Srk Cpm-3V vs Becker Bk2 for batoning and hard use?

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Chashmal

Joined
Oct 8, 2017
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Hi, i live outside of the USA and its very difficult and expensive to get knives. Looking at a folding saw-2 knife/no axe bushcraft setup (i.e. a smaller knife and a stronger one for batoning). Seem to have settled on either the bk2 or srk in 3v as an 'indestructable batoning knife', with the srk adding extra length and less weight. The trees in my area are (very) hard woods (olive, gum etc) but not thick and so the bk2 should be plenty long enough. Just wondering if anyone had any idea which of them would be tougher for repeated batoning and hard use? And if anyone knows how tough the cold steels srk in 3v is? (Being that it's so new)
(Also a huge thank you for all the info i have gained from this forum & its knowledgable and experienced folks, been quite expensive as well )
 
The srk is a time tested design with 3v as an upgrade steel. It has a slimmer tang but is in every way extremely robust I have one in 3v and I love it as a utility and combat knife. Keep in mind that at general chores the bk2 will probably be better while the 3v srk will be tougher (i believe the bk2's tang is skeletonized) But both are tough and have great utility. I prefer the srk as a combat utility knife, since it has a track record for toughness and reliability. Both are great choices you cant go wrong with either, chose the one that looks better to you :D
 
Thank you for your helpful reply.
I have bk17, moras, condor bushlore, benchmade bushcrafter etc for general use & was looking to pair (one of) them with a knife that can (is built to) stand up to what i wouldn't put the others through.
 
Just one follow up question. If you are looking at two knife- no axe, does that mean a knife will also have chop wood rather than using a hatchet?

If chopping is in the cards, I'd go with a longer blade.

If just batoning, either will survive generations of batoning, though the much thicker BK2 might be better at it because the thicker blade stock and saber grind are great at splitting the wood as you pound through it.
 
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Chashmal said:
Thank you for your helpful reply.
I have bk17, moras, condor bushlore, benchmade bushcrafter etc for general use & was looking to pair (one of) them with a knife that can (is built to) stand up to what i wouldn't put the others through.
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Out of those two I would go with the Srk Its a beast and feel indestructable, however If your pairing something with a smaller blade maybe you could take a look at the recon scout? Honestly though I love my Srk and would trust my life to it so you really can't go wrong.
 
Chashmal said:
Hi, i live outside of the USA and its very difficult and expensive to get knives. Looking at a folding saw-2 knife/no axe bushcraft setup (i.e. a smaller knife and a stronger one for batoning). Seem to have settled on either the bk2 or srk in 3v as an 'indestructable batoning knife', with the srk adding extra length and less weight. The trees in my area are (very) hard woods (olive, gum etc) but not thick and so the bk2 should be plenty long enough. Just wondering if anyone had any idea which of them would be tougher for repeated batoning and hard use? And if anyone knows how tough the cold steels srk in 3v is? (Being that it's so new)
(Also a huge thank you for all the info i have gained from this forum & its knowledgable and experienced folks, been quite expensive as well )
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I know that you listed only two knives but with little more effort you can easily get a Busse company knife (Busse, Swamp Rat, Scrape Dog) as those will take A LOT of abuse and perform tasks that could be done with an axe.

Something to think about because it will be worth the money invested and stay with you beyond your life time and it has no BS warranty from Jerry Busse.
 
Thank you very much for all of your very helpful replies.
A bahco or corona could do the cutting, but i need to split the branches so that they work with the solo stove lite (i'm in Israel where the ground is hard & rocky, the woods are usually hardwoods but not very thick, so all the different methods of digging pits for cooking & camp fires are unreliable as often even a digging tool just isn't effective). & being that the branches are hard but not thick, a 5 or 6 inch knife saves both weight & precious place in my camping backpack than a larger chopper or a small hatchet (the saying "one is none & 2 is one" is a great recipe for a huge 150 pound camping pack, don't ask me how i know ).
The srk is a bit over half the weight of the bk2, so if it's just as strong-guess i'll go with that.
(The srk is renowned as a great design. Also every video i have seen testing the toughness & hardness of cpm-3v is amazing, i just haven't seen any testing of the srk in 3v & being that i have seen it said that the quality of 3v depends greatly on its heat treatment i just wanted to ask those who have experience with it)
 
Chashmal said:
Thank you very much for all of your very helpful replies.
A bahco or corona could do the cutting, but i need to split the branches so that they work with the solo stove lite (i'm in Israel where the ground is hard & rocky, the woods are usually hardwoods but not very thick, so all the different methods of digging pits for cooking & camp fires are unreliable as often even a digging tool just isn't effective). & being that the branches are hard but not thick, a 5 or 6 inch knife saves both weight & precious place in my camping backpack than a larger chopper or a small hatchet (the saying "one is none & 2 is one" is a great recipe for a huge 150 pound camping pack, don't ask me how i know ).
The srk is a bit over half the weight of the bk2, so if it's just as strong-guess i'll go with that.
(The srk is renowned as a great design. Also every video i have seen testing the toughness & hardness of cpm-3v is amazing, i just haven't seen any testing of the srk in 3v & being that i have seen it said that the quality of 3v depends greatly on its heat treatment i just wanted to ask those who have experience with it)
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Go with the 3v srk you wont be disappointed! You can also look at the cold steel ak47 field knife if you want something just as good.
 
One is stainless steel and the other carbon steel. Would hard use on these types of blades results in chipping of the edge rather than rolling? I do have an Esee 6 in 1095 steel, which I use often at the ranch for clearing dead wood etc. The edge does wear due to the edge rolling which can be repaired on a Spyderco sharpmaker.
 
jumpstat said:
One is stainless steel and the other carbon steel. Would hard use on these types of blades results in chipping of the edge rather than rolling? I do have an Esee 6 in 1095 steel, which I use often at the ranch for clearing dead wood etc. The edge does wear due to the edge rolling which can be repaired on a Spyderco sharpmaker.
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Neither of those are a stainless steel.
 
hugofeynman said:
For that price point there are great custom knives here at the forum. A Kornalski (Jamall) made in Vanadis 4 extra will take a lot of punishment, there is another maker who uses Sleipner steel (Gollik?) and I’m sure his knives are almost indestructible. Also Argus custom knives can make you something incredibly good in 80crv2, 52100, O1, ... lots of options over here. From those two you’ve mentioned, I would go with the Cold Steel one.
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I agree. I have a few knives from Gollik knives. Amazing for the price, really amazing! I have a few in Elmax and one in Sleipner. His Elmax blades take A LOT more punishment than I thought they would, and the Sleipner is nearly indestructible for sure. Both steels have an amazing heat treat, user friendly, great edge holding, and tough!
I would take a serious look into Gollik knives!
 
Chashmal said:
Hi, i live outside of the USA and its very difficult and expensive to get knives. Looking at a folding saw-2 knife/no axe bushcraft setup (i.e. a smaller knife and a stronger one for batoning). Seem to have settled on either the bk2 or srk in 3v as an 'indestructable batoning knife', with the srk adding extra length and less weight. The trees in my area are (very) hard woods (olive, gum etc) but not thick and so the bk2 should be plenty long enough. Just wondering if anyone had any idea which of them would be tougher for repeated batoning and hard use? And if anyone knows how tough the cold steels srk in 3v is? (Being that it's so new)
(Also a huge thank you for all the info i have gained from this forum & its knowledgable and experienced folks, been quite expensive as well )
Click to expand...

This is an indestructible batoning knife. 52100 (what Busse calls SR101) and in the sub $70 price range.

CS36MCn.jpg


In terms of strength, edge retention, toughness, etc etc, this knife curb stomps anything in the Becker line. 52100>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>1095 CroVan

And it’s FFG-making it a better batoning Knife than the saber ground BK2
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For batoning and hard use:

Bk2 saber grind is the ultimate batoning knife. It's also great for knife chores.

I've had both and this is an easy decision.
 
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