Thoughts on my new BK9

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Feb 7, 2013
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Normally I'm a tomahawk and kukri guy through and through. I own a number of Japanese swords as well, but other than those, I have never had any interest in straight or traditional type knives. For whatever reason, I started reading a few post here in the Becker forum and came across the BK9. After seeing the BK9, it immediately called my name........seriously. Those in the kukri community have a bit of a saying that you don't choose your kukri, it chooses you. When you see the one that you are supposed to have, you just know it. Well I've seen a thousand Bowie type large blades knives and never once gave them even a thought. This changed about a week ago.

When I saw the BK9, I began researching everything I could about it.......I was truly drawn to it. A week later, I have my King in hand.

Impressions........amazing. I've been an edged weapon/tool enthusiast for over 25 years. I'm fairly well versed in the mechanics, flow, geometry, balance and application of steels used in blades, so I can bring to the table a somewhat decent idea of how a blade of this nature should look and feel.

Everything about the BK9 feels right. I just received it, so I've not put it to use quite yet, however I can say that the fit and finish on the one I received is perfect, no flaws. It's about as close to being 1/4 inch as you can get, maybe 3 hairs shy. The newer laser etch "BK9" and "Kabar-Becker" along with the textured black coating look and feel fantastic.

The blade itself is surprisingly sharp.......laser sharp. As I mentioned before, I own a few high end samurai swords and the BK9 I recieved could very well be the sharpest blade of them all. That's saying something. The first 4 inches up from the handle feel a tad "toothy" but still ridiculously sharp. Very impressive.

The handle material feels great. You would think it would feel "slick" but my grip feels very promising, certainly no slippage. Not to mention, the handle in general just looks mean!

Even though these no longer come with the BK13, the sheath and retention is 10 times better than what I expected. Snaps with reinforced Velcro all across the map and a full molle compatible system. The blade fits very snugly inside the plastic liner (sure it's not kydex, but this works much better than I thought it would) and there is no rattle at all. None. Seems to be a very secure system with plenty of room for other supplies in the sheath.

I apologize about not having taken it out and testing it before I posted, but I thought that I would at least share my initial impressions. I don't seem to have any interest in any other Becker blades at the moment, or any other "straight" blades either. My passion is with the tomahawk and kuks, but I must say............the BK9 truly called out to me and I'm absolutely thrilled at what little Ive seen so far.

I actually have somewhat of an erie feeling there's going to be an attachment I have with the KING........maybe something has been missing for many, many years with my other edged weapons........maybe something primal, something that you will never really know until it truly calls out to you almost as if your the servant and now it's your time to experience the essense of the BK9.

Ok, ok.......lets get real here. It's just a knife after all.......right? Or is it???? :p
 
You don't know it yet, but you've just had your first small taste of a very powerful gateway drug....just wait till you use it. I'd bet a paycheck that you own another Becker before 2014...

The addiction will progress and your diseased brain will begin rationalizing reasons why you need another fix; it will go something like this:
1) Well, since they already included a sheath for a Becker Remora, it would be stupid not to get one
2) The 9 is amazing, but I need something a little smaller for day hikes, the BK15/16/17 is perfect!
3) Wow, my BK5/16/17 is amazing, but a little big for EDC....I need a BK14!
4) The 14 is the perfect EDC belt knife, but I want something with a smaller handle for a neck knife...oh well hello mr. BK11

Along the way, you will have talked friends and family into buying you a BK2 and BK4 for Christmas and your birthday. There is no telling how deep you may go.
 
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Welcome Snakebreaker. The BK9 is a great knife, my absolute favorite I would take over any other.

It pairs nicely with a tomahawk too.

FrontierhawkBK9edit_zps81c9fb88.jpg


Have you seen the BK4? Interesting to see a kukri guy choose the straight blade over the BK4.

MachaxBK9.jpg
 
Welcome Snakebreaker. The BK9 is a great knife, my absolute favorite I would take over any other.

It pairs nicely with a tomahawk too.

FrontierhawkBK9edit_zps81c9fb88.jpg


Have you seen the BK4? Interesting to see a kukri guy choose the straight blade over the BK4.

MachaxBK9.jpg

A "kukri guy" would never go with a KLO like the BK4. If he really is a "kukri guy", the choice of a BK9 makes perfect sense to me.
 
I was also going to recommend checking out the BK4. I received mine a few days before the BK9 arrived and so for I am partial to the 4!
Not saying that the 9 isn't bad a$$, just liking the 4 for now. haven't been able to go out and beat on the King just yet, its in the middle of some serious Mod'n.

Beware the power of the King. He hates to be alone!
 
Yes sir, I have seen the BK4 and even read up on it a little, however the look alone does nothing for me. I've even read a number of tests done between the 4 and 9, and the 9 seems the best the 4 from everything I've read. It would appear that the 9 will have significant function over the 4 as well. Still, the 4 just dosent appeal to me that well. I'm sure its a solid unit, just not my "calling". Thanks for the responses though. It looks like a busy weekend but if I'm able to do some testing and comparisons, I will certainly post them up with pics if I can figure out how.......no success with that yet either!
 
Yes sir, I have seen the BK4 and even read up on it a little, however the look alone does nothing for me. I've even read a number of tests done between the 4 and 9, and the 9 seems the best the 4 from everything I've read. It would appear that the 9 will have significant function over the 4 as well. Still, the 4 just dosent appeal to me that well. I'm sure its a solid unit, just not my "calling". Thanks for the responses though. It looks like a busy weekend but if I'm able to do some testing and comparisons, I will certainly post them up with pics if I can figure out how.......no success with that yet either!

Surprisingly this is along my line of thinking as well. I've seen the entire current Becker lineup, I want each and every single one of them...except for the BK4. I can't explain it, I just don't like the perceived ergonomics of the piece.
 
Yes sir, I have seen the BK4 and even read up on it a little, however the look alone does nothing for me. I've even read a number of tests done between the 4 and 9, and the 9 seems the best the 4 from everything I've read. It would appear that the 9 will have significant function over the 4 as well. Still, the 4 just dosent appeal to me that well. I'm sure its a solid unit, just not my "calling". Thanks for the responses though. It looks like a busy weekend but if I'm able to do some testing and comparisons, I will certainly post them up with pics if I can figure out how.......no success with that yet either!

Surprisingly this is along my line of thinking as well. I've seen the entire current Becker lineup, I want each and every single one of them...except for the BK4. I can't explain it, I just don't like the perceived ergonomics of the piece.

Don't let the "ergos" fool ya. this thing begs to be swung, slashed and chopped.
I was hesitant as well until I picked up that cheep cs Kukri in the bargain cave at Cabelas. I liked the heft and forward weight of the Kukri, but the soft steel and handle just didn't work for me. Enter the 4.

Like I said earlier I haven't put the niner to the test yet and I'm sure based on all reports it will out chop the 4.
Maybe I just like to be different.
 
Hey Snakebreaker......

Welcome, welcome.......as a mostly recovering kookrie guy I can relate....... I bought my first kookrie from a collector named Adrian van Dyke in the mid sixties........ Best belt carried chain saw around....... Gave up on my favorite German Bowie.......Loved my kuks....... Hated the steel, hated the grips...... Then came along a WWII USN issued survival machete..... Straight spine, hefty handle, full tang, weight forward with a recurve....... 3/16 thick, light and fast..... In the under 12 inch category it pounded the HLS out of everything else I owned........ I married that with the kookrie concept and voila ...the Machax was born and I was a very happy camper.........Then came the TEN.....YESSSSSS......

I find the combination of compactness, reasonable weight, speed and chopping power close to ideal....... And this comes from a blade I had only moderate expectations for..... Oh well, wrong again.....

Methinks you are gonna love your new blade, I certainly hope so........ And it pairs so well with a Sixteen....LOL......

Have Fun......

Ethan
 
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I was very hesitant about the 9 at first, I was always a small knife kinda guy thinking a small knife could do all I asked of it, and if it couldn't.. Well then I would bust out my axe. But the king changed my mind set. All I had to do was put one in my hand and I was sold. Then once I got my own and used the hell out of it I was really sold! Some people will tell you that its too large for fine tasks but that is not true, it all depends on what you practice with. i have done everything from skin and clean field mice to chop down trees as big as my thigh! And God forbid if you needed to use it in self defense... Well I think we would all agree that the king would do the job. I can go on and on about the 9 :D
 
Won't leave the pavement without my 9.

Loves me some King.

Moose
 
The ergo's of the 4 are actually excellent. The degree at which the handle bends makes the odd-shaped blade feel and swing very natural. But from my personal experience, the 9 is the superior tool.
 
Thank you all for the welcome and the comments. For some reason, the bottom of the page says I'm not allowed to post attachments. I'm posting from an ipad, so I don't know if that has anything to do with it but I would like to do some comparisons with pics of the 9 against a few kuks and hawks. I've not seen too many of those and I thought it would be worth showing. Any suggestions on why the attachment option doesn't seem available would be appreciated.

Most of my hawks are breaching based tomahawks so a medium such as wood for comparison would not be ideal due to their obtuse edge geometry, however I think the Kangee T hawk and an Estwing tomahawk should meet a somewhat fair comparison type criteria with their thinner edges.

I will use kukris of similar lengths and weights in my comparison with the BK9. I will include results with the Ontario spec kukri (17 inches and 19 ounces) and the CS Gurka SK5 (17 inches and 22 ounces). If the BK9 really surprises me, I will add in a few HI kuks as well but they are much heavier and longer.

Thanks again and hopefully I can get those attachments figured out.
 
Little update.......I mentioned how sharp the factory edge was. It's sharper than I thought. Just a few moments ago I was going though free hanging paper. I know we've all done this before, but as one gets more and more acclimated with edged tools, you get more of an actual "feel" of the blades edge as it passes through material. This was not just cutting or slicing........it was separating the paper from itself with almost no resistance what so ever, as if there was no contact at all. Explaining cutting like this is difficult to do without "feeling" it yourself compared to how another blade may perform.

I went ahead and tried to whittle a strand of hair. I feather sticked 1 strand into 4. Again, I've been a bit of a blade Connoisseur for over 25 years and this is by far the sharpest factory edge I've seen. This is a near 1/4 inch blade at 9 inches we are talking about. Very unusual. Is this normal QC or did Ethan buy the guys a bunch of pizza for lunch that day????
 
Well nothing seems to work. At the bottom of my page it says......
You may post new threads
You may post replies
You may NOT post attachments
You may edit your posts

Do I need to be a pay in order to have that changed? Seems as though I've seen many "registered" members who post pics.
 
Well nothing seems to work. At the bottom of my page it says......
You may post new threads
You may post replies
You may NOT post attachments
You may edit your posts

Do I need to be a pay in order to have that changed? Seems as though I've seen many "registered" members who post pics.
Maybe it is your ipad, not really sure. You can post without being a paid member.
 
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