Is it really true; if you have an unsheathed Becker, you will cut your b**s off?

cchu518

cchu518

Joined
Mar 6, 2013
Messages
8,331
All kidding aside, I'm sure you have all read the unfortunate incident of one forum member's experience recently. Someone snarkily noted something to the affect that the thief that had stolen the Becker was carrying it around unsheathed and would subsequently...cut a pair of his anatomy off.

Living in the tri-state area we don't really encounter giant knives unless it's at Walmart and has a Bear Grylls endorsement. That said is a Becker a very high quality giant knife or is there something different about the blades grind and heat treat that makes it cut as well as say a FFG Spyderco draped in S30 and does it cut as well as say said Spyderco in fine cutting situations? The Spine of the Beckers seem really thick, but I've been very curious about these and the Esee fixed blades ever since I picked up a fixed blade Skyline that someone had put through a wicked edge.
 
If you want a super-slicey Becker knife, the little Remora (BK13), BK11, BK14, BK15, BK16, and BK5 are all capable if very fine slicing jobs. The 1095CV that Kabar uses is heat treated expertly, so the edge holding ability is far beyond most carbon steel on the market. ESEE uses Rowen for their 1095 and it is exceptional as well. The ESEE3 is one wicked slicer and I carry it with me in the field nearly all the time.

That said, and edge is what you make of it. Sure, you could put a shallow angled edge on a BK9 or BK2 and it would be really sharp, but that would defeat the purpose of the blade. They are extremely tough fixed-blade knives that are meant for hard work and will hold a great edge longer with a wider angle.
 
That only happens if you stole it.
Most of us just slice up the occasional hand/finger/leg.

They aren't all giant. They run from a little too small, to perfect for EDC, through excellent user, up to "this is a knife."

Beckers are great. I think the things that got them a bit of a cult following are the excellent heat treat on the carbon steel, the handle ergonomics, the ease with which they can be modified and personalized, and the relatively low cost of entry to get started.
 
Going to say the Beckers and Esees are in an entirely different category than any wally world BG knife, or even the fixed blade skyline...

KA-BAR Beckers are working blades... They are built tough and industrial so that they can handle a variety of tasks. Within the line you once again have a variety of blades and blade shapes that can accommodate any persons need. The reason the are so great comes down to a couple things. The geometry on all their blades facilitates high blade function. The Flat Saber of a few of the blades, (BK7, BK2, BK9, BK17) is a very stout/strong type grind to put on a blade, while at the same time they offer full flat grinds to increase overall blade cutting co-efficiency. Now when talking about the steel it is one of my personal favorites. 1095CV (or 1095 Cro-van) is a simple 1095 steel with additional amounts of Vandium, Molybdenum, Nickel, and Chromium added to it, to increase and improve wear resistance, toughness, and rust resistance. Its a great hard use steel that is easily sharpened, can take a wicked sharp edge, and can keep that edge readily. Did I mention that it is economical? The steel overall is not that expensive, yet it performs VERY well. Not to mention all the Offerings from KA-BAR/Beckers are inexpensive. KA-BAR as employees a well protected heat treating method that optimizes the performance of the steel. The heat treatment is another reason these blades are so great. So you are getting a hard use, high value, inexpensive blade, that is a proven performer. Also after market upgrade options are abundant. From sheaths to handle scales, to modding methods, are all over the interwebz. There is a reason so many people love the blades me included. The difference between Esee and Becker is that Esee still uses 1095 but with the famous Rowen heat treat. Esee employs a simple drop point on most of their blades but includes higher end sheathing and handle options on the blades over KA-BAR's Beckers. The Beckers whole idea is to keep it simple and cheap. If you want to upgrade the options you can after market.

Well I think thats enough rambling for now. If you want a good strong blade with a large focus on camping and the outdoors then the Beckers/Esees are for you. If your just concerned with the blades ability to slice, The clip blade on any of my old carbon steel slipjoints will out slice anything. Lol really though the Beckers are great blades and really can not be beat for price and performance in a production blade.
 
cchu518 said:
Living in the tri-state area we don't really encounter giant knives unless it's at Walmart and has a Bear Grylls endorsement. .
Click to expand...

Your looking in the wrong places! There are knife shops, look for them, not the department stores.

Im in philly but there are knife shops in jersey that sells beckers, the price is quite a bit higher than online though. Check out ramsey outdoors on rt 17 if its still around. or Campor, or new graham....army and navy store in robbinsville and so on. You can just google knife shops in jersey too.
 
cchu518 said:
All kidding aside, I'm sure you have all read the unfortunate incident of one forum member's experience recently. Someone snarkily noted something to the affect that the thief that had stolen the Becker was carrying it around unsheathed and would subsequently...cut a pair of his anatomy off.

Living in the tri-state area we don't really encounter giant knives unless it's at Walmart and has a Bear Grylls endorsement. That said is a Becker a very high quality giant knife or is there something different about the blades grind and heat treat that makes it cut as well as say a FFG Spyderco draped in S30 and does it cut as well as say said Spyderco in fine cutting situations? The Spine of the Beckers seem really thick, but I've been very curious about these and the Esee fixed blades ever since I picked up a fixed blade Skyline that someone had put through a wicked edge.
Click to expand...

When we meet up I will show you the little Beckers I EDC, even in NYC.
 
So, your question is are Beckers good knives, or will they castrate. To the first, yes. They have a nice variety of blade styles and sizes. I carry a BK14 in my back pocket daily, and find the BK15 suits most of my needs, but like the BK3 for my truck. Everybody here will like a different variety of the knives for different reasons.

In answer to your anatomy question: put a Becker, or any sharp knife, in your front pocket, and take a little jog. Let us know how it works out for you.
 
That would be great I'm going campo g this weekend and taking a fixed blade for the first time, if I fi d the skyline more useful I'll give it to my brother in law and look to get a Becker! It all sounds very convincing and with a price range not yo try. Are these all made in the same cutco factory? I only ask as my wife has a huge collection from her college days and I use them daily with no issues since we technically didn't pay for them as a married couple.
 
I believe this is best answered by a scene from A Christmas Story.

AChristmasStory_zps5e638632.jpg
 
Hmmmmm.......looks like Mr. Becker has you by the proverbial cojones.

On a more serious note, I carry all machetes, Kukri's, whatever, Mexican style; no sheath, no short & curly's....smooth as hominy grits. :D
 
only if you piss them off. Then they will whack out whatever is within easy reach.
 
cchu518,the answer to your questions is no,yes,no.Semantics notwithstanding a thief is a thief.
 
by a ffg spyderco in s30v, i assume it's a folder? unless it's a mule team (fixed blade) you're referring to. i'd say no becker can compete with that spyderco in pure slicing tasks but i probably wouldn't use that folding spyderco to do fire prep work either...that's why it's a good idea to take both if you're doing primitive-style camping :)

if you like the skyline then one of the tweeners will be a good starting point for you (most likely the bk-16) although the full-sized ones have better handle ergos to me (i like the bk-10 the best). if you pair it with a folding saw you're all set.
 
I usually take a camp axe, hand saw and no pocket knives with me camping. So for our trip next week I'm going to give the fixed Skyline a try and another random pocket knife. We usually do car camping so it isn't anything crazy. I've been carrying a knife around our hikes just to whittle a handle for walking sticks. Should be fun either way!
 
I'm going to skip this thread. From true no BS experience.....there was a time I needed a Becker, but had a Spyderco......that failed.
 
I just came back to work this weekend after a nice weekend camping with the family. I brought four or five different knives with me too. I ended up using my chef knife a crkt drifter and my camp Axe. The fixed blade skyline got zero use.

I think I have to be honest to myself and admit that I'm a spec whore... I love specs and comparing one knife to another. But in actual use I'm just a light use edc'er. Kinda depresses me as I see no reason to get a Becker now. I'm even thinking about getting rid of the knives I never use in exchange for maybe a drifter type knife with better steel.
 
cchu518 said:
I just came back to work this weekend after a nice weekend camping with the family. I brought four or five different knives with me too. I ended up using my chef knife a crkt drifter and my camp Axe. The fixed blade skyline got zero use.

I think I have to be honest to myself and admit that I'm a spec whore... I love specs and comparing one knife to another. But in actual use I'm just a light use edc'er. Kinda depresses me as I see no reason to get a Becker now. I'm even thinking about getting rid of the knives I never use in exchange for maybe a drifter type knife with better steel.
Click to expand...

i know you car camp but i guess you don't like making feather sticks and see if you can light it with just a firesteel? or carving figure-4 traps or spoon while sitting in front of the bushcraft tv, i.e. camp fire? i can do those things with my full-size axe but a belt knife is less unwieldy.
 
We usually try to do intense hikes on or near the Appalachian trail. I.e. hikes with 5 mile approaches to a 3000 ft change in elevation. Our families live in three states so we are usually caught up in campfire chat. Although this last time we were too busy calling the police at 1am. There were some screaming lunatics on something blasting music and screaming at the famy campground. I had finally had enough after others asked them to quiet down for the last three hours. The park rangers and police ended IP hauling them away in the middle of the night.

PS surprisingly I can whittle wet bark and much more with the Chinese steeled drifter. It just does a number on its sharpness. Easily fix with a set if crock sticks on hand.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top