Serious Question - Why do we like Beckers so much?

No hype, no frils, functional, beautiful, and bulletproof designs.

Easy to get, both in availability and price, and made to WORK.

The biggest thing with most knives, is that they don't get used. BKT's find themselves on the frontlines of the work, because when someone goes to grab that $300 custom, they think "What if......." and grab the Becker "beater". At some point, they realize that the Becker isn't a "beater", its the go to tool for hard work.

That, and I like the paint scheme. Its a classic.

Moose
 
For me the start was pretty inline with the comments here, low cost, tough knives, etc... Add to that the fact that, as many people do, I over-research the hell outta everything I get, and aside from the few people with heads up rectum out there, no one has a bad thing to say. You look around Bladeforums, and even Busse fans don't really have a bad thing to say. You look at any newbie "What knife should I get for ___?" thread and Beckers come up, and rarely if ever does anyone have anything bad to say. You look at the track record of broken knives, and you know what? No one has anything bad to say. Have a few broke? Yeah. Did the people that broke them push them past the limits of what the average person will do with them? You bet your ass. And what happens when they do? Yeah, you get a new one to replace it.

People keep coming here to the BK&T subforum for something. Is it us, the people here? Maybe. But aside from some quirkiness and a ridiculous amount of generosity, the knives here make that possible.

"What did you do with your knife today?"
"I cut a lawnmower in half. What about you?"

Take any of those knives, any of those grinds, and put them up against any other tool, and they never come up lacking. They never fall short. From using a BK3 as a hammer (guilty) to using a BK14 to pull nails (also guilty) they have never once not worked, and they weren't even intended for those jobs. I can't do that with my saw. I can't pry open my car door with my Vic Farmer. A million and one things I cannot do with a million other tools, and BK&T knives will handle all of those tasks. Not as well as a dedicated tool, but sometimes you just don't have that luxury, but with a Becker knife, you don't need it.

Why do we like Becker knives? Cause you just plain do not need anything else.
 
I guess the real question is, what's not to like? Made in the U.S.A, 1095 Cro-Van with toooj's heat treat, great, functional designs, contoured handles that fit my hand perfectly (Ethan once said in a video, that the design starts at the handle. If the handle isn't comfortable, the rest of the knife doesn't matter, or something to that effect), unbeatable price to quality ratio, quality guaranteed, and not just in words, they back it up, and also, aesthetically pleasing. Function over form, yes, but you have to admit, many of us buy things because they look kick ass. I really like the looks of the BK&T line up. I, like many, research the hell out of something before purchasing. Read the reviews. There's rarely anything negative said about them. That should speak volumes. These knives say, "Use me" merely by looking at them. Need I say more?
 
WOW.....I really am speechless.....What kind words.....I try to build stuff I like or collaborate with people whose work I really admire....Jeff and Mike at ESSE....Hank Reinhart....I never really knew Jerry Fisk before our collab...(Ah, what a sick puppy he turned out to be!!!).....It is such a satisfying feeling that you all USE the damn things......That is what really makes Mrs. Becker's second son a VERY happy boy (OK ancient bad smell)......Thanks....

All Best

ethan
 
Sometimes in life you run across a product that, after you use it a great deal, you realize is worth much more than you paid for it. And each time you hold it in your hand, you feel a pride of ownership, and know that you made the right choice when you traded your hard-earned money for the item. You never have buyer's remorse. And years go by, with good memories of all the times you carried it, counted on it, required much of it, and it never failed you. Rare is the thing that never disappoints. And you look at the scratches and nicks in the finish, and the rougher it looks, the more you love it. Because with a little regular maintenance, it's good as new. It has been tested, and passed. It has done and will do again. Others might have paid much more, but they didn't get much more. And I feel this way about each Becker I have purchased. No regrets.
 
It's clearly the minty fresh taste for me. That and the whole beat 'em like a red-headed stepchild mentality.
Just about all mine are users now. Most of the collector's pieces are now with collectors who are collecting them as collectibles.
 
My only Becker is a Camillus made C/U-7 and it is a well thought out, reliable and effective knife.
I look at my C/U-7 the way I look at my Toyota Camry.
It works, I don't have to fret about it.
I just take care of it a little and it will take care of me.
 
I've dabbled in forestry pretty much my entire life, until recently oblivious to the sharpened pry bar school of tool thought. I stumbled in to the 2; don't remember exactly how but this forum convinced me to place the order. A 9 followed soon after and I love it. It has replaced my tomahawk, hatchet, machete, and sheath knife in one tool. Every forest man whose seen it studies it. Sometimes after a "what the hell is it?" I've given two away, one rides around on a dozer cutting roads and such. It's always with me. The other day I cleared a 8 inch leaner from a 4-wheeler trail. Had neglected to throw the saw in, and the axe, but the 9 is always dangling off the shifter. Saved me a long back-track Stuff like that all the time. It's with me, it works, and it's easy to start. Only thing that has a shot at getting it off me is a machax.
 
The knives produced are down to Earth and reliable. I never worry if something is going to happen to my knife, or if it gets scratched, dirty and banged up. Beckers are knives that do what a knife needs to do, and can be called upon to do things a knife shouldn't without too much trouble. If something terrible happens to my Becker, as sad as it may be, I don't have a huge monetary investment in it. My Becker can go anywhere and do almost anything I ask of it, and all it asks in return is that it be sharpened on occasion and kept in fit condition.
 
Its made from super steel. The designs are awesome. The capabilties are unmatched. They are AFFORDABLE. Here's the best part: Half the fun is making them your own. Yeah, ESEE's come already pimped out. Then what? All their options are SHEATH options. We strip them, patina them, polish them, grimd them, file them, build our own scales, make custom leather and kydex sheaths....and end up with something that is more personally ours.

There are all sorts of expensive-ass knives out there. But if I honestly had to grab one to get stuck in the woods with, I'd choose a Becker.
 
There are many reasons I like Beckers

-Price
-Quality
-Function
-The community here

But most of all Becker handles have curves that you just cant keep your hands off of, If you own one you know what I mean. Hopefully this is PG enough to stay if not my apologies mods :) I can see where Mr. Becker could have gotten the inspiration for the shape ;)

curves.jpg
 
look at the claws on that one :)

oh, me? 30 years ago i needed a hard use camping knife, some thing unique maybe, and i found Becker, called him, and decided on the Machax. still have it. still use one as my main knife. nuff said.
 
I've always been on the lookout for what I consider the best all round performing blades at a price I can afford. I saw the thread on the BK9 and the the BK11 thread and I was bitten hard.

Quality, affordability and reliability
 
I came back to the forums after years of being away, one thing that really struck me was how friendly the Becker forum was compared to some others. I ended up getting a 9 after reading the BK2 destruction thread. I wanted to compare it to my beloved Trail Master. I was immediately blown away by how much more substantial the 9 felt compared to the Trial Master, it just screams "beat the hell out of me!" I was impressed to the level that I gave one of my buddies my user Trail master and I am getting rid of the 2nd safe queen trail master too.
Then when I took my 9 out and as Bladite correctly called it, "user errored" the crap out of it.. I was completely blown away by the response I got from members here and the fact that Mr Tsujimoto took the time to facilitate a return and replacement.

Simple yet outstanding design and manufacture backed by an American icon company, made in the USA for a very reasonable price, and this amazing community (which still blows me away that Mr Becker himself is a part of) are a few of the main reasons I am sold on Becker knives.
 
For me, why i love Beckers so much, i think it was that ah ha kinda moment. i've had and used a myriad of different blades, some good and some not so much but none ever completely fulfilled what i was looking for, i couldn't quite put my finger on what was missing that would make me 'love' a blade instead of just 'like' it (keeping in mind i'm not talking about expensive custom blades). However, when i got my hands on the BK9 and put it through its paces, it truly was an AH HA! moment. this was the knife. Like everyone else said, its not one thing that makes Uncle Ethan's knife so special, its all the ingredients in the right combination...handle design, blade design, steel, price, etc. It was his recipe that produced the knife that i wielded and said, "yup, this is what i've been looking for."
 
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