Query about Becker BK9

Robert.B

Robert.B

Joined
Apr 17, 2003
Messages
5,283
ok i was about to order a Becker BK9 for camping etc and seen the vids on youtube of it doing some decent work splitting wood and tasks I require of a big blade. But when I googled "broken becker bk9" to get some incite from the opposite side of the fence i found bad feedback regarding hit and miss heat treatments.

http://www.knifetest.com/forum/showthread.php?t=851

here is the first link that came up for me, I don't have much of a knife budget atm and read good reviews of this knife so I'm looking for the perspective of members here that may own or have owned this knife (good or bad).

Thanks guys. :thumbup:
 
I have had and used my BK9 for a while and it's held up very nicely. It's not particularly heavy but still chops well and has taken a fair amount of batoning as well as digging with no problems. I have use it for more abusive stuff like chopping bricks, cans, coat hangers etc. and that didn't do much damage other than a few small chips out the edge. :):thumbup:
 
Take everything you see at knifetest with a grain of salt.
 
Haze said:
I have had and used my BK9 for a while and it's held up very nicely. It's not particularly heavy but still chops well and has taken a fair amount of batoning as well as digging with no problems. I have use it for more abusive stuff like chopping bricks, cans, coat hangers etc. and that didn't do much damage other than a few small chips out the edge. :):thumbup:
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Thanks for that! :thumbup: digging, batoning and such is pretty much the majority task this knife will see and possibly basic food prep of meat while camping so it is good to know it will hold up.

knifenut1013 said:
Take everything you see at knifetest with a grain of salt.
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Glad I know that now, thanks. The only knife related site I'm on is this one but figured I'd ask since their are so many people ragging on Becker/kabar knives on that site that I was second guessing myself. :yawn:
 
i,ve had one for about 3 months now & am pleased with the product. it actually came with a decent edge which would have processed veges as is. now as to chopping its a good idea to put a lanyard on it along with some grip tape since handle is a little slicker than i like for a chopper.
 
I bought one years ago and beat it routinely in the yard and on many camping trips. This included batoning, chopping, digging, hot dog, and marshmallow stick carving, etc.... Now my wife has taken it over as her yard work knife. She chops saplings out of the rocks with it and so forth. I'd say it's been a solid performer for us and would buy another if it ever was lost or stolen.

As for the knife test stuff, if you don't baton your knife through steel with a sledge hammer you'll be fine.
 
go to the becker subforum here Robert.
so much love for the bk-9 around . Noss and his knifetests reminds me of us in grade 9 metal shop......not much reality testing there.

I love the bk-9, best slicer out of all my choppers. It is a really good fleshing/ butcher knife
and slices a mean onion. Not bad drawknife either.
The handles remove as well so you can buy micarta scales or make your own as some guys are.
get it and enjoy
 
ha! i didnt even realise there was a becker sub-forum or I would have posted there...who'd of thought you could get lost on a forum! :D another section to spend too much time in, and my second guessing is 100% gone and I will be ordering shortly.

My first becker!!!
 
Keep in mind that Noss tested a Camillus made BK-9, which was notoriously brittle.
While there has been one report of a Ka-Bar BK-9 breaking while batoning, the Ka-Bars should be a fair bit tougher than the old model since the steel and heat treat are tailored more for that kind of use. Breakage while batoning should be covered by the warranty anyway, so I use the knife without worry.

The BK-9 is my current favorite bush knife. The factory edge on that thing cuts amazingly well.
 
Robert.B said:
. . . But when I googled "broken becker bk9" to get some incite from the opposite side of the fence i found bad feedback regarding hit and miss heat treatments.

http://www.knifetest.com/forum/showthread.php?t=851
Click to expand...

Heh, I know it's a spelling error, but "incite" and "knifetest.com" do seem to go naturally together. There's a lot of room to question whether the results there have anything to do with real life knife use.
 
Joshua J. said:
Keep in mind that Noss tested a Camillus made BK-9, which was notoriously brittle.
While there has been one report of a Ka-Bar BK-9 breaking while batoning, the Ka-Bars should be a fair bit tougher than the old model since the steel and heat treat are tailored more for that kind of use. Breakage while batoning should be covered by the warranty anyway, so I use the knife without worry.

The BK-9 is my current favorite bush knife. The factory edge on that thing cuts amazingly well.
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That's interesting. I always thought that the general opinion was that the Camillus ones were the better blades??

- Mark
 
Mark J said:
That's interesting. I always thought that the general opinion was that the Camillus ones were the better blades??

- Mark
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Depends on your use. 0176-C reportedly held an edge really well, but the durability issues were not limited to the Beckers. Cold Steel Carbon V was the same stuff.
 
GrinderMcgee said:
^^So you have, or have not broken a BK-9 or CS Trail Master from the Camillus factory Joshua?
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No I have not. I'm just going off the reputation they got.

I'm sure the old ones were plenty tough for just about everything you would need in a bush knife, it's just that little "outside the box" thinking where you run into trouble.
Yes, I'm well aware that most knives don't do too well in those situations.

Ethan Becker himself stated several times in the guntalktv Shot Show 2008 videos (now requires membership:() that the Ka-Bar Beckers are a fair bit tougher than the Camillus ones.
 
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