NEW becker knives, or just new logo on them?

Masteroffajitas

Masteroffajitas

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My birthday is coming up, and I want a large survival knife. I'm looking at the bk7 or bk9. I've read many reviews on the camm made beckers, they are said to be outstanding knives. Other then the new logo, has Ka-bar done anything to how the beckers are made? Messed with HT or materials? They are still made in the USA right?
 
From my understanding most of them are made in the USA. I think the laminated stainless steel version of the Necker is made in Japan. IIRC KaBar is making the rest of them using 1095 for the blades. 1095 is a good steel. I have many 1095 blades and no complaints.
 
Camillus version was high carbon 0170-6C steel the Ka-bar are 1095 I guess Ethan would need to explain the differences in there properties but Both steels are great
IMO ! Knives made in the USA except for SS version necker and the BK13 i think it is called, the lil' freeby with the selected purchase of the BK9 and few other models..
 
I reckon 0170-6C would have better edge retention but 1095 would have better shock absorption for heavy chopping. There's always a trade-off.

I can only go by own experience by my use of BK&T knives and the various 1095 knives in my collection. My Camillus Beckers - 0170-6C - win on edge retention during hard use. I have a 20+ year old Camillus "KaBar" clone I've used a lot too. The edge retention isn't even close to my Beckers, but it is extremely tough and durable. I have no experience with this myself but I've read of 0170-6C BK9's being broke under severe use - which you yourself probably will never *need* to do with your knife.

I'll have to point out here my younger brother is a former Marine and he collects USMC KaBar knives. The edge retention on his "user" KaBars is noticeably better than on my Camillus clone. Both models are 1095. It's all in the heat treatment.

Don't fret about 1095. It's a great steel. It's very tough. The folks at KaBar have been working with 1095 for a long time and they know what they're doing. Mr Becker picked a good manufacturer to produce his knives.
 
I have also heard about the old BK9's getting chips on the edge. At shot Than said the new knives will have a very slight reduction in edge retention, but are much, much tougher.
 
The Boys at Kabar do things right!

I would have absolutely no reservations about the new Beckers, & I do know a little about the Camillus ones :D
 
Also if you plan on using your BK9 primarily as a chopper, you don't need a literal shaving sharp edge. A good sharp edge, but not nearly as sharp as a straight razor, will perform just fine... and it will last much longer in the field.

Again, 1095 will do the job and do it well.
 
Ethan in earlier threads made mention that the new BK9's will be slightly thinner than the Camillus ones and that the RC of the 1095 ones will be slightly less hard, which in a large field knife means more durability.
 
1095 is by far one of my favorite steels. I have taken down small trees for firewood by hitting a RAT TAK into the tree and just batoning it through. if you break a knife that is made of 1095 and properly heat treated you probably shouldnt have been shooting at it with a 30-06 capice?
 
razorsdescent said:
If you break a knife that is made of 1095 and properly heat-treated, you probably shouldn't have been shooting at it with a 30-06, capice?
Click to expand...

Well-said, sir. 1095 is kind of the 30-06 of knife steels... it may not be the very best at every specific thing, but will definitely work every time!
 
I've heard the steel being used by Ka-Bar is a modified 1095. Anyone have any more information on that?
 
It's 1095Cro-van. Apparently, adds more impact strength or toughness, but has a miniscule drop in edge retention over regular 1095. Thats what I've heard.
 
Hey Guys .......

Please bear in mind that I am not a metallurgist, Paul is not available this weekend and I have had to rely on my good friend Larry Harley for this little run down....

1095 Cro Van is 1095 with the addition of a touch of chrome and vanadium....The vanadium is the really important addition here as vanadium carbides are at about 80 Rc and are quite aggressive sooooo you get these VERY hard carbide chunks in a crystal matrix which is RELATIVELY soft and flexible which means to that you have a very aggressive edge that is still easily sharpened........The Ka-Bar heat treat is what really puts the icing on a quite delicious cake....they use a method called MARQUENCHING which results in a crystal structure refferred to as BAINITE...... This turns an already tough spring steel with toothy carbides into an amazingly sturdy and flexible blade......When I say we give up a point or so of hardness, from a practical stand point I really doubt wether you will notice any degradation in edge retention from the Camillus versions whatsoever....Gibbs or Harley are welcome to correct any omissions or mis translations of their excallent counsel.......

All Best....

ethan
 
Well, after reading this information posted by the esteemed Mr Becker, I can only say:

I had already decided a KaBar BK7 would be one of the next knives to join my collection. Now it WILL be the next knife to join my collection.

I've always been impressed by KaBar's craftsmanship. I knew they'd do a great job producing the BK&T line.

Sounds like this new batch will actually be an improvement.

:D
 
Ethan Becker said:
Hey Guys .......

Please bear in mind that I am not a metallurgist, Paul is not available this weekend and I have had to rely on my good friend Larry Harley for this little run down....

1095 Cro Van is 1095 with the addition of a touch of chrome and vanadium....The vanadium is the really important addition here as vanadium carbides are at about 80 Rc and are quite aggressive sooooo you get these VERY hard carbide chunks in a crystal matrix which is RELATIVELY soft and flexible which means to that you have a very aggressive edge that is still easily sharpened........The Ka-Bar heat treat is what really puts the icing on a quite delicious cake....they use a method called MARQUENCHING which results in a crystal structure refferred to as BAINITE...... This turns an already tough spring steel with toothy carbides into an amazingly sturdy and flexible blade......When I say we give up a point or so of hardness, from a practical stand point I really doubt wether you will notice any degradation in edge retention from the Camillus versions whatsoever....Gibbs or Harley are welcome to correct any omissions or mis translations of their excallent counsel.......

All Best....

ethan
Click to expand...

bainite is not produced by the marquench
but all else that ethan says is true even the part about him not being a metalurgist lol:)(dig dig gouge gouge)
what it does do is produce a really fine grain structure
and as hes already said because of the V it can be softened to make it tougher and still cut very well
that also aids in ease of sharpening
all heattreat is a trade off
harder brittle
softer tougher
harley
www.lonesomepineknives.com
 
cbach8tw said:
Ethan in earlier threads made mention that the new BK9's will be slightly thinner than the Camillus ones
Click to expand...

So, are the Ka Bar BK9's slightly thinner than the Camillus ones?
Anyone know for sure, now that they're actually being manufactured?
 
First a BIG Thankyou to Brother Harley for clearing things up and for his gleeful emphasis of my obvious shortcomings as a mettalurgical expert....This IS one of the few (VERY few) areas of expertise where I must defer to the slowest grinder on earth.......

Rifon.... The new NINEs are slightly thinner than the originals and we were careful to adjust the grind so that the blade geometry stayed the same......

All Best

ethan
 
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