My daughter just HAD to have a Bear Grylls knife. I told it was not worth the $$. She still wanted one, so i picked one up on sale. We/she did our own backyard test. I used my BK2. I had her chop a 2" branch of black walnut. The Becker won. I had her drill with the tip. The BG actually won---just because it was a little thinner. Feather sticks was a tie. Then came the stab test. I told her to grab tight & stab it into the wood as hard as she could. She did. It went in further---again because it was thinner. Then she tried to get it out & instead of wiggling it up/down, she wiggled it left/right---and the tip bent at about a 45* angle. FAIL. I then handed her my BK2 & told her to do exactly what she did to bend the BG. She did, over & over & over & over & over. NO DAMAGE at all. She still has it. I bent the tip back & it did not break. Hopefully it will be a lesson she remembers for a long long time. A knife that fails when you need it most is not worth spit---period. Overbuilt is just right. Beckers are certainly NOT the only overbuilt knife out there. But for the money, they are certainly the ones to beat. Period.
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Life after Becker.......
- Thread starter SoldMyHat
- Start date
Twin,
Your daughter's Bear Grylls knife DOES illustrate a very good point someone else mentioned here.
Knife lines like that with Bold Colors /Celebrity endorsements DO help promote knife ownership and outdoor activities with the younger generations of budding outdoorsmen.
They also act as "Gateway" purchases for hopefully something made better.
In the meantime, if they are having fun and getting their $$ worthfrom the knife all is well.
Your daughter's Bear Grylls knife DOES illustrate a very good point someone else mentioned here.
Knife lines like that with Bold Colors /Celebrity endorsements DO help promote knife ownership and outdoor activities with the younger generations of budding outdoorsmen.
They also act as "Gateway" purchases for hopefully something made better.
In the meantime, if they are having fun and getting their $$ worthfrom the knife all is well.
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Erm, Camillus Knife Co. no longer resides in Camillus, NY.
Not sure if you knew this, but going to the old factory is kinda pointless now, they even sold the building.
nevermind if you knew that.
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to be honest I was eyeing down some ghost g-10 glow in the dark handle scales for my bk2
but that's after market pimping on a solid beast of a knife
but that's after market pimping on a solid beast of a knife
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That's useful though!
GID handles, lose your previously all black knife at night and the handles glow, see it from meters away!
GID handles, lose your previously all black knife at night and the handles glow, see it from meters away!
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My Kabar Dozier Folding Hunter appears to be made in Taiwan (or so says the blade) but I take your point.
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Beckerhead #42
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I would buy neither
Ethan Becker
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Hey All....
First some disclaimers......I do not watch enough TV to say I have seen any of Les Strouds shows......I am about to release a Kitchen knife line made in Taiwan......I am not a big fan of stainless steel for outdoor knives...
I am VERY enthusiastic about Mr. Stroud's work as well as the work of Cody Lundin and Bear Gryllis......They have helped tremendously to popularize one of my true, true loves, the enjoyment of the outdoors.....Especially the primitive self reliant skills that I design knives for.....Good on all of them I say, and loudly too......I have a passing acquaintance with the new guys at Acme and I think they are not a cheap outfit.....Rick Constantine runs the Cammillus part of the shop and I think he wants to do good.....Early days yet, mind..........I would like to point out that the 440 series of steels were the "go to" steels for most custom makers not very many years ago and I have my name on two knives made from 440A which is, when heat treated properly, pretty good stuff........I was never partial to the 440C variant.....I never thought it an aggressive cutter......As a bunch of you know I have had some iffy experiences with licensing both the Joy name and BK&T......Ya listen to the line of BS, ya sign up and pray you were not lied to, too much..........I will let you know my impressions after I see them at SHOT Show.........But please be not harsh in your judgement of Mr. Stroud just yet.........BTW the color scheme DOES jar a bit.........
Another quick note.....If it comes down to wether you do a project in the orient or don't do it at all.....I say do the effing project......I LIKE to see my designs made, and made in the USA but, the bottom line is I LIKE TO SEE MY STUFF MADE !!!!...
All Best....
ethan
First some disclaimers......I do not watch enough TV to say I have seen any of Les Strouds shows......I am about to release a Kitchen knife line made in Taiwan......I am not a big fan of stainless steel for outdoor knives...
I am VERY enthusiastic about Mr. Stroud's work as well as the work of Cody Lundin and Bear Gryllis......They have helped tremendously to popularize one of my true, true loves, the enjoyment of the outdoors.....Especially the primitive self reliant skills that I design knives for.....Good on all of them I say, and loudly too......I have a passing acquaintance with the new guys at Acme and I think they are not a cheap outfit.....Rick Constantine runs the Cammillus part of the shop and I think he wants to do good.....Early days yet, mind..........I would like to point out that the 440 series of steels were the "go to" steels for most custom makers not very many years ago and I have my name on two knives made from 440A which is, when heat treated properly, pretty good stuff........I was never partial to the 440C variant.....I never thought it an aggressive cutter......As a bunch of you know I have had some iffy experiences with licensing both the Joy name and BK&T......Ya listen to the line of BS, ya sign up and pray you were not lied to, too much..........I will let you know my impressions after I see them at SHOT Show.........But please be not harsh in your judgement of Mr. Stroud just yet.........BTW the color scheme DOES jar a bit.........
Another quick note.....If it comes down to wether you do a project in the orient or don't do it at all.....I say do the effing project......I LIKE to see my designs made, and made in the USA but, the bottom line is I LIKE TO SEE MY STUFF MADE !!!!...
All Best....
ethan
Murphnuge
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An excellent point and one I had definitely not considered. Of course, I'm not a craftsman.
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That is a good point Ethan and one I think we all overlooked. This could be a step for Les to get HIS designs and brand out on the market and camillus was the one offering to do so. Could just be his launching point. Who knows, 10 years from now we could see Les knives with an American maker and quality construction. Designers have left crappy companies before. Becker and Esee are the first that come to mind.
Ethan Becker
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Hey All.....
Thanks for listening.........A couple of other points that occur to me.....What U.S. company would he be able to go to right now.......Ka-Bar is slammed and so is Shon Rowen (Esse), Bear and Sons does not have the marketing clout in this arena, and neither do a bunch of other quality small U.S. cutlers....The guys at Cammillus (Acme) which is a U.S. company have really deep pockets and will get behind this project...... Ontario has a RAT line and Justin Gingrich's fine designs.....What USA company that makes their stuff in the USofA is he going to go to???... I was REALLY, REALLY lucky to have found a good, honest outfit that makes most of their stuff here and wants to do all of it here....WHEW, LUCKY I tell you, DAMN lucky.......Maybe, just maybe, a bunch of tv watching mall ninjas will be inspired to climb to of the basement, get away from the Xbox, whatever an xbox is (mine is where I keep xx stuff in the back of the closet) and get out there as they say......Maybe it will hurt Mr. Stroud in the long run but I do not think so and I surely hope not...........
All Best....
ethan
Thanks for listening.........A couple of other points that occur to me.....What U.S. company would he be able to go to right now.......Ka-Bar is slammed and so is Shon Rowen (Esse), Bear and Sons does not have the marketing clout in this arena, and neither do a bunch of other quality small U.S. cutlers....The guys at Cammillus (Acme) which is a U.S. company have really deep pockets and will get behind this project...... Ontario has a RAT line and Justin Gingrich's fine designs.....What USA company that makes their stuff in the USofA is he going to go to???... I was REALLY, REALLY lucky to have found a good, honest outfit that makes most of their stuff here and wants to do all of it here....WHEW, LUCKY I tell you, DAMN lucky.......Maybe, just maybe, a bunch of tv watching mall ninjas will be inspired to climb to of the basement, get away from the Xbox, whatever an xbox is (mine is where I keep xx stuff in the back of the closet) and get out there as they say......Maybe it will hurt Mr. Stroud in the long run but I do not think so and I surely hope not...........
All Best....
ethan
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I understand what your saying Mr.Becker I just worry that they're ripping people off and that somebody might get hurt due to poor quality in the long run
maybe I'm just jaded from your knives and expect people to live up to snuff
all I know is when my niece is old enough and wants to get into camp it will be a bk-16 tweener in her hands and not some piece of garbage I don't trust my sophie's life with and that's what's important.
do you trust the knife
maybe I'm just jaded from your knives and expect people to live up to snuff
all I know is when my niece is old enough and wants to get into camp it will be a bk-16 tweener in her hands and not some piece of garbage I don't trust my sophie's life with and that's what's important.
do you trust the knife
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Thanks for bringing those points up, Mr. Becker.
I understand that it was what had to be done to get the designs made, and if they are quality, I have no problems with it. But now, just looking at the prototypes, they look kinda chintzy to me. I'll prolly end up buying one to test, bt until it has survived the same kind of stuff I put your blades through on a daily basis in the wilderness, I will have a hard time trusting my life to it.
My 2 cents, for what it's not worth.
I understand that it was what had to be done to get the designs made, and if they are quality, I have no problems with it. But now, just looking at the prototypes, they look kinda chintzy to me. I'll prolly end up buying one to test, bt until it has survived the same kind of stuff I put your blades through on a daily basis in the wilderness, I will have a hard time trusting my life to it.
My 2 cents, for what it's not worth.
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This was posted by Les Stroud himself on Bushcraft USA the other day...
Hi all - I got to thinkin'....there was a press release already, but other than that there have been just a few questions here and there about me releasing a survival knife line. Firstly - yes - I have already released a BUSHCRAFT knife with the most excellent company: Helle out of Norway. The purpose was to design a high end bushcraft knife that is a one of a kind knife made by hand by the fantastic people at Helle. No two knives in this line are alike. I have even been able to visit the plant myself and sit at some of the machines hand crafting out my own blade. - In fact someone will unknowingly get one of these knives and it will be the one I worked on myself!!! I am very proud of these knives and very proud of working with Helle on them. Now. That said - Helle and I were not interested in developing a knife line together that was more specific to survival - including some survival attachments. That is where Camillus comes in. I had turned down a number of knife companies who had courted me (including one specific line of knives you could probably guess at - they went with someone else) simply because they would not adhere to my strict quality policy: "If I am going to design a survival knife for you to put in your hands - then it better be quality enough to put in my own". They were all more interested in profit and celebrity. Camillus is fully committed to working with my own designs to develop a line of survival knives you can trust with your life. So if you want that one of a kind bushcrafting knife then please enjoy what I personally designed with Helle....and if you want to outfit yourself with a survival knife designed personally by me and tested by me - then you will see the prototype we will unveil in Vegas at the Shot show in January - I think I will be there at the show on the 18th. ....Camillus had no issues with the fact that I designed a beautiful one of a kind bushcraft knife with Helle and Helle has no issue that I am designing a fully loaded survival knife with Camillus......Listen folks - whether I became Survivorman and created a whole new genre of TV or not - I would have eventually tried to write a manual (which I did called Survive!) develop a line of survival knives and develop a survival kit. As an instructor of many years - these three initiatives were always in my heart to do. So now I am able to do so thanks to creating survival for TV - ok fine - buts what's most important to me is that whatever I put my name on - it be of the highest quality. Know this: In my opinion - the survival knife...book...kit that I put on the market will be the best there is. The price point may be a little higher than those who are cashing in on the whole 'survival thing'....but our lives are worth it. For me its not about marketing or cashing in on celebrity....its about survival. Les
Hi all - I got to thinkin'....there was a press release already, but other than that there have been just a few questions here and there about me releasing a survival knife line. Firstly - yes - I have already released a BUSHCRAFT knife with the most excellent company: Helle out of Norway. The purpose was to design a high end bushcraft knife that is a one of a kind knife made by hand by the fantastic people at Helle. No two knives in this line are alike. I have even been able to visit the plant myself and sit at some of the machines hand crafting out my own blade. - In fact someone will unknowingly get one of these knives and it will be the one I worked on myself!!! I am very proud of these knives and very proud of working with Helle on them. Now. That said - Helle and I were not interested in developing a knife line together that was more specific to survival - including some survival attachments. That is where Camillus comes in. I had turned down a number of knife companies who had courted me (including one specific line of knives you could probably guess at - they went with someone else) simply because they would not adhere to my strict quality policy: "If I am going to design a survival knife for you to put in your hands - then it better be quality enough to put in my own". They were all more interested in profit and celebrity. Camillus is fully committed to working with my own designs to develop a line of survival knives you can trust with your life. So if you want that one of a kind bushcrafting knife then please enjoy what I personally designed with Helle....and if you want to outfit yourself with a survival knife designed personally by me and tested by me - then you will see the prototype we will unveil in Vegas at the Shot show in January - I think I will be there at the show on the 18th. ....Camillus had no issues with the fact that I designed a beautiful one of a kind bushcraft knife with Helle and Helle has no issue that I am designing a fully loaded survival knife with Camillus......Listen folks - whether I became Survivorman and created a whole new genre of TV or not - I would have eventually tried to write a manual (which I did called Survive!) develop a line of survival knives and develop a survival kit. As an instructor of many years - these three initiatives were always in my heart to do. So now I am able to do so thanks to creating survival for TV - ok fine - buts what's most important to me is that whatever I put my name on - it be of the highest quality. Know this: In my opinion - the survival knife...book...kit that I put on the market will be the best there is. The price point may be a little higher than those who are cashing in on the whole 'survival thing'....but our lives are worth it. For me its not about marketing or cashing in on celebrity....its about survival. Les
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Re: Beckers being overbuilt being a gimmick.
I don't want to muddy the waters here, but thick knives are a gimmick, chopping through appliances with a BK2.... it's a bit out there, the woods that I come from, nothing like that is needed, never in my time have I had a knife break from use (including batoning) and that is with knives that are much thinner.
I'd like to know how it is not a gimmick.
For most people at least, if it means peace of mind about having a nearly indestructible too, I'll buy that.
I don't want to muddy the waters here, but thick knives are a gimmick, chopping through appliances with a BK2.... it's a bit out there, the woods that I come from, nothing like that is needed, never in my time have I had a knife break from use (including batoning) and that is with knives that are much thinner.
I'd like to know how it is not a gimmick.
For most people at least, if it means peace of mind about having a nearly indestructible too, I'll buy that.
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I think it's kind of like having a car that will run faster than 65, or having two kidneys. I guess everything you don't absolutely need could be considered gimmicky. But one man's gimmick is another man's comfort. I've never had a water heater explode, but I like the idea of having a popoff valve. I kind of like thick knives too.
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it's all about trusting your tools you want your thin stock go ahead but when your knife snaps at the most inopportune time us beckerheads with our "gimmick" knives will be sitting pretty with not a chip in sight