What do you use your BK2 for?

I modded mine, It's been inactive since. The BK2 has a really big following. For many it was their gateway Becker, for others it's their only Becker. I like longer knives so it doesn't fit my bill. On the other hand, I'd never feel short changed if someone handed me a BK2 if I ever found myself without a blade. It's basically a splitting wedge with a handle. Tough as Hell and designed by a man that knows his stuff better than most.
 
zzyzzogeton said:
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.
Click to expand...

I happen to have a Western W49: The knife is 20 1/2 ounces. With its leather sheath it weighs 26 ounces. I might have taken that on a hike years ago. That may have been the root cause of my dislike of a dangler. I could have cut it off I suppose, but I set the knife on a shelf instead.

As to people complaining about the weight of the BK2, some people do seem to be saying something like that, but perhaps they just mean that it is too heavy for their purposes. Bluerabbit on his similar thread expanded his thinking more than some of the others (or maybe I just expanded it in my imagination) and he seemed to feel that the weight of the BK2 made it cumbersome in his hands for the purposes he intended to use it for. I don't think he really thought the BK2 too heavy in absolute terms. After discussing this with him for a while I agreed with him and thought his first choice the BK16 was probably the wisest one -- for him. He didn't tell me all the things he intended to use his knife for, but whatever his purposes I will bet the BK16 will serve them better than the BK2 -- based entirely on the things he said and my fertile imagination.

Now as to how I intend to use my BK2 I feel a bit guilty because as a hiker, one by the way too old to go on really long hikes any more, the main job of my BK2 will be reside in its sheath and not cause me any trouble. As to actually cutting jobs, I had forgotten that I do have one. Periodically I make hiking sticks and canes. My procedure is as follows: I use a Buck Handsaw to cut a branch to hiking stick or cane length. I pulled my Buck saw out and don't see a number on it. I looked for it on the internet, on Amazon and eBay and couldn't find it, but it is extremely useful. The overall length of the saw is 14 inches. The cutting edge I use is 10 1/4 inches. The saw itself weighs 7 ounces. With its sheath this setup weighs about 14 1/2 ounces. It has a belt loop but I carry it in my knapsack; which I have to take off anyway if I'm going to saw through a fallen branch. Often there are smaller branches that need to be cut away. The last time I did this I used the saw to cut them away, but perhaps the BK2 will do this job in a chopping fashion.

Depending upon how long the branch has been lying on the sand, some of its bark may be loose. I don't want this to come off in my Jeep so I use a knife to cut this bark away. I used the Buck 639V the last time I was doing this sort of thing. In retrospect the knife didn't do all that well because it is too light, maybe 6.6 ounces. I'm sure the BK2 will do much better.

Then at home I use an old bone handled Parker to scrape away the rest of the bark and fill any insect or other holes with wood putty. I may use the BK2 for scraping but won't use it for wood putty. I have to chip it off of the Parker from time to time.

And of course if I see any sort of rock or anything else in the sand that looks interesting I'll use whatever knife I have to pry it out. Not a very challenging task that one, but it is all I can think of at the moment. Sticking it into ravenous beasts coming down from the mountain isn't something I expect to do. But as my Border Patrol brother-in-law (who was once stationed in Marfa. Do you know where that is?) like to say. Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

Lawrence (having it)
 
Marfa, Texas - Home of the Marfa Lights and out in the middle of Nowhere, Texas.
Been there, Saw/Heard/Did Nothing, Didn't even buy the T-shirt. :D
And if your b-in-l is any where close to your age, when he was there, there was even less. :D:D

190 miles from El Paso
404 miles to San Antonio
430 miles to Austin
300 miles to Lubbock
Marfa Texas Map.jpg
 
zzyzzogeton said:
Marfa, Texas - Home of the Marfa Lights and out in the middle of Nowhere, Texas.
Been there, Saw/Heard/Did Nothing, Didn't even buy the T-shirt. :D
And if your b-in-l is any where close to your age, when he was there, there was even less. :D:D

190 miles from El Paso
404 miles to San Antonio
430 miles to Austin
300 miles to Lubbock
View attachment 467543
Click to expand...

That's funny, but what makes it even funnier for me, I was a program engineer at McDonnell Douglas at the time and responsible for managing the delivery of the last two DC-10s. I forget whether it was the last or next to last that went to Pakistan but I was invited to fly to Pakistan on the delivery flight and then take a side-flight to Katmandu, compliments of Pakistan airlines (or whatever it was called back then). I had to back out because my wife had her heart set on visiting her sister in Marfa. I had to explain to my coworkers later on that no, I didn't go to Katmandu. I went to Marfa. They had a lot of fun with that.

The drive did seem to go on forever with nothing in between. My brother-in-law, Tom, is 15 years younger than I am and I think we must have visited him (and his wife my wife's sister) in the early 80s. The Border Patrol monitored the border with some small planes. The big deal for Tom was going to breakfast in one of the two restaurants in Marfa every morning. It was an important ritual. Tom pointed some of the ranchers out to me. One drove 60 miles every morning so he could have breakfast there. As far as I could tell he wasn't there for the society. He said hello to the waitress but after that just sat there minding his own business.

Tom was always climbing the Border Patrol management ladder. We also visited them in Eagle Pass.

I didn't mind the open spaces but being a hiker I was shocked to learn that there weren't that many places to hike in Texas. Somebody owned it wherever it was. Tom, an avid hunter, said it didn't represent a problem for him because he knew some of the ranchers and they let him on their land.

What does this have to do with Becker knives or any knives for that matter? I can't think of anything. The Border Patrol did have a shooting range and I had a S&W 357 with a two inch barrel. Tom argued that my handgun would do okay at 100 yards; so I shot mine and he shot a 3-inch barreled something or other at ammo boxes at 100 yards. We each hit our box once out of 6 shots. :cool:

Lawrence
 
I carried a BK-2 solely for a summer and fall while metal detecting in the Boreal bush along a river a few years back. Yes it does have noticeable weight compared to other knives. But I found that it didn't take long for me to forget that it was on my belt, so it can't be that bad, well for me anyway. The only time that I was reminded of it was when I went down on my haunches and it touched the ground. Or sometimes I don't want the weight initially and carry something else. I always saw this one as a bit of knife and hatchet wood splitter combined. I believe that someone called it a wood wedge, which sounds about right to me. I always feel secure in the knowledge that I can use this knife as a knife, or to do heavier wood processing tasks. Finally, I just love its aesthetics. I like the way the knife looks and feels, particularly with Micarta scales. I squared off the spine on mine and it sprays an impressive shower of fero rod sparks now. If weight is an issue, how much does an axe or hatchet and a knife combo weigh?, I can combine these two in one with my BK-2. Well that's how I view it anyway. My 2 is a grab and go prying, digging, slicing, splitting multitool for serious wood processing, in a situation of need.
 
To make a fair Knock at a knife I had lusted over for a couple of years and had the distinction of being my 1st Becker and now only Becker, it's not the wieght that's really the issue, it's the Thickness.

If I try to do any work with it my hand fatigues rather quickly as I guess hands just aren't oversized enough to get a proper grip on it and I have to make up for the lack of proper control through the use of strength to hang on to it. That makes for hand cramps rather quickly.
 
stvpourciau said:
To make a fair Knock at a knife I had lusted over for a couple of years and had the distinction of being my 1st Becker and now only Becker, it's not the wieght that's really the issue, it's the Thickness.

If I try to do any work with it my hand fatigues rather quickly as I guess hands just aren't oversized enough to get a proper grip on it and I have to make up for the lack of proper control through the use of strength to hang on to it. That makes for hand cramps rather quickly.
Click to expand...

This is actually the only problem I have with the 2. My hands aren't large enough to control the knife comfortably, even though it is very capable of doing fine work. I used mine (a Camillus 2) a lot when I first got it, trying out different tasks and was surprised at how nimble it could be. Even though it's a little thinner stock than the current ¼", Camillus Grivory is thicker, so I do find my hand cramping now when I use it. I have since acquired some more task specific Beckers, so the two is ripe for a modding. Still, I'd be more than happy if I found myself with only the Campanion. I know I haven't explored even a fraction of its potential, and it is a very confidence inspiring blade to hold. Luckily for me, the Cam BK-2 is a full tang (no cutouts), so I've got a lot of options to consider for the next iteration of this tank of a knife.
 
I use mine for whittling teeny tiny little cutlery.

20120205_IMG_1595.jpg


---

Beckerhead #42
 
granitestateofmind said:
This is actually the only problem I have with the 2. My hands aren't large enough to control the knife comfortably, even though it is very capable of doing fine work. I used mine (a Camillus 2) a lot when I first got it, trying out different tasks and was surprised at how nimble it could be. Even though it's a little thinner stock than the current ¼", Camillus Grivory is thicker, so I do find my hand cramping now when I use it. I have since acquired some more task specific Beckers, so the two is ripe for a modding. Still, I'd be more than happy if I found myself with only the Campanion. I know I haven't explored even a fraction of its potential, and it is a very confidence inspiring blade to hold. Luckily for me, the Cam BK-2 is a full tang (no cutouts), so I've got a lot of options to consider for the next iteration of this tank of a knife.
Click to expand...

On a Youtube video, Ethan Becker said he had medium to large hands and expected that his handles would therefore fit almost everyone. I think of my hands as being on the small side, but I've worked out with weights my whole adult life so maybe they are a bit stronger than average and if that's the case maybe (theoretically) a person could increase his hand strength and make handling the BK2 more comfortable. You might expect that as something an ancient weight-lifter might say; so getting that out of the way, I recall once buying a S&W 44 Special with a 4 inch barrel. The grip seemed enormous; so I bought some scale blanks (don't recall the proper term) and worked on them with different grades of sand paper over several days and several outings at the shooting range until they finally felt good. My shooting score went way up with that gun as well. Years later my son needed a gun for some outing; so I gave it to him. His hands are much larger than mine and I suggested that he might want to switch back to the original scales, but he said he preferred the ones I had made. That's only a little bit of experience but if later on I decided that the grip on the BK2 was uncomfortably large I would get some wooden scales, or make them from wood I find at the river, and finish them to fit -- at least I'd give it a try. . . if someone wasn't already doing that and selling them on eBay. :topsy_turvy:

My old 2 cents worth,

Lawrence
 
Hey Lawrence Helm.......

First of all-welcome, welcome, welcome........ And a fine discussion you have started, sir....LOL...... The Campanion was designed to be a "One Knife", Oh My God it got deep here in a hurry blade....... It has field dressed a couple of cars and been batonned thru a lawn mowers deck....... It has also been a decent all around camping blade and it has it's very own NSN#....... At one of the PWYP weekends I talked the approximately six guys around our fire to use a single Campanion to do it all....... Not an easy sell to a half dozen knife nuts, LOL.......It made the kindling and much of the cook wood for at least six cook fires, chopped a bunch of onions and garlic, cubed chili meat and carved a bit, made some fire and pot tools,and battoned more wood........ Is it a bit heavy for it's size?.......Yes....... Will it do everything that needs be done?....So far it has....... Is it gonna break off in a mammal that requires dispatching?...... Very likely not...... It is not a delicate flower and would look silly in a vase but it IS a damned good Armageddon special, which is what I had in Mind......

The Ten is an almost as good alternative, Armageddon wise in almost the same package......

An interesting historical note....... The Seven came about as a request form Camillus to modernize the USMC "KA-BAR" and the Ten " Crewman" was intended as a follow on for the USAF Survival Knife....... I agree with Dex that the "Seven" is a kind of betwixt and between blade...... Long enough to fight with but lightweight for it's length and strength and still useful as a camp knife........ The BK2 is the best seller in my line and it appeals to those who think Armageddon like thoughts and it is very oh Damn look what I did to my knife proof........ As a world class screw up at times and as much as I am in love with my Sweet Sixteen, I like a Campanion handy too....

I really appreciate your interest and support and whatever Becker you choose I hope it work it's tsukkas(sp?) off for you......

All best....

Ethan
 
Ethan Becker said:
Hey Lawrence Helm.......

First of all-welcome, welcome, welcome........ And a fine discussion you have started, sir....LOL...... The Campanion was designed to be a "One Knife", Oh My God it got deep here in a hurry blade....... It has field dressed a couple of cars and been batonned thru a lawn mowers deck....... It has also been a decent all around camping blade and it has it's very own NSN#....... At one of the PWYP weekends I talked the approximately six guys around our fire to use a single Campanion to do it all....... Not an easy sell to a half dozen knife nuts, LOL.......It made the kindling and much of the cook wood for at least six cook fires, chopped a bunch of onions and garlic, cubed chili meat and carved a bit, made some fire and pot tools,and battoned more wood........ Is it a bit heavy for it's size?.......Yes....... Will it do everything that needs be done?....So far it has....... Is it gonna break off in a mammal that requires dispatching?...... Very likely not...... It is not a delicate flower and would look silly in a vase but it IS a damned good Armageddon special, which is what I had in Mind......

The Ten is an almost as good alternative, Armageddon wise in almost the same package......

An interesting historical note....... The Seven came about as a request form Camillus to modernize the USMC "KA-BAR" and the Ten " Crewman" was intended as a follow on for the USAF Survival Knife....... I agree with Dex that the "Seven" is a kind of betwixt and between blade...... Long enough to fight with but lightweight for it's length and strength and still useful as a camp knife........ The BK2 is the best seller in my line and it appeals to those who think Armageddon like thoughts and it is very oh Damn look what I did to my knife proof........ As a world class screw up at times and as much as I am in love with my Sweet Sixteen, I like a Campanion handy too....

I really appreciate your interest and support and whatever Becker you choose I hope it work it's tsukkas(sp?) off for you......

All best....

Ethan
Click to expand...

Ethan,

Actually I do think about "armegeddon" type scenarios. I was kind of raised with it. My mother was big into "end time" scenarios and when I was 13 (I'll be 80 in October so that was a long time ago) she told us all that the end of the world was going to occur on a certain Saturday because Dr. Clem Davies had predicted it on the Radio. "What should we do," I asked. Well there was nothing we could do I was told. I wasn't so sure about that and used my saved paper-route money to buy "survival gear." I didn't use those words but that was what it amounted to. I recall buying a canteen and a Daisy Air Rifle. I made some peanut butter sandwiches and talked a friend into staying in a fort I'd made between two garages -- all day. Our vigil ended when my friend said, "I'm hungry. I'm going home."

I don't think in my mother's terms, but I've watched all the natural-disaster scenarios on the National Geographic and Discovery channels so I can't help thinking about what I would do. In my younger days I probably had gear I could use in a mild natural disaster, and while I'm in good shape for my age (so my doctor tells me), my wife is in bad shape and while I care for her as much as I can, she needs regular medical attention of a sort that I can't give her. No one makes a knife for that.

Still, in Boot Camp I learned that "a Marine is always prepared"; so while I might not be able to do anything about a cataclysmic natural disaster or duplicate modern medical procedures, I can prepare for a lot of things. In a previous note, I wrote about the gear I take on hikes and one person thought I was being excessive, but a Marine also has to be able to imagine what might happen in order to prepare for it. I used to take church groups on hikes back in the 70s and 80s and "prepared" for all of them -- in the sense of telling them what to bring and then compensating if they forgot.

Knives have always been a big part of my life. I was in a sense "living off the land" when my kids were growing up. Not really, but I kept the freezer full of fish by means of "free diving." I had a knife strapped to my ankle as well as a spear gun when I would dive. I would use the knife to clean the fish some place before I went back to the car. It had a terrible blade, but I eventually found a better knife on the bottom where some other diver dropped it. I look for that knife from time to time but can only find the first one that I could never get a decent edge on.

So "armegeddon" now, lower case, might be making my way home by walking in case my Jeep breaks down. Or it might mean getting back to my Jeep if I broke my leg. In the latter case I have some nylon rope in my knapsack and would plan to cut a tree-limb to tie to the leg and perhaps cut another if I needed a crutch. But the best preparation IMO is to keep in good shape physically (so I don't among other things fall and break my leg) and keep my 2002 Jeep Liberty in good repair.

I presently have 2 BK2s, 1 BK7, and 1 Remora. I don't know that I need the BK2 "one knife" for the sort of hikes I do, but with my interest in Marine-Corps-type preparation I'm very glad to have it, and when the recent opportunity came up to buy a "not new but unused" BK2 with 3 custom sheaths for $100 I went for it. Having two of the BK2 "one knife" is even better preparation.

I'm sure I'm not alone in my experiences and a lot of those who bought BK2s did so with something like your "one knife" scenario in the back of their minds. If later on I "come to my senses" (maybe when I'm 90) and decide to carry something lighter on my hikes, I will be sure to consider the BK10. Thanks to my mother I have way too many knives, guns & ammo, but on the other hand "one never knows," does one?:)

My wife who is a more fundamentalistic than I am has chided me in the past for liking to talk about knives and guns as though I enjoy them (as opposed to being a necessary evil), but I've told her that I am sure beyond doubt that the men with David when they were fighting their battles didn't sit around their camp fires saying holy things to each other. They were talking about knives, spears and battle scenarios. You can't really use the knives and spears (or guns) very well if you don't like them, if you don't pick them up in your hand and just take in the feel of them. This isn't being paranoid or blood-thirsty; this is just being who we are, a species which has been around a very long time and has survived in large part because it has used to learn (and love) weapons really well.

Lawrence
 
what do I use my 10 year old Camillus BK2 for?...ever since I bought my BK10 last year, absolutely nothing :eek:
 
I love my BK2 and it's sort of grandfather was a British MOD armed forces knife that was used for the beating and abuse it could take. It was not used as a fighting knife, but more for survival and 'camp craft' in behind enemy lines sort of thing, in range of environment like jungle, etc. So it was not something to be laughed at. I too have seen YouTube videos and seem to often watch them again, even though I got a BK2 and need no convincing. Likewise have seen Chris at Prepared Mind and don't really agree with much he says in his videos. Plus someone who 'polishes off his knife' a bit too much and gives his knife a name.. JESSICA I think, takes things a bit too far. It's a tool and in anything people use different tools and master what they have. A 1000 dollar chisel doesn't make a master carpenter. Thanks to Ethanol there is a range of tools for a range of people and their techniques. I'm more a BK2 man than a BK9 man, but again it's down to taste, experience, background, training, technique, etc etc
 
Last edited:
Sorry Ethan... Damn auto correct on new keyboard for Android.. I'm not saying you are Ethanol. Haha
 
I would LOVE this knife. A Bk29:-)

(This was supposed to be a reply to an earlier post of a lengthened bk2 that looked similar in proportion to a Bk9 and included a Photoshop picture of what it would look like... Idk why it didn't work...)
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top