Story and comments on current/available Beckers

D

Dog of War

Joined
Sep 4, 2004
Messages
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For a number of months I've been carrying a Becker Necker, quickly decided this is one of those terrific "gotta have" designs, just a great little knife. Of all the many knives I own or have owned the BK11 is the one I would least want to be without.

So with Camillus's problems I've been looking to pick up at least one more .... waiting, waiting, I was beginning to think they were gone for good. Or just as bad, maybe those I kept hearing were in the pipeline to be released around December would be knives like you'd expect from accountants, secretaries and managers filling in for steelworkers union members.

Anyway I'd kind of forgotten that I was on knifeworks.com waiting list, and was surprised when they called me on the phone last week. They said they had a few BK11's, so I called back and decided to order two, figuring even if they're half as good as the one I already have they'll still be better tools than most the knives you can buy for twice as much.

Well there was no need to worry at all, from what I can tell. The new BK11's are very nice, in fact the finish is even nicer than I remember my older one being when it was new. And the kydex sheaths are even better, very nicely made.

I haven't done any work with them yet, so I don't know for a fact if the steel got as good a heat treat as my older Beckers, but being a simple carbon steel I'm betting they didn't screw up. The full flat grind appears even more thinly ground towards the edge than my first one .... edges are just like I would expect, kind of obtuse for my tastes but fairly sharp and even, and ground so that really hard users shouldn't be disappointed.

It's struck me lately that Camillus is the only knife manufacturer that I've been completely satisfied with every single knife I've had from them. I really hope they pull it out and manage to stay in business, companies this good just don't deserve to die.

BTW, here's a picture of my first BK11 which I reprofiled to 10 degrees/side .... and yes, it cuts very well indeed!

bk11_sheath1a2.jpg
 
Nice pic.

Yes, I still hope that Camillus pulls through, but every merchant I've spoken to recently seems to think that the workers are not going back.

Blame the American willingness to outsource for a buck. That's the culprit here, I think.
 
Um...yeah but...Camillus' bread and butter for a long time has been as an "outsource" for other companies. Why do you think it is that the majority of knives they have made for the past twenty years had someone else's name on them?? And the Kastors began Camillus by selling imported knives too.

Codger
 
Codger_64 said:
Um...yeah but...Camillus' bread and butter for a long time has been as an "outsource" for other companies. Why do you think it is that the majority of knives they have made for the past twenty years had someone else's name on them?? And the Kastors began Camillus by selling imported knives too.

Codger
Click to expand...

Codger, I meant outsourcing overseas. That's a big part of what is driving companies like Schrade and Camillus to their knees. I know both stories have a lot more complications than I make out, but overseas rip-offs are a big part of the story.

I have had no problem buying knives that were "outsourced" to Camillus. In fact, I'm going to pick up another (Camillus-made) Moore Maker stockman before supplies dry up. I have also bought two Cold Steel knives in Carbon V, knowing full well they came from Camillus. In these cases, at least it was an American company basically "subcontracting" for another American company.
 
I ordered a BK11 the other day not kwoning what I was going to get. I was thinking some big thick hunk of steel ground down to be a Necker and all the proportions would be way off and look funny.

I received it today and was impressed other than I can't safely pull it from the sheath. it's way two tight.

Stripped the Black Epoxy off this afternoon and maybe clean the blade up over the weekend. I will need to cut a piece of Micarta for some thin grip panels.

I figured it would be a handy little knife to piggy back on one of the larger knives and thought I would pick up another one.....Knifeworks is out and anyone else that had them has gone up $10-15.00 in just the last few days.

Maybe it's time to wait and see who buys the License from Ethan Becker to make them next.

Karsten
 
Hmmm ... last reply disappeared. Will try to recreate from memory.

Thanks for the kind words, Guyon. Knives and digital photography are two hobbies that go together nicely.

Karsten - seems I've always had plans for extensive mods whenever I've bought Beckers, and then it turns out I like them so much as they are, I leave them alone ... tho' I am thinking about stripping/polishing one of my new neckers and making some stabilized wood handles. IMO Ethan is one of the great designers, his knives just flat out work for me.
 
Hello, new member here, but I've been "lurking" a while. I have owned several
Camillus knives over the years and have always been impressed with them. I have a few "Riders of the Silver Screen" cowboy knives that I bought from Smoky Mountain in 1993. I have always used a Western brand hunting knife but never knew they were associated with Camillus before I found this site.
After learning about the probable demise of Camillus I wanted a few more of their knives. I ordered a couple of Yello-Jaket 3-inch lockbacks and a Becker BK2 from Chestnut Ridge and was very impressed with the knives and the service from this dealer.
 
Chestnut ridge is a great dealer. I also love the beckers and cant stop buying them. I am going to be broke under a bridge with like 5 of every model if I dont stop soon.
 
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