Is the Bk9 too much knife for me?

The BK-9 is never "too much knife".

BK9_swing_1.jpg
 
The first couple of inches of a blade is where you can put the most amount of power into a cut, so the 9" length makes for a forward balance and harder to control
A longer blade is good for battoning, but you will not be battoning a 9 " log
You have a hatchet for splitting
If you want to use the point of the knife, then a long blade is much difficult to use

Look at the Becker BK 16
It is a 4" + blade and you will find it will give you much more use and much easier to use

Also buy yourself a folding saw
 
The 9 is great, but you may want to ask yourself are you going long distances hiking or truck camping? Access to it in a vehicle is easier, but if you are hiking in, it is a lot of knife to carry, so do check out the 15, 16, and 17. I really like my 7 with the Micarta handles, you may want to check out the 10. It has a shorter blade but in the same profile as the 9. So it depends on what you want to do. I love big knives, but find I grab my 3-5 inch blades, and a good SA knife. Let us know what you got for. Pics are always welcome if you get a chance.
 
There is way too much rational thinking in this thread. Get the dang thing because big knives are AWESOME! No other reason needed! :D

There is a dealer here that sells custom grips for it, check the production knives dealer section for The Knife Connection. I was just browsing their site this morning and saw them. You better believe it gave me ideas!
 
I'll chime in and throw in my .02 cents. All in all, if you are new to knives, I'd recommend you go with something a little bit smaller. Maybe a Becker 2, a Becker 11, an Escobar.. Maybe a Becker 16. Yeah, I think a Bk-2 or a Bk-16 would be just perfect for you, especially if you are wanting something for bushcraft. :-) Also, you can't go wrong with ESEE either -- Izula I, Izula II, Candiru, Esee 3, Esee 4, or the five or six. :-)
 
These people who think that you should buy a BK2 because the 9 is too big are funny. The 2 is a mere 5 ounces lighter, and actually feels heavier, which should tell you quite a bit considering it's so much shorter. Comes from having much thicker stock. Then, to suggest you pack in a saw as well (thereby adding even more weight?), I have to wonder how many of them have actually handled a 9. The 2 was my second Becker. When I got a 9, I was impressed by how light and nimble it was, and not just for having a big long blade (18.25 very well balanced ounces). You won't be dissatisfied with any Becker knife, but the 9 in particular is one of the best.

I have no idea what is meant by "you can put the most power in a cut into the first 2 inches?" That's just not true. The correct area to cut is in the sweet spot of the knife, which will generally be designed by a decent designer around a harmonic curve out from the handle, usually towards the far end of the blade on a chopper. You can (hopefully obviously) put the most power into a cut farther away on a forward balanced knife, since you can use the weight and momentum of the blade to aid your cut. If you can't figure out how to control your knife, you shouldn't be buying any knife anyways, or else you should, you know, practice until you can use your blade safely. It's not that hard, particularly not for someone who already owns a hatchet, which is even MORE forward balanced.

It's not that the suggestions are bad. Small knives and a saw and a hatchet and... etc, work for some. Personally, I'd rather just bring the 9, because it's so versatile that I can do pretty well just with the 9 and dispense with many of the other blades.

Ultimately you should buy what you want and use what you feel most comfortable with.
 
Here's the thing. Get it. You will not be dissapointed...unless...the Bowie that your uncle had was a traditional one. The BK9 might well be the flagship knife in that size. Of course Busse makes many knives like it...and they cost 10x as much. Falkniven makes the Thor...that's about 5x the price, maybe 7x. ESEE makes the Junglas and that's less than twice the price. However, in this class of knife (I'll call them "non-traditional bowies" because there is no formal term for them) there is not going to be anything that can beat it for toughness and nobody can even compete for price (except maybe the Junglas).

I have a BK7 which is less a "Bowie" that a modern interpretation of the traditional KaBar...it's a little bigger than the KaBar. The BK9 is way bigger and it's wider too. I want one and will probably have one someday.
 
Everyone has to own a bk9 it's the law (I think???) after.I bought mine, I got the bk11 and the bk13, now I also have the bk17, with a bk7 and bk10 on route.
You can say I've got the bug bad, but I can honestly say that in my 30 years of using and buying knives, both hobby and in line of army-duty. Pluss construction work. I've never got this find of bang for the buck anywhere else...
And everyone I camp with or serve with want one after trying a Becker out...
Get it, get it, get it!!!!
But I warn you now, they are highly addictive.
There is no such thing as having just one if you get a Becker...
 
crimsonfalcon07 said:
These people who think that you should buy a BK2 because the 9 is too big are funny. The 2 is a mere 5 ounces lighter, and actually feels heavier, which should tell you quite a bit considering it's so much shorter. Comes from having much thicker stock. Then, to suggest you pack in a saw as well (thereby adding even more weight?), I have to wonder how many of them have actually handled a 9. The 2 was my second Becker. When I got a 9, I was impressed by how light and nimble it was, and not just for having a big long blade (18.25 very well balanced ounces). You won't be dissatisfied with any Becker knife, but the 9 in particular is one of the best.
Click to expand...

According to gpknives the BK9 is 18.4 oz and the sheath is 5.1 oz for a total of 23.5 oz, or 1.47 lbs.

Kabar's website says the BK9 without sheath is 1.05 lbs (16.8 oz)

A Silky Super Accel 210 folding saw is .45 lb (7.2 oz)

Folding saws don't have to be extremely heavy and they do offer a lot of performance for the weight. Of course it's all a trade off as to what gear a person feels is best suited for their tasks. Different tools perform better in different environments. The OP needs to look at what tasks he's going to do and decide what the right tool is for the job.
 
crimsonfalcon07 said:
I have no idea what is meant by "you can put the most power in a cut into the first 2 inches?" That's just not true. The correct area to cut is in the sweet spot of the knife, which will generally be designed by a decent designer around a harmonic curve out from the handle, usually towards the far end of the blade on a chopper. You can (hopefully obviously) put the most power into a cut farther away on a forward balanced knife, since you can use the weight and momentum of the blade to aid your cut. If you can't figure out how to control your knife, you shouldn't be buying any knife anyways, or else you should, you know, practice until you can use your blade safely. It's not that hard, particularly not for someone who already owns a hatchet, which is even MORE forward balanced.
Click to expand...


That's only true if your chopping.

For maximum power and control (like when notching) the area right in front of the handle rules.

Knives that feature a choil give up valuable real estate in that regard.




Big Mike
 
I have both a BK9 and a BK15 and the 9 seems the most use by far. It is indeed a big knife but in the hand it feels well balanced. I reprofiled mine and it does a good job at slicing as well as chopping. It sees quite a bit of work in the back yard as general use as well as light chopping.

IMG_0036.jpg
 
ozgooner said:
The BK-9 is never "too much knife".

BK9_swing_1.jpg
Click to expand...

You all have been pushing the BK-9. I will just have to buy one even though I know that I won't carry it often due to its size.

The picture is interesting as I just cut down a big bush in my yard. Yeah, I could have used a big knife, but a pruning shears seems to work better. I used a saw to cut the base down to about 6" above the ground. Then I got the bright idea to try out my rechargable Dewalt recip saw and a pruning blade. Had to work at the base as it was about 6" across to get it near ground level, but the saw worked well. I was pleased. The point about this is that I don't think I would use a knife for such things unless I just feel like it. I have lots of knives that I could have used... but saws and pruning shears work better. So my point is that I may well buy a BK-9, but there are better tools unless that is all you have. In the woods I doubt I would carry a recip saw. But a folding pruning saw will handle a lot of tasks.
 
Did someone say "traditional bowie ?"








Ontario SP-10 Marine Raider Bowie. 1/4" thick 1095 High Carbon steel, made right here in Franklinville NY. Great knife, great grip, great steel, great heat treat, great price.
YOU MAKE THE CALL !!!
 
I actually think the knife gets sharper with use! Get one!
 
You can't go wrong with either the 9 or the 7 or the 2 or the 4 for that matter. I have all of these and they all do thier jobs very, very well. My current set up is the 9 on my hip and either the bk16 or esee 3 attached to the strap of my pack so it sits nice and high on my chest giving me eay access if need be while hiking. That still leaves my 9 free for any chopping I need to do ...alright lets be honest...the 9 is there to be bad ass and scare the bejesus out of the trees..lol.


Either way you can't really go wrong with either of the bigger beckers. They have strengths all thier own and once you get one and spend some time with it you will get comfortable with it and be able to use it effectively at will.
 
I love my BK-9. It is a great chopper, and the handle is so comfortable, that I can use it all day without gloves and there are no hot spots, no blisters. I cannot say the same thing about my Esee Junglas, a great knife, but heavier, and the handle ( at least in my opinion) is not as comfortable.

I find that the performance to comfort ratio puts the Becker slightly ahead of the Esee. In other words, the slight performance gain from the Esee's longer blade/greater weight is canceled out by the Beckers greater comfort.

While it is true that you may never have to baton a 9" log, the BK-9 makes it very easy to baton any size material, and its tough enough to handle very knotty wood.

It also excels at de-limbing and stripping bark.

I find that with a good sheath (I use a Grizzly Outdoors custom kydex) it is really not uncomfortable to cary, even while hiking.

Is it the perfect knife for all tasks? No. But it excels at what it was designed for. For other tasks I Cary an Esee 3, along with the Becker, and a small lightweight folder. The Esee covers just about everything the Becker doesn't, and the folder is backup.

No one knife can cover all bases, but the BK-9 covers a lot of them, and in combo with a good smaller blade, you will never be "under knifed".

Highly recommended.
 
You want one - you may as well get it now because you know you'll eventually have one...

See it chop!
20110528ac06.jpg


Marvel as it snap cuts!
20110507acimg0190.jpg


Grunt incoherently as it gets all paleo and whatnot!
20120320bhc0114.jpg


Salivate as it prepares snacks!
20110110ac03.jpg


Rest your buns on the ad hoc outdoor furniture it prepares!
20111213ac0002.jpg


Wibble with delight as it batons the heck out of stuff!
20110611p02.jpg


20110611p03.jpg


Bask in the warm glow of the fires it helps you ignite!
20120121ac0014.jpg


Don your jeweler's loupe so you can keep up with it on the fine work!
20120320bhc0014.jpg


20120320bhc0015.jpg


Hear the angels sing as it pops its Excalibur pose!
20101231ac06.jpg


Heck yeah you want one. :D

---

Beckerhead #42
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top