Ka-Bar USMC, Becker BK2 or Gerber LMF II

A

aveling007

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Nov 27, 2011
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So I'm looking for a good knife to take backpacking, on hunting trips, and for wilderness survival, and after doing some reading, I've settled on these three. What is the general consensus on the best of the three for general camping purposes, batoning and such? Please also explain why you think so.

Thanks
 
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I have all three of these knives. The BK2 is best for batoning by far with the LMF2 second and the Ka-Bar third. The Becker is a brute of a knife and a stronger design for batoning. The LMF2 has the best sheath of the three and the Ka-Bar is the lightest.
 
hmm how worried are you about weight when backpacking and hiking and hunting?

Stay away from gerber. period. insert bear grylls comment here

That being said the other two are apples and oranges. The becker bk2 is bomb proof and 1/4 thick and weighs a pound, while the kabar usmc is a fighting design and even tho its withstanded the nazis, it wont withstand batoning for too long because of the stick tang. Thats my only prob with the usmc and its only weak point. Now if your looking for a knife that will gut and skin game, they all will do it just not too well since they are all kind of big. I pair my woods knife like the bk2 (i carry a bk10) with a vic farmer or a custom small fixed to do the small wet work.

For camping and building fire and shelter. the bk2 until the cows come home. It chops and batons like hell. Its very bulky for little chores like fine whittling, but it can do them just that smaller knives of course do it better. Same as chopping, sure an axe is better at chopping than a bk2, but when all you got is a knife well it can chop chop chop. Its nearly indestructible with normal work and unless your throwing it or have it in a vise and bending it, you most likely wont break it. Bk2 of those three.
 
What about these three made you choose them? What do you expect to do while backpacking? While hunting? What do you mean by "wilderness survival"?

Knowing those might help us respond to your post better.

And welcome to bladeforums!
 
marcinek said:
What about these three made you choose them? What do you expect to do while backpacking? While hunting? What do you mean by "wilderness survival"?

Knowing those might help us respond to your post better.

And welcome to bladeforums!
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+1. However, being a fellow beckerhead(unofficial) with clich, I would suggest the BK2 all day. It's nigh impossible to break and its thickness give it chopping power out of proportion to the blade and you can baton it through a train. Its also the least expensive of the three while being by far the toughest adn most reliable. Ive neve done it but the blade seems to have enough belly for skinning and other field dressing tasks. So, BK2 definitely out of the three you chose.
 
These knives are all really quite different, so its a bit hard to recommend one.

For all around camp use, I would choose the BK2 all day.

If I thought I might need to escape from an aircraft, I would choose the LMF II every time.

If I thought that I might be fighting something, and cared about weight and a comfy handle, I would go with the USMC.

So depending on how much weight is important to you, I would look at the BK2, the USMC, or maybe even the BK7.

Good luck :).
 
KevinOubre said:
+1. However, being a fellow beckerhead(unofficial) with clich, I would suggest the BK2 all day. It's nigh impossible to break and its thickness give it chopping power out of proportion to the blade and you can baton it through a train. Its also the least expensive of the three while being by far the toughest adn most reliable. Ive neve done it but the blade seems to have enough belly for skinning and other field dressing tasks. So, BK2 definitely out of the three you chose.
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I agree. It's an excellent outdoors knife if one puts a premium on chopping and batonning over slicing. The LMF...one might as well bring a brick. The old KaBar...it'll work, but its a fighter/military type of knife. Not really designed with "outdoorsy" stuff in mind.

I'd take a Vic Farmer over any of the three (or a Mora and a folding saw)....but that's just me.
 
clich said:
hmm how worried are you about weight when backpacking and hiking and hunting?

Stay away from gerber. period. insert bear grylls comment here
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Not sure what Bear Grylls had to do with the LMF II. It came out long before he did. Anyways, I find the LMF II to be impractical due to (1) a very thick and somewhat short blade, (2) does not hold an edge for very long (relative, I know), and (3) is a very heavy knife. The sheath setup is versatile, but also heavy and bulky. It makes a great under the truck seat knife. And to reinforce what others have said, the Becker's seem to be the best for your use.
 
BK2 because...

It whittles tiny spoons and forks and things...
IMG_0002_20110305.jpg


It chops seasoned oak for no good reason...
20110212_ac_17.jpg


It cleans fish...
20110531_img_0237.jpg


It batons...
20110325_IMG_0104.jpg


It poses majestically...
20101215_ac_06e.jpg


It survives nuclear blasts...
behold_bk2.jpg


What's not to love?


---

Beckerhead #42
 
Maddogg774 said:
I recommend scrapyard 711 above all these.
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I agree wholeheartedly with this recommendation, except for the fact that it's nearly double the price of the three the OP narrowed it down to, and it does not come with a factory sheath. The ESEE-5/6 is also worth mentioning in this category, but they're the same price as the 711, which would IMO is a much better buy.

Ahh, who am I kidding? Spring the extra cash for the 711 and if you don't like it, you can sell it for (a lot) more than you paid for it.
 
clich said:
hmm how worried are you about weight when backpacking and hiking and hunting?
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Not a concern, I'm often on a horse anyway, and I don't mind a little extra weight if the knife is worth it.

marcinek said:
What about these three made you choose them? What do you expect to do while backpacking? While hunting? What do you mean by "wilderness survival"?

Knowing those might help us respond to your post better.

And welcome to bladeforums!
Click to expand...

I was looking at the Bear Grylls series knives, and then someone said they were basically copies of the LMF2, and after reading up on the LMF2 I saw on a number of forums and comparisons that the BK2 was sturdier, etc and the Ka-Bar has been around for so long, and I've heard enough good things about it to warrant further investigation.

What do I plan to do with it? Skinning small game, making shelter, building fires, general camp work. Whatever comes up, really. I live on a ranch, so a good knife is a must have.


Thanks guys, after reading the thread, I'll order a BK2.
 
Hadji Flip Me Over said:
I agree wholeheartedly with this recommendation, except for the fact that it's nearly double the price of the three the OP narrowed it down to, and it does not come with a factory sheath. The ESEE-5/6 is also worth mentioning in this category, but they're the same price as the 711, which would IMO is a much better buy.

Ahh, who am I kidding? Spring the extra cash for the 711 and if you don't like it, you can sell it for (a lot) more than you paid for it.
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I know they cost more (not that much) but I'm a steel snob...lol
 
the BK2 is a beast. I just might get a second one. really is the best choice for what you want.
 
You'll like it, it really is a great knife. My path that lead to it is just about what you describe (was with the gerber progidy though, not the LMF).

Only complaint I've ever had with it is that it might be a bit short for batoning some of the larger pieces of wood. Its such a stout knife that sometimes you end up tackling wood thats a bit large for the length. I really do like the 7 in size for a basic woods knife, so you might check out the BK7 as well. That said, the BK2 is great, and I'm not getting rid of mine any time soon.

Congrats, and let us know when you get it. The becker subforum has all sorts of great stuff going on. Stop by sometime :).
 
aveling007 said:
Not a concern, I'm often on a horse anyway, and I don't mind a little extra weight if the knife is worth it.



I was looking at the Bear Grylls series knives, and then someone said they were basically copies of the LMF2, and after reading up on the LMF2 I saw on a number of forums and comparisons that the BK2 was sturdier, etc and the Ka-Bar has been around for so long, and I've heard enough good things about it to warrant further investigation.

What do I plan to do with it? Skinning small game, making shelter, building fires, general camp work. Whatever comes up, really. I live on a ranch, so a good knife is a must have.


Thanks guys, after reading the thread, I'll order a BK2.
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with that variety of tasks, you might consider a BK14 or ESEE Izula II to go with that BK2.
For everything listed but the making shelter, I'd have suggested a Kabar Navy mk 1.
 
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