*Alright guys and gals, here's another 3 knife shootout for ya. This time I will be comparing 3 popular neck knives. The Becker BK 24, ESEE Izula and Chris Reeve Knives Professional Soldier.
*This is my first shootout posted on Becker forums I do believe, this is a repost I just did on BCUSA. I specifically posted it here because it included the BK 24 and I have a special treat just for you Beckerheads. Give me a little time and I'll make a new post about it. Until then, enjoy the shootout.
Here is a look at how the knives came packaged.
CRK: Standard CRK box with birth card, pamphlet and a couple stickers.
Becker: The sleeved Kabar Master Series box along with a hank of paracord.
ESEE: Sealed plastic bag with an instruction sheet and small plastic survival card.
Knives with their sheaths.
CRK: CPM S35 V steel, KG Gun Kote finish, 3.375" blade length and hollow ground. The sheath is kydex.
Becker: D2 tool steel, 3.25" blade, full flat grind. Sheath appears to be glass filled nylon.
ESEE: 1095 steel, 2.63" blade, full flat grind, textured powder coat finish. Sheath is hard plastic.
First impressions of the knives.
CRK: Impressive looking knife. Came dull, wouldn't shave hair. Then handle seemed to be a comfortable 3 finger grip except for the thumb ramp(more like a horn). Excellent sheath, good retention, built to last. Overall feel of quality.
Becker: Full, comfortable 4 finger grip. Most comfortable of the 3. Sheath isn't super tight, but retains the knife well. Super sharp out of the box, also feels very high quality, especially for the cost.
ESEE: Has a decent 3-4 finger grip, not the most comfortable, same style as the Becker but smaller, not the greatest but no real complaints. Came extremely sharp, throwing hairs off my arm. Seems to have the most versatile sheath. Wear it as a neck knife, belt knife, etc.
I stropped all the knives before I began testing, got the CRK to hair popping sharp, made sure any burrs on the blades were gone.
Now that all that crap is out of the way, let's get to the testing.
Up first as always, carving. I carved the standard notches and trolls as other shootouts/tests. All the blades carved fine, the outcome of this test came down to handle comfort. The Becker was the most comfortable due to it's larger handle. The ESEE wasn't quite as comfortable as the Becker but it's passable. I really enjoyed the ESEE's blade shape, lent itself well to carving. The CRK was the least comfortable, not only do you need to avoid the thumb ramp when carving, the butt of the knife digs into your hand as well. All 3 of the knives could benefit from scales, cord wrap or wearing gloves during use. Tasks that don't require much effort are no big deal while using these knives, but when you have to put a bit of effort into your cuts they can dig into your hands and cause pain/blistering.
The next task up is more of a process than a single task, a splitwood fire. I found a piece of dead wood, cross grain batonned it into sections, batonned it down into kindling and fuel then finally made shavings for tinder. The Becker and CRK were the best for cross grain and standard batonning, neither handle bothered me while beating on the blades and the longer blade length made the work easier. The ESEE worked fine as well, but did give me a bit of handle shock while batonning and the blade is a bit shorter. When it came to making the shavings the ESEE did best, I'm guessing because it is the thinnest blade of the 3 with a full flat grind or because it retained it's edge during testing better than the other 2. After everything is said and done, all 3 knives were great for processing small firewood.
Fishing/gig spears are the next task for these little fellas. Found 3 suitable small trees and took them down. Batonned the ends off, split them lengthwise and sharpened em up. Made 3 great spears, all knives did this job wonderfully. The ESEE was the best, as if it were made specifically for making gig type spears.
The last and definetly not least important job for these knives: Food prep.
Decided to prepare one of my favorite camping dishes using these tools. I don't know what you call it, I just kind of thought it up, has probably been done by plenty of other people too. The recipe includes potatoes, onion, garlic and spam along with seasonings of your choice.
Ingredients and knives.
Ingredients all minced up. All 3 knives did fine for slicing, dicing and peeling but the CRK stood out. Longer, hollow ground blade seemed to be at home in the kitchen. The Becker and ESEE worked fine, although the ESEE's blade is a bit short.
Mix all the ingredients up in a gallon ziploc bag then fry it in a shallow pan of oil til golden brown. Eat it plain, on a biscuit or in a sandwich, it's pretty damn good no matter which you choose.
Conclusion: I would have to say the Becker is the best of the 3. It did great with all the tasks and was fairly comfortable while doing it. The CRK and ESEE are in a tie behind the Becker. After these tests, I can confidently say I'm not a big fan of neck knives for outdoors tasks. When it comes to daily chores and easy cutting they are fine, but not when you need to put some grunt into your cuts.
*This is my first shootout posted on Becker forums I do believe, this is a repost I just did on BCUSA. I specifically posted it here because it included the BK 24 and I have a special treat just for you Beckerheads. Give me a little time and I'll make a new post about it. Until then, enjoy the shootout.
Here is a look at how the knives came packaged.
CRK: Standard CRK box with birth card, pamphlet and a couple stickers.
Becker: The sleeved Kabar Master Series box along with a hank of paracord.
ESEE: Sealed plastic bag with an instruction sheet and small plastic survival card.
Knives with their sheaths.
CRK: CPM S35 V steel, KG Gun Kote finish, 3.375" blade length and hollow ground. The sheath is kydex.
Becker: D2 tool steel, 3.25" blade, full flat grind. Sheath appears to be glass filled nylon.
ESEE: 1095 steel, 2.63" blade, full flat grind, textured powder coat finish. Sheath is hard plastic.
First impressions of the knives.
CRK: Impressive looking knife. Came dull, wouldn't shave hair. Then handle seemed to be a comfortable 3 finger grip except for the thumb ramp(more like a horn). Excellent sheath, good retention, built to last. Overall feel of quality.
Becker: Full, comfortable 4 finger grip. Most comfortable of the 3. Sheath isn't super tight, but retains the knife well. Super sharp out of the box, also feels very high quality, especially for the cost.
ESEE: Has a decent 3-4 finger grip, not the most comfortable, same style as the Becker but smaller, not the greatest but no real complaints. Came extremely sharp, throwing hairs off my arm. Seems to have the most versatile sheath. Wear it as a neck knife, belt knife, etc.
I stropped all the knives before I began testing, got the CRK to hair popping sharp, made sure any burrs on the blades were gone.
Now that all that crap is out of the way, let's get to the testing.
Up first as always, carving. I carved the standard notches and trolls as other shootouts/tests. All the blades carved fine, the outcome of this test came down to handle comfort. The Becker was the most comfortable due to it's larger handle. The ESEE wasn't quite as comfortable as the Becker but it's passable. I really enjoyed the ESEE's blade shape, lent itself well to carving. The CRK was the least comfortable, not only do you need to avoid the thumb ramp when carving, the butt of the knife digs into your hand as well. All 3 of the knives could benefit from scales, cord wrap or wearing gloves during use. Tasks that don't require much effort are no big deal while using these knives, but when you have to put a bit of effort into your cuts they can dig into your hands and cause pain/blistering.
The next task up is more of a process than a single task, a splitwood fire. I found a piece of dead wood, cross grain batonned it into sections, batonned it down into kindling and fuel then finally made shavings for tinder. The Becker and CRK were the best for cross grain and standard batonning, neither handle bothered me while beating on the blades and the longer blade length made the work easier. The ESEE worked fine as well, but did give me a bit of handle shock while batonning and the blade is a bit shorter. When it came to making the shavings the ESEE did best, I'm guessing because it is the thinnest blade of the 3 with a full flat grind or because it retained it's edge during testing better than the other 2. After everything is said and done, all 3 knives were great for processing small firewood.
Fishing/gig spears are the next task for these little fellas. Found 3 suitable small trees and took them down. Batonned the ends off, split them lengthwise and sharpened em up. Made 3 great spears, all knives did this job wonderfully. The ESEE was the best, as if it were made specifically for making gig type spears.
The last and definetly not least important job for these knives: Food prep.
Decided to prepare one of my favorite camping dishes using these tools. I don't know what you call it, I just kind of thought it up, has probably been done by plenty of other people too. The recipe includes potatoes, onion, garlic and spam along with seasonings of your choice.
Ingredients and knives.
Ingredients all minced up. All 3 knives did fine for slicing, dicing and peeling but the CRK stood out. Longer, hollow ground blade seemed to be at home in the kitchen. The Becker and ESEE worked fine, although the ESEE's blade is a bit short.
Mix all the ingredients up in a gallon ziploc bag then fry it in a shallow pan of oil til golden brown. Eat it plain, on a biscuit or in a sandwich, it's pretty damn good no matter which you choose.
Conclusion: I would have to say the Becker is the best of the 3. It did great with all the tasks and was fairly comfortable while doing it. The CRK and ESEE are in a tie behind the Becker. After these tests, I can confidently say I'm not a big fan of neck knives for outdoors tasks. When it comes to daily chores and easy cutting they are fine, but not when you need to put some grunt into your cuts.
