I cant help you with the Venom, but I do have a BK7 Combat Utility and a BK9 Combat Bowie.
The BK7 is intended as a successor to the KaBar and similar 7 combat knives which are intended to fill a varied role, from utility cutting, to light chopping and prying, to fighting. Such knives must be reasonably light weight, inexpensive and durable enough to stand up to the inevitable abuse they receive in combat.
This of course means that combat knives are compromises; they are awkward for fine cutting and too light for efficient chopping, for instance, although they can do both.
O.K., back to the BK7:
BLADE: I like the grind of the blade it is wide and flat/saber ground. Unlike most other combat knives in this class, the BK7s saber grind only extends about 3/8 below the spine, leaving a wide flat ground section.
The edge on my BK7 was quite thick at 0.050 behind the bevel, I would prefer something under 0.030, since this would improve cutting performance and should be enough thickness for chopping.
The blade is black epoxy coated not pretty, but it is effective in preventing rust and eliminating reflection.
BLADE STEEL: The low alloy 0170-6C steel is a very good choice for a knife of this type, although not stainless, it dose provide an increase in toughness and edge holding over the stainless steels typically used for combat knives ( such as 420HC, 425M,12C27, AUS 6, and AUS 8).
FACTORY EDGE: My BK7 came with a very sharp semi-polished edge which would shave easily. The bevel angle was about 19.5 degrees per side. This is a little steeper than I would like, eventually I will bring it down to about 15 degrees or less. Oddly enough, my BK9 Bowie came with edge bevels at 13 degrees per side.
ERGONOMICS: The Becker knives all use the same molded GV-6H handles. I find them comfortable overall, but there are a few things I dont like. First they have a flare at the rear that feels a little uncomfortable (people with small to medium hands probably will not notice this). Since I have very large hands, I would like a longer grip, especially when wearing thick work gloves. Although the grips are contoured to help prevent slipping, I would also like a little rougher handle finish for added security.
The BK7 and BK9 have a short integral guard, which is a nice improvement over the earlier Beckers (BK1-BK6), but I would like it more if it where lengthened by at least 1/4.
When I first handled the BK7, I thought that handling for light work would be much improved by the addition of a choil for chocking up on the blade, but I have gotten used to the blade the way it is. I still think a small choil would be worth while on the BK7, even though I generally avoid them.
BALANCE: The balance point coincides with the guard, which is too far back for chopping, too far forward for maximum control and about right for most utility work.
SHEATH: The BK7 (and BK9) sheath is made of Propex nylon with a Kydex liner. The sheath has a very nice pouch with an elastic band to allow it to accommodate a wide assortment of contents. I found that the pouch would hold a Swisstool with a little room to spare.
Unfortunately, the Kydex liner is not fitted to the blade and tends to rattle. I fixed this by removing the liner and fitting it to the blade (I posted a thread about this over at the Camillus Forum). The sheath is also a little noisy when withdrawing the blade from the sheath.
Overall, this is a better sheath than what you get with comparably priced combat knives.
VALUE: All considered, the BK7 offers a lot of bang for the buck.
