No snarky title

[weaponeer]

No, it's time to go pig hunting.... Thought I'd check in while I wait in the truck for my hunting partner. Everyone have a snarky time tonight. With some luck, the BK2 will taste pig blood tonight.

Get some! And pics!

 

[Chameleonbear]

If it does, I expect pictures and if there are no pictures, I expect bacon.

 

[Jerry D.]

LOTS of bacon.

 

[NathanJ]

In on 6. Man the snark threads are going fast!

Spent the morning checking out some camping shops looking at backpacks, it seems that every camping shop in Brisbane only has the Gerber Bear Grylls knife line for sale, Smith & Wesson and some brand called Tactical. I asked if they have any Ka-bar/BK&T, ESEE, Spyderco or Benchmade knives around and I was just stared at like a dog that's just been shown a card trick. The sales guy tried to tell me that Smith & Wesson make some great folding knives. I picked up another Light My Fire firesteel instead, a spork and a small hexamine stove and left.

I'd say online knife sales will continue to be the way I buy blades.

 

[Tdhurl1103]

I hear ya preachin' Nathan. It's kind of the same way around here. You can find Gerber, CRKT, Leatherman, Benchmade and Kershaw everywhere because those are the companies that are local. I asked for Ka-Bar once and the guy literally said to me, "Is that a knife company?" Without missing a beat, I said, "It's the largest firearms manufacturer on the planet." The dumbbutt actually said, "Well, we don't sell guns, only knives."

Heres another one: So, I have a BKT/Ka-bar sticker on my back window of my truck and this inquisitive sort asked me, "Hey, what's that sticker, what's BK&T/Kabar?" I replied, "It's Becker Knife and Tool, and Ka-Bar knives. It's a brand of knives." I am not kidding when I tell you the guy says, "Its that some sort of steel manufacturer?" I said casually, "Naw, they specialize in those hard plastics, you know the types that can be snuck onto planes and whatnot." The look on that guys face was priceless. I did not confess I was pulling his leg and got a good chuckle out of it.

 

[NathanJ]

I hear ya preachin' Nathan. It's kind of the same way around here. You can find Gerber, CRKT, Leatherman, Benchmade and Kershaw everywhere because those are the companies that are local. I asked for Ka-Bar once and the guy literally said to me, "Is that a knife company?" Without missing a beat, I said, "It's the largest firearms manufacturer on the planet." The dumbbutt actually said, "Well, we don't sell guns, only knives."

Heres another one: So, I have a BKT/Ka-bar sticker on my back window of my truck and this inquisitive sort asked me, "Hey, what's that sticker, what's BK&T/Kabar?" I replied, "It's Becker Knife and Tool, and Ka-Bar knives. It's a brand of knives." I am not kidding when I tell you the guy says, "Its that some sort of steel manufacturer?" I said casually, "Naw, they specialize in those hard plastics, you know the types that can be snuck onto planes and whatnot." The look on that guys face was priceless. I did not confess I was pulling his leg and got a good chuckle out of it.

Haha, that's great. Don't ya love messing with people

 

[Tdhurl1103]

Oh fun fact: Did you know that on some military installations the PX/ Army Air Force Exchange Services (AAFES) will only sell knives which have a partially serrated edge unless the blade length is 3 inches or under? It's true, I asked one time and was told that AAFES considers a serrated blade a "tool" and not a weapon, so to sell "tools" to the masses/soldiers was more politically correct than selling "weapons."

I then walked over to the gun counter to take a look at the goods.

 

[TBL]

Lulz - first world problems of a knife lover. All the steel that we have grown out of.... It upsets me that my Gerbers turn into butter knives after cutting one cardboard box Meanwhile I have never sharpened my ZT and it still shaves hairs.

I too am unsatisfied that there is only two (maybe three) shops within an hour drive of me that sell real blades. One that I know has the Ka-Bar products I am looking for. To top it off the prices are never as good as I have found when on vacation south of the boarder. I know I shouldn't complain too much because I have heard horror stories of the prices of some makes / models in Australia - NathanJ. But still!

Looks like its time for a vacation!

 

[Chameleonbear]

I live across the river from Grand Prairie (www.gpknives.com) I love going in there cause they carry the full line of Becker, Esee, and Ka-Bar knives. I realize I'm spoiled from them. The other thing that is a LOT of fun, is when I'm there I turn into a sales man. I've sold a TON of steel for them.

 

[The Warrior]

Wish we had a good knife place around here. Scheels was carrying a few Becker knives at one time, but not anymore.

 

[zzyzzogeton]

I buy more Kabars than Beckers because, ... well Kabar has been making Kabars a looonnggg time and I like to collect different versions, especially old/vintage/odd-balls. There's fewer Beckers to choose from.

Just when you thought you have seen it all, something new pops out of the woodwork.
Here's one that I just had to have when I ran across it.... don't know when it was made, probably the 60s, but that's just a guess.

The Kabar Castrating Knife, model # unknown.

 

[Chameleonbear]

Wish we had a good knife place around here. Scheels was carrying a few Becker knives at one time, but not anymore.

Bubba, are less than an hour from Grand Prairie. It's worth the drive!

 

[Tdhurl1103]

So I was looking on the Big River Store...into getting a 15, and wanted to entertain myself with reading some of the reviews, and I found this one worth discussion about the 15 and whether its "full tang" or not. In fact his review is titled "NOT FULL TANG...But still nice" Throughout the reponses he goes on to say that unless the tang has no metal removed from the handle area (except the screw holes) he does not consider it "full tang" and goes on to classify it as a "skeletonized tang." I would post the link but I'm not sure I can. What do the Beckerheads think about his review?

Cyclist01222 "Paul"
I really like this knife! Cost me almost [EDIT]. It feels like a big steak knife more than an outdoor knife... this isn't necessarily bad though. It is the small brother of the Camp Knife. It comes with an extra set of coyote brown scales and a very nice desert colored cordura sheath. The first thing that strikes me is the light feel and smallish size. Speced at .4lbs including the sheath I believe. The blade is thinner than the .165" thick handle tang and has a thin tapering flat grind which is clipped almost the full length of the blade. Thumb jimping was placed in the perfect spot for my hand. After removing the scales I found 2 large cutouts between the bolt holes. Seems like this was needed for balance and weight reduction which is good but I don't classify this as full tang as the advertising states. It's a great medium/light duty outdoor knife. The blade, especially the thin tip has a delicate feel to it.

The handle scales were very smartly designed and feel excellent in every hand hold position including being choked up on the choil. They are not totally slick and provide okay grip IMHO. The brown scales really make this knife pop! Very handsome. The edge came crazy sharp out of the box... be careful! The grind is perfectly done also. No flaws. The blade coating is nicely done and should hold up as good as any. The sheath is well made with lots of extras including mounting options. There are lots of straps, loops, snaps and even eyelets for leg tie or a handle retention cord. The velcro pouch is noisy but very effective.

The BK 15 makes a great camp knife and could handle light fire making and bushcraft tasks but you need to be mindful of the laws of physics when putting this thin blade to task. Recommended!

I will update after a few more months of use.

Update: 30 May 2013

After typical use (no abuse) as a camp/outdoor knife I still like it. The look, feel, comfort and cutting ability are all above average. Love using it choked up on the choil. It is not as efficient shaving and feathersticking as a pure scandi grind but is excellent for a flat ground blade. The coating holds up very well but you can feel the resistance when cutting chunks of wood bigger than shavings. After some use the coating does begin to smooth out a bit. I only batoned small pieces of wood... nothing bigger than 2". It chops small jobs just fine... the sharp holding edge is to thank for this as the knife is very light. No rust even after a rainy overnighter. Still recommended!

Please comment and join the great discussions concerning this knife!

 

[Chameleonbear]

It seems nothing would be "full tang" to him. To be fair it IS technically a skelotonized tang, I believe. However it in no way would make that blade less effective.

 

[granitestateofmind]

In on 3! Just got back from a tiring hour of training (swimming). Feels good though. A few hours ago I started reading "Guess who's back" by Timur Vermes. One of the best things I've read with regards to recent publications. If you like history -especially WW2- and you like a good satire, this book is a must read. Not for everyone, I'm sure, but I'm thoroughly enjoying it. As a matter of fact, gonna continue asap

It's cool that you're swimming - I finally got clearance to get back in the pool from the doc....Thursday was the first time I've "worked out" in a couple months. I am SO out of shape. I regularly swam 3000 - 4000 meters in an hour.....Thursday I managed 700. Long way to go.

I had some leftover kalua pig (pork blade/butt roast), so I added some cabbage fried in bacon grease, Sriracha, and put it over rice. Not quite so fancy, but good chow before the pig hunting tonight.

mmmmm. Kalua pig is my most favorite thing from Hawaii. I go the easy route and make it in the crockpot....usually with liquid smoke and a little pineapple juice. And salt. Plenty of salt.

 

[hawaiianhawk]

Very nice, Silverthorn!

I had some leftover kalua pig (pork blade/butt roast), so I added some cabbage fried in bacon grease, Sriracha, and put it over rice. Not quite so fancy, but good chow before the pig hunting tonight.

mmmmm. Kalua pig is my most favorite thing from Hawaii. I go the easy route and make it in the crockpot....usually with liquid smoke and a little pineapple juice. And salt. Plenty of salt.

Aw man, boys. You guys are killing me. I just ate some delicious homemade shepherd's pie and now I want kalua pig! And it's always "kalua pig", never "kalua pork"... Here you can buy it premade from most places, but homemade is always better! Granite, did you ever eat laulau while you were here?

Good look with the pua'a, GSO. Get some hogs and get some pics!

 

[mrn8]

I live across the river from Grand Prairie (www.gpknives.com) I love going in there cause they carry the full line of Becker, Esee, and Ka-Bar knives. I realize I'm spoiled from them. The other thing that is a LOT of fun, is when I'm there I turn into a sales man. I've sold a TON of steel for them.

I've driven past there numerous times, but we are always on out way to or from Texas. One of these times, I need to just plan time to spend there.

 

[iwouldhurtafly]

So I was looking on the Big River Store...into getting a 15, and wanted to entertain myself with reading some of the reviews, and I found this one worth discussion about the 15 and whether its "full tang" or not. In fact his review is titled "NOT FULL TANG...But still nice" Throughout the reponses he goes on to say that unless the tang has no metal removed from the handle area (except the screw holes) he does not consider it "full tang" and goes on to classify it as a "skeletonized tang." I would post the link but I'm not sure I can. What do the Beckerheads think about his review?

Cyclist01222 "Paul"
I really like this knife! Cost me almost [EDIT]. It feels like a big steak knife more than an outdoor knife... this isn't necessarily bad though. It is the small brother of the Camp Knife. It comes with an extra set of coyote brown scales and a very nice desert colored cordura sheath. The first thing that strikes me is the light feel and smallish size. Speced at .4lbs including the sheath I believe. The blade is thinner than the .165" thick handle tang and has a thin tapering flat grind which is clipped almost the full length of the blade. Thumb jimping was placed in the perfect spot for my hand. After removing the scales I found 2 large cutouts between the bolt holes. Seems like this was needed for balance and weight reduction which is good but I don't classify this as full tang as the advertising states. It's a great medium/light duty outdoor knife. The blade, especially the thin tip has a delicate feel to it.

The handle scales were very smartly designed and feel excellent in every hand hold position including being choked up on the choil. They are not totally slick and provide okay grip IMHO. The brown scales really make this knife pop! Very handsome. The edge came crazy sharp out of the box... be careful! The grind is perfectly done also. No flaws. The blade coating is nicely done and should hold up as good as any. The sheath is well made with lots of extras including mounting options. There are lots of straps, loops, snaps and even eyelets for leg tie or a handle retention cord. The velcro pouch is noisy but very effective.

The BK 15 makes a great camp knife and could handle light fire making and bushcraft tasks but you need to be mindful of the laws of physics when putting this thin blade to task. Recommended!

I will update after a few more months of use.

Update: 30 May 2013

After typical use (no abuse) as a camp/outdoor knife I still like it. The look, feel, comfort and cutting ability are all above average. Love using it choked up on the choil. It is not as efficient shaving and feathersticking as a pure scandi grind but is excellent for a flat ground blade. The coating holds up very well but you can feel the resistance when cutting chunks of wood bigger than shavings. After some use the coating does begin to smooth out a bit. I only batoned small pieces of wood... nothing bigger than 2". It chops small jobs just fine... the sharp holding edge is to thank for this as the knife is very light. No rust even after a rainy overnighter. Still recommended!

Please comment and join the great discussions concerning this knife!

If you want to be technical and all that sure sure... BUT its still a full tang, its just skeletonized, so in a few words he is mostly wrong LOL. I have found A LOT of the reviews on that river store are very "entertaining" to say the least, and they propagate false information like "this knife isnt full tang" Now we are going to have a thread started in general stating "I like the 15 but its not full tang" or "I wouldnt buy a Becker they are not full tang" or "my daddy never said he was proud of me and Beckers arent full tang..." Either way, if you are considering a 15 do it. Its an absolutely fantastic knife. I have not been "nice" to mine and it has just laughed at me. I have even cross cut with it using a baton and it did perfectly. Do not let the "thinner" stock fool you its a purty tough little guy. Plus its a damn good looker. I know I am not saying anything you dont already know

 

[worldwood]

Heard lots of versions of this but not this version

One fine day in the middle of the night,
Two dead boys got up to fight,
Back to back they faced each other,
Drew their swords and shot each other,

One was blind and the other couldn't see
So they chose a dummy for a referee.
A blind man went to see fair play,
A dumb man went to shout "hooray!"

A paralyzed donkey passing by,
Kicked the blind man in the eye,
Knocked him through a nine inch wall,
Into a dry ditch and drowned them all,

A deaf policeman heard the noise,
And came to arrest the two dead boys,
If you don't believe this story’s true,
Ask the blind man he saw it too!

This is the version i remember from when i was a kid....

Here ye here ye admission free, pay at the door
Pull up a chair and sit on the floor
As i stand before you sit behind you
let me tell you a story i know nothing about

In the middle of the day evening of the night
2 dead boys got up to fight
they stood back to back and faced each other
drew their swords and shot each other
A deaf cop heard the noise
and went and shot the 2 dead boys.
If you dont believe this story is true
ask the blind man, he saw it too.

 

[hawaiianhawk]

Ha. I like that, WW.