Large knives

B

BennettS.

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Sep 19, 2015
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I'm looking for a a couple of large woods/ camping knives. Considering Condor Boomslang, BK9, Bk7, Ontario RTAK II, Ontario Sp50, Ontario Sp45, and the Ontario Sp51. I only recently learned of these knives, so I don't know much. Which would be the easiest to carry and use, and why?
Thanks,
Bennett
 
BennettS. said:
I'm looking for a a couple of large woods/ camping knives. Considering Condor Boomslang, BK9, Bk7, Ontario RTAK II, Ontario Sp50, Ontario Sp45, and the Ontario Sp51. I only recently learned of these knives, so I don't know much. Which would be the easiest to carry and use, and why?
Thanks,
Bennett
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Those are all good and serviceable knives. If you use the Bladeforums' search function, you will find thousands of comments on each of those knives, the vast majority of which would be favorable. I have owned most of them, but if I had to pick between them, it would be based on 1) handle ergonomics, 2) price and availability, 3) my specific needs, 4) weight and ease of carry. Go try them out in person and see which one best fits your hands and needs.

n2s
 
Thanks for the suggestions. The closest place to me with a knife selection is Cabelas, and unfortunately, they don't have any of these knives. The closest they have is the ESEE Junglass, which is too expensive for me, and the ontario raider, whose handle is a little bulky for my liking. How is the handle on the SP50 and 51? My only concern is that the kraton handle will be too large and square and slippery.
 
BennettS. said:
Thanks for the suggestions. The closest place to me with a knife selection is Cabelas, and unfortunately, they don't have any of these knives. The closest they have is the ESEE Junglass, which is too expensive for me, and the ontario raider, whose handle is a little bulky for my liking. How is the handle on the SP50 and 51? My only concern is that the kraton handle will be too large and square and slippery.
Click to expand...

If you look on line you can get the Junglas for far less than at Cabelas which is very over priced on everything. It has the best handles, the best sheath and probably the best heat treat. The sheath can be carried as a drop leg or it can be carried much higher. It can lock the knife securely or you can adjust it as loose or tight as you want. To me it is worth the extra few bucks over the others. Amazon has it for $166.
 
They are LARGE so none of them are the easiest to carry. Easy to carry is a Mora no 1.

The BK9 is my favorite large camp knife. I am impressed with its sharpness every time I pick it up. You just don't expect a large thick knife to be such a great slicer. For a chopper it has great balance making it very knife like.
 
I like the bk9 and the sp50/51, but my issue with them is the extra cost for quality sheaths and handles. I am currently thinking about buying the junglas, but not from Cabelas. Am I correct to say that the junglas and Rtakii are essentially the same knife, except that the esee is of better quality
 
BK9 IMHO carries the most punch in the easiest to carry package, that or look into the Condor Moonshiner, you can get more UMPH but it starts to become really burdensome to carry.... the new BK21 for example, any of the condor large choppers like the Pack Golok or one of the Bolos...

I like the Condor moonshiner as much as I like my BK9, its got a better sheath IMHO, and costs less....if you are interested in keeping the " traditional FEEL " while in the woods it also does that better than the BK9 with its traditional wood handle and leather sheath....your call ultimately between the moonshiner and the BK9, but either will do the job admirably
 
Your list branches into 3 categories for me, extra large knives in the Boomslang and RTAK, large knives BK9 And SP50/51, and medium to large in the SP45 and BK7.

The Extra large category is way overkill for most chores, and manageability would be based on skills and experience. Unless your regularly using such knives I wouldn't bother with them.

The large knives mentioned are head to head. The BK9 is easier to handle, lighter weight, and offers a superb grip. It would be my choice, even though the SP has better Steel for wood processing. That Steel is nearly wood proof!

The next two knives are excellent do all camp choices. The SP45 will out chop and out slice the BK7 while remaining in the same weight class. It's Steel is stronger, blade is longer. The BK has a better feel in the hand. The SP would be my choice and I own 2 now. The recurve scares people away but 5160 of this caliber is easy to sharpen up. The added blade length and recurve actually make this knife a contender for heavier duty use and it chops nearly as well as my BK9 while doing most other tasks better.

If I had to choose 2 from your list, I would go with a BK9 and an SP45 all day long, both are light, fast, thin slicers that somehow chop like crazy and don't break the bank! Hope this helps
 
Thanks for the help. It's still hard for me to choose. My largest knives right now are the bk15 and a Cold Steel gi Tanto. How is the new bk21? Does anyone know anything about it?
 
Frankly, the BK-15 can handle just about everything you need to do cutting versus chopping camping. It is a very good knife. I am very interested in the Condor Moonshiner. Hoonestly however as with most large knives, I doubt I will carry it in the woods other than car camping. The largest Becker that I own is the BK-7. It's a good knife. Haven't tried or even handled a lot of the ones you listed. If I am going to be chopping, I carry a Condor Pack Golok, Village Parang, or my latest toy > the Condor Kumunga which I like. The Kumunga is more suited to knife like cutting, but the handle (although comfortable) is more of a machete type handle.
 
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