Where did the BK-15 go wrong?

I don't usually post that last pic online. I don't think this subforum minds but if it is too much let me know.
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Mind!!!! I wish you had posted more. Not all meat comes neatly wrapped from WinnDixie.
Scout it, hunt it, kill it, dress it, eat it. Post pictures
 
I really wish I had a spare BK15. I bought that one when it was discontinued and didn't realize how much I liked it until they were gone. For a camping/hunting knife it is near perfect. You can do food prep, process game and use it for bushcrafty things.

I also think that the knife world is obsessed with batoning and it isn't a good tool for that. I baton at times but the truth is that in the places I have lived I have never needed to. I think that many knife buyers wont buy a knife that isn't designed to baton.

As far as it being a kitchen knife, well, it is way too thick to see service in my kitchen.
 
Yeah would have liked the BK5 and B15 better without the choil. Bought a Bk5 last year and recently modded it so it is choil-less, need to make a sheath for it now though.
 
So whats funny to me is its like after it got Disco, a buncha people seem to have caught on to what a great blade it is. I get the same way about people saying the 5 or 15 is stuck on just kitchen duty. They are great camp kitchen knives, but real kitchen knives are better in the kitchen. The 5 and 15 though excel at a ton of out door, woods, camping hunting stuff that people just dont give them credit for. Bums me out when I hear ones been relegated to just kitchen duty when it can do so much more. I feel like the blade and the user both are missing out.
 
The kitchen isn't the only place to prepare food...I use the 15 (and 5) when I'm doing stuff outdoors, where in the yard or camping. (My good "kitchen" knives stay in the kitchen)
I'm not suggesting that they aren't capable tools for other tasks; but I generally use other knives for other things. I wouldn't have any concerns about using a 15 for general utility stuff; I just don't usually think about it.
 
I dislike trailing points, but I hate (H-A-T-E) choils. Put both on the same knife and I turn my nose up completely.

If it had been made more as a game processing knife I probably would have bought one.
 
I think it didn't sell because of the style ... the trailing point.

I am a huge fan of the 15 and the 5 - with the choil, thank you very much.

The 5 and 15, especially that latter due to its handy size is a great all-around outdoor knife. As is the case with many knives being produced (or discontinued) these days, it has more to do with style than with function.

Maybe we could get 200 pre-sold orders just from the gang here and get a run made.
 
Noswad0208 said:
Because it can do so much more. Putting it solely on food duty is a waste of its abilities IMO.
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If you have other knives that are better at the other abilities of the 15 though wouldn't it be better to use it where it excels then not use it at all?
 
I do not have a 15, so I can't speak to whether I like the choil on it or not, but I absolutely love it on the 5, in fact I find it rather useful.

I am curious as to what contributes to folks' objections with the choil. Is it a matter of aesthetics or is it a design function that simply doesn't get used?
 
I think its a matter of esthetics. I have two Bk5s and a Bk15 Love them both. My esee laser strike is the ugliest knife that I own but it gets the most use around the back yard fire pit. If you haven't seen one take a look... Its butt ugly!!! But I prefer function over form.
 
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My first Becker was a BK71. I stripped it, abused it, gave it to my son who is serving in the US Navy where it was further abused then stolen in a garage break in.

Since then I've bought two Becker knives. A 5 and a 15. As others have mentioned, the choil was a "eh. I wish it didn't have this" thing.

The odd part is, in use, it really doesn't break the deal. I'm not uncomfortable choking up on the 15 and using the choil as intended. (I need more dirt time with the 5 before jumping on or off the bandwagon).
 
hhmoore said:
I use mine mainly for food prep (and I bought extras, when the price dropped) - why you mad?
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Same here. Yes the 15 is perfectly capable in the field; I had a 15 before I got a 16 and used it that way for a year or two.

But then I got a 16, and now the 15 stays in the kitchen. As such it's my most heavily used Becker, so in my mind that's a compliment. But most of the time when I go into the woods I have my BK4 and/or my BK16.
 
Chameleonbear said:
If you have other knives that are better at the other abilities of the 15 though wouldn't it be better to use it where it excels then not use it at all?
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Sure, but nothing about it makes it perform any worse than a 16 or 17 in the woods.

I think a lot of people looked up the 15 for reviews, saw so many people with what the potential buyer didn't realize was a great field knife using it in the kitchen, and thought "huh, guess that's all it's good for, I'll buy a 16/17/other then."
 
In a world where everyone wants to baton through a cinder block it did "go wrong" simply because it's a "finesse" knife not a brute de force knife. It doesn't baton, it is thin, it doesn't "seem" strong so people relegate it to kitchen duty. Yes it is a wicked slicer and cutter and because of the swedge on top it release material quite nicely but people never get to that. If they would use the knife for a week in the woods they would see just how capable it is. However, it's too late now!
 
For me, it did not go wrong. It's perfect. Trailing point, swedge, choil, and length. Its only competition in my kit is a puukko. But I guess that puts me in a minority, otherwise it would still be selling.

Zieg
 
Chameleonbear said:
it's a "finesse" knife not a brute de force knife. It doesn't baton
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I don't know, I've done some pretty brute force things to it and it went through it. with flying colors. First thing I did with mine was baton some kindling just because people said it wasn't exactly a batonning knife (and they were right, there are better options, namely an axe). A few days later I batonned it through a tree. The pics are all on the 30 day thread I did when I got it.

I'm not arguing that it is a pure power knife like the 9. But... it has enough strength to be powerful enough when it needs to, while still being one of, if not the best slicer/ "finesse knife" in the Becker line.
 
You don't need to convince me. I love the knife and I have put it through some paces myself. I'm echoing what I've heard others say. I don't understand the need for overbuilt knives, for a LONG time trade knives were the "bushcraft" knives because that is what people had. I prefer a knife that cuts than pries.
 
I love trailing point knives.

I grew with this knife style for camping.

My first Becker was a 15, then a 5, of course.
 
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