- Joined
- Aug 9, 2006
- Messages
- 718
Becker knives have not featured prominently in my knife interests. I had a Camillus made BK7 for a while - nothing negative about it but it never really appealed to me and I sold it off. I have one of the little BK11 knives and quite like it.
I have long admired the lines of the BK5 Magnum Camp and when someone posed the questions in this forum a while back re who would buy one if they were re-introduced, I volunteered to do so.
As a result of this, the Becker BK5 is once again available and I honoured my side of the bargain and purchased one.
The knives weren't that easy to find on line - I live in Australia and they aren't available here yet. My main concern re importing one was the full length swedge which potentially leaves the interpretation open to customs officials to categorise it as a dagger. I needn't have worried - there was no silliness and the knife cleared customs without delay or othe problem.
I have only had it for a couple of days and haven't had the opportunity to use it at this stage but thought I would share my initial impressions.
The first thing that struck me as I removed it from the box and sheath was the light weight. This is not a criticism of the knife as such - its more a case than when you pick up a big knife you expect to feel something heavy. It's partly weight and partly balance I think, but noticeable nonetheless.
The knife is flat ground and as mentioned above, has a full length swedge - I assume that this is a weight saving thing. The grind is mostly good but the swedge grind finishes about a quarter inch short on one side and goes to the tip on the other. You have to look hard to spot the diference, especially with the black coating.
The blade was shaving sharp along its full length. The edge grind was not perfectly symmetrical but pretty much on par with other factory knives.
Removing the grip scales showed that metal had been removed in the tang area, again I assume, with weight and balance in mind. I doubt this results in any structural weakness.
The sheath is nylon/cordura or similar synthetic. There is a a rigid plastic insert to protect the blade. On the front is a pouch/pocket for storage of whatever you choose, as well as another plastic insert for a smaller blade (not included). The sheath seemed functional to me and superior to my older Camillus BK7 sheath where the plastic insert tried to escape each time I unsheathed the knife.
I like the Magnum Camp. Having never owned earlier iterations of the model I can only assess it in its own right and have no regrets re purchasing it. What will I do with it? I have no idea. I generally don't use knives for clearing forests and chopping wood so its merits (or lack of them) for heavy chopping don't concern me. Handling the knife might invoke swashbuckling fantasies in some, but in reality I have very few buckles that need swashing.
Its lines invite the removal of that black coating and the replacement of grip scales with some exotic material - but then that black sheath just wouldn't do. I will deal with this in time.
I have long admired the lines of the BK5 Magnum Camp and when someone posed the questions in this forum a while back re who would buy one if they were re-introduced, I volunteered to do so.
As a result of this, the Becker BK5 is once again available and I honoured my side of the bargain and purchased one.
The knives weren't that easy to find on line - I live in Australia and they aren't available here yet. My main concern re importing one was the full length swedge which potentially leaves the interpretation open to customs officials to categorise it as a dagger. I needn't have worried - there was no silliness and the knife cleared customs without delay or othe problem.
I have only had it for a couple of days and haven't had the opportunity to use it at this stage but thought I would share my initial impressions.
The first thing that struck me as I removed it from the box and sheath was the light weight. This is not a criticism of the knife as such - its more a case than when you pick up a big knife you expect to feel something heavy. It's partly weight and partly balance I think, but noticeable nonetheless.
The knife is flat ground and as mentioned above, has a full length swedge - I assume that this is a weight saving thing. The grind is mostly good but the swedge grind finishes about a quarter inch short on one side and goes to the tip on the other. You have to look hard to spot the diference, especially with the black coating.
The blade was shaving sharp along its full length. The edge grind was not perfectly symmetrical but pretty much on par with other factory knives.
Removing the grip scales showed that metal had been removed in the tang area, again I assume, with weight and balance in mind. I doubt this results in any structural weakness.
The sheath is nylon/cordura or similar synthetic. There is a a rigid plastic insert to protect the blade. On the front is a pouch/pocket for storage of whatever you choose, as well as another plastic insert for a smaller blade (not included). The sheath seemed functional to me and superior to my older Camillus BK7 sheath where the plastic insert tried to escape each time I unsheathed the knife.
I like the Magnum Camp. Having never owned earlier iterations of the model I can only assess it in its own right and have no regrets re purchasing it. What will I do with it? I have no idea. I generally don't use knives for clearing forests and chopping wood so its merits (or lack of them) for heavy chopping don't concern me. Handling the knife might invoke swashbuckling fantasies in some, but in reality I have very few buckles that need swashing.
Its lines invite the removal of that black coating and the replacement of grip scales with some exotic material - but then that black sheath just wouldn't do. I will deal with this in time.
