Out of Production

S

Snow Walker

Joined
Jul 3, 2014
Messages
93
I notice a lot of people on the Becker forum mention knives that are no longer in production. Some of these seem to be really popular knives. Since I'm still kinda new here, can someone explain to me why certain Becker knives are taken out of production? The example that comes to mind is the BK17, the clip point version of the BK16...is that out of production? Seems like it had just a little less following than the BK16...it's mentioned frequently on bushcraft forums. Does that mean the 16 will eventually be taken out of production?

I understand manufacturing, supply and demand, new designs, retooling...all that production stuff. Just trying to figure out the mental process behind the decisions.
 
I don't understand it either. At first, I didn't like the tweeners, but ended up with a BK16 in a giveaway and started using it. The handle grew on me and now I love em! The BK15 is a very nice tweener and I don't understand why it ever went out of production, as they are highly sought after. I love the my BK15!

WhMNh4P.jpg
 
The Bk6 my Personal favorite Becker and the Bk4 my second are out of production. Fantastic knives both. It all boils down to sales or lack thereof. We talk about them a lot here on this forum but our numbers are miniscule compared to the market that is needed to drive continued production.
 
Would really like to see the BK-15 come back, perhaps even in a "special" steel - although I do like the 1085 CroVan just fine.
 
91bravo said:
I don't understand it either. At first, I didn't like the tweeners, but ended up with a BK16 in a giveaway and started using it. The handle grew on me and now I love em! The BK15 is a very nice tweener and I don't understand why it ever went out of production, as they are highly sought after. I love the my BK15!

WhMNh4P.jpg
Click to expand...

The bk5 and bk15...

I can’t believe they discontinued those. By far the sexiest Beckers ever made.
 
If they got cut it was likely due to slow sales.

Every time I use my 15 I kick myself for not getting any backups. I would love to pick up another but I am always either too slow or low on funds when I see one available. It was a seriously under appreciated knife.

I wish this Kabar custom shop would give us some of the Beckers in upgraded materials. I would love an upgraded BK15 and I imagine that the sales would certainly be there if they did it with the BK16.
 
I can't explain why some knives don't get the sales ... but it has to fall to mostly people having an image of what they think is needed and just not trying some knives ...

My two favorites are the 15 and 5 and when I found out they were being discontinued I grabbed up spares ... I use them as much as any fixed blades I have and probably more in the case of the 15 ...
2018-08-09 08.49.36.jpg

2018-08-09 08.53.50.jpg

now just as long as the 9 doesn't go anywhere soon I'll be adding another of those sometime.
 
Last edited:
Hey Snow Walker I think you should get a few Beckers before there discontinued :thumbsup: you just never know when it's going to happen.
 
Yeah, I imagine that Ka-bar has enough models of knives competing for their manufacturing capacity that something has to be pretty successful to stay in production. That said, it's probably not TOO hard for them to bring back a past model for special runs.

Of the discontinued models, I've owned: 4, 5, 15, 17, 20.
Of those, I've kept TWO 5's and one modified 15.
The 5 is the closest to a Jerry Fisk blade I'll ever get. I have no use for it, but goddamn I like it.
Not much use for the 15 personally either, but I LIKE it.
The 17 was too stout for a small blade, IMO. It had some style (especially straight-clipped ;)), but the 16 is just SO ON THE MONEY that the 17 was not useful to me. The 20 was awesome, but I had no use for it. I've kept a 9 and a 21, which are on either side of the 20. If I had neither of those, I might want a 20 to fill the gap. For the cost, selling it made sense. It's funny, I bought the 20-bundle that came with the disco'd 4 and 5. I already owned a 5. Of those three, that second 5 was the only one I kept in the end. All good blades, but for knives I didn't really need, I only kept the one I loved.

My practical pick of the lineup: 11, 16, 10, 9, 21
I think that covers everything but the kitchen.
 
I use it for turkeys & roasts....
It's great for watermelon (but I use it on other melons & pineapples, too).
I'll even admit to having used it to cut veggies & chop herbs, at times; though I now have better kitchen knives.
 
Yeah, the 5 and 15 could be used for large carving, but they are otherwise lousy kitchen knives.
I'm not saying they're not FUN, but they're mostly terribly wrong for that.
I scooped ice-cream with my BK-2 once, but that doesn't make it a good spoon!
 
The 5/15 are certainly good food prep knives while camping. They are ideal knives for butchering large game. They are not kitchen knives. They are too thick and do not have the right blade shape and handle orientation for cutting on a board. I do however admit to being a kitchen knife snob who leans towards the laser thin Japanese style of kitchen knives. Once you use kitchen knives like them it makes using the 5 in the kitchen feel like using a BK2 in the woods. Way overkill. If the 15 was marketed as a hunting knife it would have likely done much much better. It is one of my preferred blades for breaking down big critters. It is also however my preferred blade for camping and bushcraft and a lot of other things. If it didn't have the choil it would probably be my favorite knife.

9wsL7dM.jpg
 
Back when these were in production I remember lots of people complaining they didn’t like trailing or clip points, only wanted drop points. I couldn’t understand that, but the sales must have reflected that.
 
There is no doubt as to why these blades were discontinued - they did not sell......As to why they did not sell, well, the MACHAX had become a little stale after three decades and there are a bunch of Kukri like blades out there now..... It’s place has really been usurped by the BK9 which I have come to prefer my own self when I go afield......I have a lot of emotional attachment to the Machax but when I need a big blade, I reach for the Nine when I head out....

The 5 and 15 are arguably two of the finest users in the BK&T lineup and designed by one of this country’s best and most prestigious (Jerry when I see you next I will deny writing those words) bladesmiths....It is hard for me to name anyone better, so, I do not get it..... The Magnum Camp(5) has always been the sleeper in the line and dammit it never, ever woke up from it’s nap.......Swinging a Five is almost as good as swinging a really good scimitar and is most satisfying....

The market is king and dictates without mercy or care...... I miss the Five a lot though, It rocks big time....

E
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top