Ka-bar heavy Bowie.

B

BoltsFan

Joined
Aug 18, 2010
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Looking fo something to take on the trail. I am a fan of full flat grind. Looking at 7-9" blade. Under $100.
 
Where's the trail (Location is as important to the tools you carry as anything)? What else are you taking along (hatchet, SAK, etc..)? What kind of activities you planning (Batoning wood, making debris hut or just a GP knife for whatever may come down the trail)?

The KaBar is a good chopper imo, great bang for the buck and should last you twenty years unless your putting on a hockey mask and chopping up bricks with it.:D
 
Good knives. Run a search and you'll learn more. I think the Becker BK7/9 are better than the Kabar small/large heavy bowies but they cost a bit more.
I think the Kabar Heavy Bowie should be called the Heavy Knife because it's not especially blade heavy thanks to the full flat grind and the swedge. It has a more neutral balance than your average chopper. So the sweet spot for chopping is closer to the handle than with your average chopper.
 
Trail is NC mountains (1 night stays). Looking to do chopping and botoning. I will not have a hatchet but will have a folder saw.
 
Get the Becker BK9. Blue Loctite for the screws holding the scales. You may want to add grip tape or texturing to the scales. It chops well. Comes with a nice thin edge.
 
The Heavy Bowie is an awesome knife. I actually like it a little better than the Becker. It might not be as pretty or have the cult-like following of Becker knives, but it is quite tough and a surprisingly good slicer due to the full flat grind. The only thing lacking is the sheath. Actually the sheaths design is great, just poorly executed (thin, cheap leather and nylon).:thumbup:
 
One important difference between the Heavy Bowie and the BK9 is the handle girth. The Heavy Bowie handle has a greater circumference so if you have larger hands maybe it's the better option.
 
AF said:
One important difference between the Heavy Bowie and the BK9 is the handle girth. The Heavy Bowie handle has a greater circumference so if you have larger hands maybe it's the better option.
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I agree with AF. Actually, I don't have large hands, but the HB handle is still very comfortable for me. The Becker handles are great, too. They could use a wee bit of texture in my opinion, but they are very comfortable nonetheless.
 
BoltsFan said:
Trail is NC mountains (1 night stays). Looking to do chopping and botoning. I will not have a hatchet but will have a folder saw.
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I like the Becker BK9 alot, it was my main camp knife until I recently went through about 5 knives to ultimately replace it with a Scrapyard Dogfather. The BK9 now is my little brothers camp knife and serves him very well.

Now with that is mind, if you can hold each of the knives you are thinking of purchasing and get a feel for them "in hand". There is a huge difference in knives that look good from the 'net and actually feel right for the job. The Ka-Bar is a good knife with a comfy grip but I never liked the balance of it enough to buy one. This may be different for you, alot of guys around these parts love them.

I would also recommend, the Ontario RD9 it has a great feel in hand imo and I liked it enough to give one to my father as a birthday present.

Also look at the Next Gen Spec Plus Ontario's there is alot of bang for the buck there as well. :thumbup:
 
1095 is great to imo, the BK9 I had was made of it and it took a good edge. Some of the Swamp Rats will have to come out and attest to SR77, I have heard great things though.

Most of my camp knives are 5160 Spring Steel (from old trucks) or SR101
 
kabar is a great choice! The Handle IMO is better (Than the Bk9)...it eats up the shock better and isn't nearly as hard. It is a big handle so if you have small to medium size hands it might feel a little big. The BK9 is a full tang design...the Heavy is not. The bk9 has a better sheath as well. But I believe the heavy is a thicker blade. Both good steel and great factory edge. I think the kabar is also cheaper.
 
Anyone have direct experience with the Ontario SP gen 2 line of choppers?

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I have the full size heavy bowie. It is my go-to large wilderness knife. Absolutely love it. Hasnt failed me yet.
 
HandofCod said:
Anyone have direct experience with the Ontario SP gen 2 line of choppers?
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Yes, I just bought the Gen 2 SP50 from www.chestnutridgeknifeshop.com - a BF member dealer. It's a full flat grind and the thickness is 1/4" - a little thicker than the Kabar Heavy Bowie and even more so compared to the BK9.
The sheath is similar to the BK9. Nylon with plastic insert. The velcro retention strap is bad though - it's sized incorrectly. Anyway, that's not a huge deal for me.
The blade shape and proportions are very nice. My favorite of the 3 mentioned. It came with a thin, sharp edge.
I took it on a backpacking trip the day after I got it. I used it with a folding saw to clear the trail. It worked well. The handle is shorter but the circumference is about the same as the Kabar. The kraton handle abraded my skin after a lot of swinging.
 
AF said:
Yes, I just bought the Gen 2 SP50 from www.chestnutridgeknifeshop.com - a BF member dealer. It's a full flat grind and the thickness is 1/4" - a little thicker than the Kabar Heavy Bowie and even more so compared to the BK9.
The sheath is similar to the BK9. Nylon with plastic insert. The velcro retention strap is bad though - it's sized incorrectly. Anyway, that's not a huge deal for me.
The blade shape and proportions are very nice. My favorite of the 3 mentioned. It came with a thin, sharp edge.
I took it on a backpacking trip the day after I got it. I used it with a folding saw to clear the trail. It worked well. The handle is shorter but the circumference is about the same as the Kabar. The kraton handle abraded my skin after a lot of swinging.
Click to expand...

I've been looking at the SP50's. they appear to be good knives for their value. There on my knife purchase list too! :D
 
My son has one and I asked if he had any recommendations. He said, "I like it. I've had no problems with it. The only thing is it's not full tang and it's made in Taiwan."

The BK-9 is better steel, full tang and made in the USA if that matters. Ka-Bar isn't making that heavy bowie any more, are they?
 
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