Swamp Rat vs Becker?

T

taiChiFighter

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Aug 20, 2011
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For a hard use survival knife can anyone explain the practical advantages, other than prestige, of a Swamp Rat (rodent 6 or similar) over a Becker BK-7?
 
becker. they are cheaper. have a good warranty. the knives cut well. they work for their designed purpose. and they have a sheath!!!!
 
There's not. The practical advantage of the BK7 is that you get the quality knife, and can spend the other $75 on gear the rat doesn't come with.

Oh... does the rat come with a sheath? Or do you have to buy that separately?
 
gytheran said:
There's not. The practical advantage of the BK7 is that you get the quality knife, and can spend the other $75 on gear the rat doesn't come with.

Oh... does the rat come with a sheath? Or do you have to buy that separately?
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prety much what I was gonna say. You could buy two 7s for the price of one swamp rat.
 
thatotherguy said:
prety much what I was gonna say. You could buy two 7s for the price of one swamp rat.
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The fact you can get 2 BK7s for the price of a Swamp Rat (without sheath) means absolutely nothing to me. I could also buy about 100 butter knives for the price of a BK7. I just want to know if you are actually getting something more with the Swamp Rat. My experience with many other things has been that more expensive doesn't always mean better or, if it is better in one respect, it may be compromised in others.
 
my point with that post is that with Becker you still get an excellent knife with great steel that's made in America and the best heat treat available for half of what you pay for a comparable swamp rat. IMO it's not worth the extra money.
 
Because I've been a Becker user for over a decade and never found them lacking in ability or quality.
 
I have never used a swamprat, I have handled a couple Bussekin and played with a 311 for awhile. I like the bussekin just fine, I intend to buy a 311 for myself soon. With that being said, I HAVE used the 7....put mine through a lil ''test'' the other day actually. I would trust my BK7....I can't see where the scrapyard would be any more viable as a woods/survival tool, even at the same price point.

Im sure the scrapyard is a fine knife, lots of people love them, and I aint saying the BK7 is ''better''.....I'm saying they both will do the job. It all depends on which one you like better....ergos, looks, price point.

I personally like saving money when I can, I will pay for quality but wont pay for a ''brand name'' if the quality difference isn't there.

whichever you choose, Im pretty sure you will be in good company.

I took a brand new 7
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Beat the everliving snot out of it all day until it looked like this
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Then spent 45 minutes and cleaned it up to this
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It's proven itself, to me at least....I would carry this anywhere with the comfort of knowing it will do what I need it to. I hope, no matter your buying decision, that you find a blade that you can feel the same way about.
 
'hard use survival knife'

They are both great knives based on what I have heard from others as I own neither. Have you or are you able to hold them in your hands, try them out, or go through the motions? If price is not an issue (assuming they are the same price) then go with which one feels better to hold.
 
This will probably be a very biased thread considering the forum its in.

Having owned several knives from Swamp Rat & Becker my answer to you is you wont know which knife is better for you until you own/use both.

That said i prefer the 8-10 Busse kin blades over the 3 Beckers i own.
 
blt-2-drg said:
This will probably be a very biased thread considering the forum its in.

Having owned several knives from Swamp Rat & Becker my answer to you is you wont know which knife is better for you until you own/use both.

That said i prefer the 8-10 Busse kin blades over the 3 Beckers i own.
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There shouldn't be a bias, I aint a fanboi. I would never tell a person to buy a Becker over any other brand that is of equal quality. Now I may STRONGLY suggest the Beckers......LOL but I won't force my opinions on others. I am from MO, the Show-Me state.....I only fully trust that which I have personally tried and tested.

I would hope other Becker fans would be as objective. A person's desires/wants/choices are his business. I would rather see him happy as a lark with a new scrapyard then see him own a BK7 that he aint fully happy with.
 
blt-2-drg said:
This will probably be a very biased thread considering the forum its in.

Having owned several knives from Swamp Rat & Becker my answer to you is you wont know which knife is better for you until you own/use both.

That said i prefer the 8-10 Busse kin blades over the 3 Beckers i own.
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Nothing wrong with that. What turns me off is the common attitude I've seen from some Busse fans "my knife cost $700 so yours is a piece of junk", which you are not displaying here. We all have our preferences with things. And that's fine.
 
I actually own(ed) both Swamp Rats and Beckers. Last year I bought a Ratmandu and Rodent Solution. I enjoyed the Ratmandu, carried it a few times and used it on day hikes and such. Honestly though, after using it, I couldn't understand what the fuss was about. I felt that I had overpaid. It offered nothing more than what I've received in my Beckers. Nada. It was a great knife, razor sharp, and pretty awesome looking knife as well, but it wasn't for me. So...I put it on the exchange, and as expected, it was sold within a few hours. I used a portion of those funds to get the Becker BK10LE.

I still have and regularly carry the Rodent Solution though. For a small knife, it kicks a lot of ass. My suggestion is go ahead and buy one. If you don't like it, I promise it will sell quickly on the exchange. They hold their value well...I got back what I paid for it.
 
taiChiFighter said:
The fact you can get 2 BK7s for the price of a Swamp Rat (without sheath) means absolutely nothing to me.
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Then I guess practicality is not really what you're concerned with.

I suggest you buy both and make your own determination on the better buy. There are plenty of people who love their rats and plenty that love their Beckers. Is one better than the other? That depends on who you ask.
 
Beckers are great but rats are better if you can afford to spend more. The biggest easily noticable difference is the handles. The Becker will be better value for your money. A Swamprat will be better if your budget allows it. Either will probably get it done. I've never actually damaged any of them, but if I was going to be particularly abusive to it, I'd feel better with Rat.
practical advantage: better ergonomics, more handle options, cosmetic options.

disadvantage, its probably going to be heavier
 
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If you are looking at this from a performance stand point then either company will give you a product you can count on. If you are looking for something that has outstanding fit and finish as well as some character than go with the Swamp. There is the price aspect but you get what you pay for. The Swamp has a no questions asked warranty and the sheaths Beckers come with is not a reason to buy one. To me Busse-kin is the way to go.
 
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