What do you use your BK2 for?

L

Lawrence Helm

Joined
Jul 24, 2014
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I bought a BK2 and have a second one on the way (as well as some BK2 sheaths); so while waiting I watched a bunch of BK2 Youtube videos, many of which I have seen before, but then I moved to some BK9 videos (I don't have a BK9 yet) and ran across a negative comment about the BK2 by Chris of Prepared Minds. He said he didn't like the BK2 because it was too heavy and, I might not have this quite right but I think he said the steel was too thick – and perhaps the knife was too short for its weight. Now I like Chris and subscribed to his channel; so his comment about the BK2 bothered me. After sleeping on it I decided that he was probably right for what he likes to do, mainly chop and baton.

I'm probably being unfair and inaccurate but am too lazy to jot down precisely what he said, but I think he predicted that those who got the BK2 would get tired of carrying the heavy weight and switch to a lighter knife, I suspect he means something like the BK16. The BK2 isn’t suitable for batoning or chopping and while it is of a length to do camp chores it is unnecessarily heavy and unwieldy for that task.

I reacted to his comments at first but after thinking them over decided he was probably right in regard to what he, Chris, likes to do. If he read a note describing what I like to do, namely hike, he being fair-minded would probably agree that the BK2 is an appropriate knife for that task.

I watched someone yesterday, maybe the Late Boy Scout or perhaps even Ethan Becker say that the BK2 is not a tactical knife. Maybe that's true in regard to fighting an enemy soldier, but in none of my hiking scenarios would I be doing that. While I will probably have a gun on my left hip, I will also have a hiking stick in my left hand and can imagine that it would provide a certain deterrence; so my inclination would probably be to brandish my hiking stick in my left hand and grab whatever knife I'm carrying in my right. In that scenario the BK2 is more confidence-inspiring than almost any other knife I own. Maybe it isn't tactical but hitting an animal with it with the blade or point would probably deter it.

If in a few months we get a lot of rain and the river is awash in rabbits and other small game I might very well decided to carry a larger camera and a smaller knife for a while, but that won't mean I think the BK2 is too heavy or too thick for its length. I am not so poor that I must have only one knife. I like the idea of having a knife (or gun or camera) for every scenario I can imagine.

In checking Amazon I noticed that the BK2 is currently its best-selling knife. If we grant that BK2 owners probably aren’t using their knives as Chris of Prepared Minds likes to use his – and probably aren’t using them the way I use mine, then what are those multitudes using them for?

How are you using yours?

Lawrence
 
Due to the thicker/shorter nature of the bk2 I tend to use more for camp duties and times when I won't want any concerns regarding damage incurred by me being an idiot, prying and such.
But, not that I wish to induce some buyers remorse, if I was looking for a Becker for hiking, it wood probably be the 10, 12 or 16, in no order aside from numerical. I find that the 2 can be a bit heavy (both a good thing and a detriment), depending on the circumstance.
As to the point as to why they are selling in droves, it is a well made, sturdy knife that even the more inept knife owner should not be able to break, and the steel allows for a keen edge while maintaining ease of sharpening. All points that a Lot of people look for in a woods/camp knife, or B.O.B. knife, which is rather popular now.
 
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Ok, This may come across wrong but you can't really go by what someone says on a youtube video. Especially a channel that has a lot of show and not a lot of go and seems to use his knives only in his videos. You can't really go by what someone says on here either. The only way you are going to know if a knife is for you is to use it for yourself.

I can tell you that I have spent 48 hours in the woods with a minimal kit with the BK-2 as my only knife. I can tell you that I have made a few bowdrill sets with it and cleaned fish with it. I can tell you that I have made many fires with mine and that it is my go to knife for harvesting chaga. I can tell you that the BK-2 is my favorite Becker knife. That only proves that in my hands, the way I use the knife, that it is a great knife for me. I also believe that we as humans can adapt to the tool and that there isn't one knife for you.

I do recommend it though. I also agree that it isn't a "tactical" knife. In my mind Ethan named it correctly The Campanion.

Since you have the knife please use it. Report back with your thoughts and observations.

Jeremy
 
I use mine for curls. High weight, low rep.

It's my perfect truck knife - local laws prevent me from keeping it in the truck. :-(
Confidence inspiring? Most definitely!

I'd pick something lighter and thinner for carrying on my person for long distances, as the thickness doesn't provide me with any features I need out and about. Thin cuts deeper with less effort and fatigue.
 
I love the hefty feeling of my 2 so much. Matter of fact I find my self holding it, and pondering how it would feel 2-4 inches longer. With a solid tang as well.
The Warrior said:
Something like this:

2.png
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^^Sweet^^
Good for battoning,chopping & some detail wood work.
Would work for field dress a deer with it too--Pelvic bone & breast bone splitter.
The BK2 is built like a fireplug--Stocky & NO weak points!
The Camillus BK2 is not as thick as the Becker .25" BK2.
 
The BK-2 was my first Becker. It is the "least used" which means almost never used. I find it too heavy for my uses. I keep it in reserve for the end of the world as we know it. I may have to cut my way out of a helicopter or something. It is a different strokes for different folks deal.
 
I have one that I used for digging while metal detecting. Roots, rock and gravel. It worked very well and I beat the heck out of it, literally. Then a couple gents here had broken tang issues with the skeleton tangs. I posted that I had lost some confidence in the knife and next was a post suggesting the BK3. It works better for ground work and I'm simply going to consider it a tool to use and replace as necessary.
 
Very well said Jeremy. I agree with what you said whole heartedly.

Lawrence, I think the BK2 is so popular because it IS such a tank.
It DOES inspire confidence in the hand.
Is it the BEST knife for every task?... Certainly not.
But, will it do everything you want it to?...Absolutely!!

Personally, the extra wieght has never bothered me.
It's a big knife. It was designed that way.
I've prepped camp meals, made fire, and carried it my hip for general chores.
When carrying the BK2 I've never found myself thinking, " Gee, I wish this was a few ounces lighter..."
It's a BK2! The Train-Wrecker! This think can field dress a Buick!! Haha!!

Take YouTube commentators for what they are...
Don't let them influence how you FEEL about a knife though.
Their opinions are just that. Opinions.
 
Nothing.

Also, what animal are you planning on deterring with your knife? Go bite a neighborhood Cat and see what happens next. Then make it mountain lion, then picture a bear..

In all fairness though, I don't think you'll have to go around shooting, stabbing stick whopping every animal you see. Being a Hunan being is usually deterrence enough for a creature to not want to be near you.
 
stvpourciau said:
Nothing.

Also, what animal are you planning on deterring with your knife? Go bite a neighborhood Cat and see what happens next. Then make it mountain lion, then picture a bear..

In all fairness though, I don't think you'll have to go around shooting, stabbing stick whopping every animal you see. Being a Hunan being is usually deterrence enough for a creature to not want to be near you.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a couple of cheap shots, but as I said in a previous note, I'm a former Marine and was trained to be prepared for every possible contingency. I don't hike where other people do, but I see coyotes almost every time we go out. There are feral dogs sometimes and signs of other animals. Two bodies have been dumped at this river since I retired to this location (we are only a few miles from the Soboba Indian Casino); so there are occasionally other types of animals. My big concern out there is for my wife's lapdog, Duffy. He weighs only 25 pounds but it breaks his heart if I leave him home; so I don't do that any more. If the drought gets worse and the coyotes get hungrier, they might make a try for him. I've trained him to stay fairly close but he likes to follow Ben, my 110 pound Rhodesian Ridgeback sometimes.

When I was younger I used to hike with others, but I've outlived all of them. I'll be 80 this coming October 12th. Also, I have a semi-invalid wife and am her sole caretaker; so I can't afford to take chances. But fortunately one of the things that separates us from animals (if we have a decent brain) is that we can anticipate. We can foresee possible trouble and prepare for it. Saying "Being a Hunan being is usually deterrence enough for a creature to not want to be near you," is not the best preparation I can think of. At one time, back in the 70s and 80s I took groups on hikes in the Angeles and Cleveland National Forests. I would tell them what to bring and then watch over them during the hike. I never lost anyone.

I'm new to this forum but not new to knives, hiking, or being prepared.


Lawrence
 
Lawrence, I applaud your dedication to taking care of your wife. Youth is wasted on the young.... I find it interesting how one evolves in terms of thought, planning, and what you actually do out in the "woods" as you age. For example, when I was younger I would have thought absolutely nothing about jumping 5 feet off a rock or something as long as I could see what kind of footing was present at the bottom. Now... hell no! I am not taking any chances on breaking a leg, hip, twisting an ankle and so forth.... just not worth it.

Nothing wrong with the BK-2. I like the BK-10 better (I think) but have not purchased one to date. I tend to lean more toward the BK-15 or BK-16 or if I want a bigger knife, the BK-7. But honestly, I carry a Blackjack 125 or Dozier custom most of the time anyway in the outdoors.
 
22-rimfire said:
Lawrence, I applaud your dedication to taking care of your wife. Youth is wasted on the young.... I find it interesting how one evolves in terms of thought, planning, and what you actually do out in the "woods" as you age. For example, when I was younger I would have thought absolutely nothing about jumping 5 feet off a rock or something as long as I could see what kind of footing was present at the bottom. Now... hell no! I am not taking any chances on breaking a leg, hip, twisting an ankle and so forth.... just not worth it.

Nothing wrong with the BK-2. I like the BK-10 better (I think) but have not purchased one to date. I tend to lean more toward the BK-15 or BK-16 or if I want a bigger knife, the BK-7. But honestly, I carry a Blackjack 125 or Dozier custom most of the time anyway in the outdoors.
Click to expand...

22-Rimfire,

Thanks for your comments. When I was getting ready to retire from Boeing I attended a company-sponsored series of lectures on retirement. One lady a specialist in gerontology, asked people to hold their hands up if they took 1 medication, then 2, then 3 etc and then said that if there were a pill with no adverse side effects, that would enable them to do away with all their other pills, would they take it? Most people held up their hands. She said it was "exercise." I wonder how many took her advice. I have always been of that mind, but in my case I also exercise with weights so that I strengthen ligaments, muscles even bones. Falling is something that can't be avoided entirely, so the best "preparation" for that is to be properly loosened up before a hike and then pick routes that reduce the chance of tripping or falling -- at least that's what I try to do. Even then I do occasionally wrench something a bit -- but no pain that doesn't eventually go away -- at least so far. But yeah, I used to jump off of things when I was younger and wouldn't do that now.

[Btw, along with those who denigrate the YouTube Survivalist videos, I've noticed that a number of "survivalists" are grossly over-weight and suspect that most of them aren't going to "survive" into their 60s. On the other hand a lot of them provide what seems to be good advice, however long they're going to live.]

As to how I've "evolved," I concede that my hikes aren't as ambitious as they used to be. When I was working in aerospace I'd hike all day on a Saturday: start out before dawn and come home after dark, but now a couple of hours on the soft river sand makes a good hike for me (for my dogs as well, as it turns out). However, I don't do this just once a week. In good weather I'll hike three times a week. In hot weather like we're having now we average twice a week.

I don't hear or see as well as I used to so rely on the dogs for more than companionship, but they seem better at hearing than seeing it turns out. As often as not I will see the coyotes before they do if they are some distance away. If they are nearby in the brush Ben may hear them and go in after them. I'm trying to discourage him from chasing coyotes btw. I actually like the coyotes being down there. I suspect they discourage other hikers and I'd just as soon keep it that way.

In the last few years my gear-head forays have been more into cameras than knives; so I seem to be making up for lost time. I've purchased a couple of small Ka-Bars, the small versions of the USMC Ka-Bar fighting knife, and I also purchased, but don't have it quite yet, the Ka-Bar Heavy Bowie. But actually if its on my belt, the heaviness of a knife doesn't bother me as much as its length -- if it is very long. Hmm. Just now the postman delivered this very knife. I tried it on and the sheath is very stiff. It may be uncomfortable for me unless I can get it to loosen up. I wonder if someone has made an after-market leather sheath for this knife. Is that real leather on the snap braces?

Which takes me to the BK9. I didn't start out looking for a 9-inch bladed knife. I suspected such a knife might be too long to be comfortable on a hike. I don't mind the weight on my very heavy-duty belt as long as it isn't awkwardly moving about as I hike, thus my attraction to the BK2. The BK7 is good as well.

One other thing, the BK2, 7, and 9 are so popular that people are selling after-market sheaths on eBay. That's a big reason for me to favor Becker knives over its competitors (I haven't really checked that, however. I'd be interested if there are other brands that have an equivalent after-market market.)

Lawrence
 
Length is also very important in terms of carrying comfort. If it wasn't, I'd carry a short machete everywhere on hikes, but they are really not comfortable flopping around. But if you need something like that to chop with, you carry it. The BK-9 is right at that potentially awkward length. My judgement is that it would be a great choice.

I seldom do hikes that are many miles in length. So the weight of the BK-2 is really not the issue for me, it's the thickness of the bar steel that makes it more difficult/uncomfortable to use unless you have lots of practice. It is a control and dexterity thing for me, not really weight. I use mostly folders for just about everything even in the woods. My hand reaches for my SAK immediately when I think I need a knife and it takes a conscious thought choice to draw a fixed blade and use it. More than likely I will try to use the folder first and 95% of the time, that's all you need. Been trying to wein myself away from my SAK and carry a GEC #42 (Missouri Trapper) as a woods alternative. I like a larger folder for using and my SAK choice is a 111mm one.

Was fondling a Spyderco S35VN Native (G-10 scales) today. It is really a nice knife, but a little pricey when you consider I really don't need it. I almost bought it (just because). The other one that caught my eye was a SOG revolver 2.0 which is a downsized SOG Revolver. I have the original Revolver Hunter when they were first released. The smaller one looks like it would be pretty useful with the saw, but I would prefer to loose the gut hook. Even was handling a Benchmade Adamas; what a beastly folder!
 
Welcome to the awesome Becker Sub Forum!

I don't want to sound to biased here, but I personally don't think anything that guy says should be taken too seriously. Just my opinion and obviously more than 50,000 people love him, but this is just my opinion, and my opinion only. I think he has no Idea what he is even talking about sometimes. This is the same guy who says everyone must carry a folding fan for fire making in your bushcraft kit? Lol

I am no expert but I have been using knives my whole life. I think it basically comes down to what you are comfortable with and what your needs of a knife are.
The BK-2 is a great knife for a lot of different tasks. Is it the best knife in the world for every task? Absolutely not! But no Knife is. Each style and type of knife are designed to excel in certain areas of Cutting and Cutting tasks.

As far as battoning, The BK-2 will out Baton the BK-10 and The BK-7 because of the thicker blade. Works like a wedge and splits the wood a lot faster.
As far as chopping, if you have to chop with a knife, the BK-2 will also out chop the BK-10 and sometimes the BK-7 because of the extra weight and design. In my experiences that is. Others may have different results.

But if you are looking for a better knife to chop and baton, go for the BK-9 or BK-4, or better yet, get the Becker Kukri when it is released in a few months.

As far as cutting tasks and finer work, the BK-2 handles it all very well. But something like the BK-16/17 or even the BK-11/14 would be a lot more comfortable when carving small things where you have to hold the knife for long periods of time because of the weight difference and blade size.
The BK-10 is also a great knife and I consider it to be a very similar knife to the BK-2. Differences are it is thinner, therefore lighter and more nimble. It is a great feeling knife and if you are looking for something that can also be used as a back up fighter this will work. It has a thumb ramp and also a larger finger guard and a small clip point for better penetration.
Personally, I didn't like the clip point on my BK-10 so I modded it into a drop point. Now I love the knife.

Bk-7, well, I can't stand it. It is to long to be useful as a small knife and to short to be useful as a large knife. JUST MY OPINION GUYS. haha :) And it has that horrible clip point.
But If I was looking for a knife to use as this was designed for, I'd go for it in a heartbeat. But I am no soldier and have no need to fight with a knife. But really any of my Becker's can stab someone with no problem at all.

As far as smaller knives, the BK-16 is one of the best on the market! Period. I do prefer the Micarta scales. The BK-16 is many times more comfortable in the hand than most of the competitors, even ones priced 2 and 3 times higher. It is also better balanced in the hand than most of the others.

Now let's get down to it. Do I think the BK-2 is too heavy for Hiking? Maybe. Depends on the person. I know people that EDC a BK-2. In a SHTF situation, I'd be a lot happier having the extra thickness and weight and would not have to worry about it failing on me. But hiking, I'd rather have something like the BK-16 since it is a lot lighter and still can do large tasks.

Maybe a better option would be to have a BK-9 strapped to your pack for large stuff and a BK-16 or something similar for everything else.

But a BK-2 is a great knife for most tasks. There are just lots of other knives in the Becker lineup that will do each task a little better. It's a great knife for people looking for just one knife and one knife only. Which is great. It was my first Becker and the one that got me hooked. I now prefer to use other knives at this point in time. My personal favorite is the BK-16. My other favorite is the BK-12. That may be one you might want to look into.

Sorry for rambling and hope I make sense. haha. The only way to know if a knife is right for you is to try it. I am constantly buying and trying new knives and usually end up going back to the ones that work best for me.

Also, I think Dresnor hit the nail right on the head. Everything he said makes perfect sense.
 
Dexwithers said:
Welcome to the awesome Becker Sub Forum!

I don't want to sound to biased here, but I personally don't think anything that guy says should be taken too seriously. Just my opinion and obviously more than 50,000 people love him, but this is just my opinion, and my opinion only. I think he has no Idea what he is even talking about sometimes. This is the same guy who says everyone must carry a folding fan for fire making in your bushcraft kit? Lol

I am no expert but I have been using knives my whole life. I think it basically comes down to what you are comfortable with and what your needs of a knife are.
The BK-2 is a great knife for a lot of different tasks. Is it the best knife in the world for every task? Absolutely not! But no Knife is. Each style and type of knife are designed to excel in certain areas of Cutting and Cutting tasks.

As far as battoning, The BK-2 will out Baton the BK-10 and The BK-7 because of the thicker blade. Works like a wedge and splits the wood a lot faster.
As far as chopping, if you have to chop with a knife, the BK-2 will also out chop the BK-10 and sometimes the BK-7 because of the extra weight and design. In my experiences that is. Others may have different results.

But if you are looking for a better knife to chop and baton, go for the BK-9 or BK-4, or better yet, get the Becker Kukri when it is released in a few months.

As far as cutting tasks and finer work, the BK-2 handles it all very well. But something like the BK-16/17 or even the BK-11/14 would be a lot more comfortable when carving small things where you have to hold the knife for long periods of time because of the weight difference and blade size.
The BK-10 is also a great knife and I consider it to be a very similar knife to the BK-2. Differences are it is thinner, therefore lighter and more nimble. It is a great feeling knife and if you are looking for something that can also be used as a back up fighter this will work. It has a thumb ramp and also a larger finger guard and a small clip point for better penetration.
Personally, I didn't like the clip point on my BK-10 so I modded it into a drop point. Now I love the knife.

Bk-7, well, I can't stand it. It is to long to be useful as a small knife and to short to be useful as a large knife. JUST MY OPINION GUYS. haha :) And it has that horrible clip point.
But If I was looking for a knife to use as this was designed for, I'd go for it in a heartbeat. But I am no soldier and have no need to fight with a knife. But really any of my Becker's can stab someone with no problem at all.

As far as smaller knives, the BK-16 is one of the best on the market! Period. I do prefer the Micarta scales. The BK-16 is many times more comfortable in the hand than most of the competitors, even ones priced 2 and 3 times higher. It is also better balanced in the hand than most of the others.

Now let's get down to it. Do I think the BK-2 is too heavy for Hiking? Maybe. Depends on the person. I know people that EDC a BK-2. In a SHTF situation, I'd be a lot happier having the extra thickness and weight and would not have to worry about it failing on me. But hiking, I'd rather have something like the BK-16 since it is a lot lighter and still can do large tasks.

Maybe a better option would be to have a BK-9 strapped to your pack for large stuff and a BK-16 or something similar for everything else.

But a BK-2 is a great knife for most tasks. There are just lots of other knives in the Becker lineup that will do each task a little better. It's a great knife for people looking for just one knife and one knife only. Which is great. It was my first Becker and the one that got me hooked. I now prefer to use other knives at this point in time. My personal favorite is the BK-16. My other favorite is the BK-12. That may be one you might want to look into.

Sorry for rambling and hope I make sense. haha. The only way to know if a knife is right for you is to try it. I am constantly buying and trying new knives and usually end up going back to the ones that work best for me.

Also, I think Dresnor hit the nail right on the head. Everything he said makes perfect sense.
Click to expand...

Dexwithers,

This is all interesting, and I mean that. I'm enjoying this discussion. However somehow we have gotten around to offering me advice about what to watch on Youtube and what knife to carry on hikes. Actually I didn't single out Chris of Prepared Minds to watch. I think he is more entertaining than most of the others but I watched everyone available on the knives I was interested in and only mentioned Chris in this case because his negative opinion about the BK2 didn't jibe with Amazon's declaring it the best seller in knives. My last job in engineering was to question engineers about changes they proposed to the C17; so I am not a gullible person. But while most of the others weren't as negative about the BK2 neither were they complimentary, at least I didn't run across many that were.

Also, I'm not in doubt about the knives I intend to carry on hikes. Well, perhaps in a way I am. I live in a rural area with no knife stores so I have to try and figure out whether I want to make a purchase depending upon what I read on the internet, including videos from YouTube. I sometimes buy a knife and am disappointed but I don't think I asked for advice about what to carry on a hike. A few like the BK16. Chris of Prepared Minds said that Ethan Becker advised him to quit focusing on the BK7 and to focus instead on the BK16. Also, Becker himself said that the bK16 was the knife he always wanted from the time he was 14. He didn't know it then, but he knows it now. So a BK9 plus a BK16 may represent a perfect combination in Becker's (and Chris's) estimation for a camping situation. For my situation the BK16 doesn't sound that interesting.

I have a wide variety of knives I use for hiking, and while I am in a mood to go for a heavier knife at present, later on if I want to go light, I wouldn't go for the BK16. If I can believe Amazon the knife, or maybe its the knife and sheath, weight 15.2 ounces. I don't know if you have run across them, but Ka-Bar has "miniature" versions of the USMC fighting knife. The knives plus sheath weigh about 9 ounces. The blades are a shade under 5 1/2 inches long. I don't know if anyone has tested these knives, but the tang going through the stacked leather seems to be the same size as that going through the stacked leather of a full-sized USMC fighting knife; so they ought to hold up to some level of abuse before failing. I mentioned the lightweight Kershaw 1010 but am thinking at present that when I want to go light again I will probably opt for the little version of the USMC fighting knife. I often EDC one of these little KaBars around my house and property. Lately however I've been using a RAT-1.

I wrote my first note because I heard Chris of Prepared Minds and there may have been some others speak critically of the BK2 and that contrasted with the fact that it is selling so well at Amazon. Are all those people being misled by someone's false advertising, or are there good and valid reasons why the multitudes are buying the BK2? I was curious about that. I hope I mentioned that none of the criticisms affected my intending to use the BK2 for hiking.

As to the BK2 not being a good knife for batoning, I think what was meant was that with the short blade you would need to find branches of really small diameters in order to have the blade stick through far enough to hit. Chris, I suspect, would find it a batoning failure for that reason. I don't intend to do any batoning; so this matter is moot as far as I'm personally concerned, and in a earlier disclaimer I admitted the possibility that I may not be accurately remembering what Chris said.

I happen to like the BK7. It is about the same length as the KaBar USMC fighting knife. It is the BK7s sheath I don't like and immediately sent away for a custom sheath from Skystorm. If the sheath fits against my leg about the same way my Ka-Bar USMC fighting knife does, I'll be a happy man. I'm also unhappy with the BK2s sheath and sent for (as it happens) 4 leather sheaths. I didn't intend to do that, but some guy was selling a "new" BK2 with 3 custom sheaths. He listed a price but had the "make offer" option available. I made an offer and he accepted it; so that package will arrive next Wednesday. I like the BK2 just fine. I like the BK7 as well. Which one will I end up liking best for hikes? That will depend to a large extent on the sheaths I get and how well the knives ride on my belt.

I won't say I am "constantly buying and trying new knives" like you do, but I periodically do it. I am also interested in photography and take a lot of pictures during my hikes; which I post on my smugmug site. I don't think I've posted enough notes to be able to reference that site, but I'm not sure about that -- in case anyone's interested.

Lawrence
 
Lawrence, welcome to the forums. As with beekeeping, guns, gardening and cooking, if you ask 10 people here, you will get 12 answers as to their opinion on any subject. :D

My fixed blade EDCs are either paired Kabar 1232s or paired Kabar 3/4 sized "shorty" Kabars, the 5-1/" versions you mentioned. One, they are legal for public carry in Texas and two, I like them. You can do virtually everything with them you need to do on a day-to-day basis.

I routinely carry the BK2, BK7, BK9 and full-size 1219C2/MK2 Kabars when working around the farm. I have used all of them for standard cutting, "emergency" machete use, digging, root cutting, batoning, package opening and rattlesnake decapitations. They all worked admirably in each of those situations.

With respect to the weight issue, I have found that the more you carry them and use them, the less the weight actually matters. I'm short, only 5'6" and the only problem I have with any of them with respect to overall length (in sheaths) - the longer sheaths (with the 7,9,1217) is they get in the way a little when working with the post hole digging auger on the tractor and I have to turn around on the tractor seat to operate the controls.

Specifically, with regards to the weight issue,
BK2 (current) 13.34 ounces
BK7 13.6 ounces
BK9 16.8 ounces
Kabar 1217 (USMC 1219C2 repro version) 11.2 ounces
BK10 12 ounces
BK12 12.8 - 13.2 ounces

The original Blackjack BK2 and Camillus BK2 versions were 14.7 ounces and the Gen 1 Kabar was 14.6 ounces.

IMO, and I'm sure someone will bang on me for it, but anyone complaining about the weight of the 2, compared to anything other than the 9 or something like the Western W49 or one of the larger Ontario Sp series knives, is just looking for something to complain about. The weight differential between the 2 and any other knife is like the weight of 1 Fiber-One bar.
 
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