. requested by a company, someone, or Ethan’s idea)
What were the primary uses it was designed for, i.e. the design goals?
What previous knives were influences? (e.g. the Collins “Marine Raider” for the BK20)
Who collaborated on the design? (e.g. Jerry Fisk for the BK5)
If the design has a name, who named the design, and how did that come about?
When was it first made, and by what company?
When, how, and why has the design changed?
When was it first made by KA-BAR?
When was it last made?
Why is it no longer made?
What was learned or what "surprises" happened as the design was created or perhaps after people began to use it?
What nicknames did the design acquire? (Allman Bothers' tune names don't count, if you get that obtuse reference . . . )

It would also be good if he gave some history on the handle designs, at least for the "big" handle and the tweeners.

Done well, I think this would be a pretty cool thing. But it is also a lot of work. If Uncle E agrees to it, whoever does it really should think about the outline in more detail than what I quickly came up with above. Some of that stuff is history that may be a bit dry or boring, but much of it is not. You wouldn't want to get deep into the process only to realize you were leaving something important out. To me, it is kind of like creating and grading an exam. I've found the more thought I put into an exam, the better a test it is and easier it is to grade. But no matter how much thought I put into it, it seems I always start to grade, grade a few, figure out what mistakes the students are making, start over, then repeat a time or two before the process gets rolling smoothly along.

If nothing else, it might help people decide which knives to buy, which is how this thread got started.
Click to expand...

Oh I completely understand, writing, or rather reading, is my preferred method of information acquisition. Everything else feels slow, but with Uncle E, he tells such a great tale usually, and engages so often, letting him cut loose with a video would be a lot of fun, plus it would be more in line with some previous ideas we have had in getting his knowledge passed on en masse. As far as a roadmap, I agree, some key questions about each model would be good. I reached out to The Truth About Knives (TTAK) and we will see what happens. Might be right up their alley, or it might be a pass, but since Clay lives in those areas, it could be a good fit. Time will tell.
 
Gun Doc said:
One handgun I think everyone should have is a 4" .357 Magnum double action revolver, preferably stainless. You can practice/target shoot with .38 Special, defend your home with hotter loads, or carry and conceal it if you have to. It might be a stretch to say you can hunt with it, but it makes a pretty good trail gun. It is not ammo sensitive like a semi-auto, and you can get loads from mild to hot, as well as shot loads. It can serve well enough in a lot of roles, but often it is not the best choice for a specific role. If you own a lot of handguns, you may not use it much. But if you ever consider seriously thinning the herd, it might be one of the last to go. Point of all that? Many knowledgeable folks here say similar things about the BK7. In an interview, Ethan said his goal was a modern, better version of the iconic KA-BAR US Military knife. I think he did an admirable job. IMO, The 7 should be looked at in that light.

It is difficult to do much with detail work with the actual point of a trailing point knife. But they slice really well, and they probably stab pretty well. The 5 and 15 are often mentioned for martial arts and kitchen duty. Seems a weird pairing, but it makes sense. My bet is the people who like them do more slicing than chopping and heavy batoning.

The 16 and 17 can do a lot of the things you do with a knife. I like straight clips on small blades, in case I want to do a bit more with the point, but that's just me. The 11, 14, and 24 are really easy to carry. I personally would like to see a shallower profile with a bit more point, but again, that's just me.

If you just want a big azzed blade of "conventional" shape, 9. Want bigger and heavier? 20 or 29. The 3, 4, and 21 each seem to be pretty darn purpose built.

You can take just about every Becker in the lineup and figure out how well it will do certain things. Every now and then, someone "discovers" a "different" use. A good example of this is people commenting on how well the recurve of the 4 and 21 works as a draw knife. However, I wonder if it was a surprise to the designer?

The point of all this rambling is this. Ethan may have designed or built an "art" knife somewhere in his past. I cannot say. But virtually all the knifes in the current lineup are designed to fulfill a purpose, to DO a job. "Becker knives work for a living" isn't something some advertiser thought up. Well, OK, maybe it is, because I don't really know. But it is truth, no matter where it came from. Once you figure out what you want the knife to primarily be used for, and the more you understand how blade shape helps you do it, you will do a good job of picking out good ones. Maybe more than one, but good ones.

What really needs to happen here is someone should persuade Ethan to write a mini history on the design goals, intended purpose, etc. of every model. I have never met the man, but on video he gives very insightful, engaging talks about any model you care to discuss. It would be cool if all that was written down in one place.

I guess I got a little long winded and sort of hijacked the thread. Sorry. But having typed all that, I'm NOT going to delete it!
Click to expand...

Love me some .357. Ruger all the way. I'm definitely the first group. Not a big chopper. I usually prefer knives 7" or less. Love the 20 and 29 though, just can't afford that kinda action currently.
 
On U-Tube Uncle E does cover a lot of the thought and ideas that went in to some of the designs and such. And some others also chime on on a few others.
 
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