Where does the BK2 fit in?

jimh0220

jimh0220

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Apr 15, 2008
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To start off, I love my BK2. I have pimped it with eather pants and a great set of gorgeous wood scales. But, there it sits. Shiny and new. I love the feel, the heft, the manly feel to it. But........

I can't figure out where it fits in my lineup of knives. I have better choppers: longer and easier to baton with. I have 2 Tweeners and a BK14 that see alot of use as slicing and carving blades. I just don't know what the 2 does that these don't.

I'm thinning out my herd a bit, and the BK2 keeps going back and forth to the adios box and back, as I can't find where it fits.

Help me understand. It's definitely a one of a kind knife.
 
Agreed! I want to love my BK-2 but it seems to me to be a compromise knife. An incredible knife but not as good a chopper as some and not as good at small delicate work as others. It just doesn't do anything better than all others. It's heavy and for some reason I can't bring myself to really love it but I can't see myself without one.

Strange.....
 
Well said. My problem too.

BTW, if I can't figure out something, anyone interested in a Mint BK2?
 
That is the wall you hit when you reach a certain point with the BK2. I would guess both of you have a decent amount of experience under your belt by this point, maybe not crazy grizzled old mountain man status, but you know your way around a hiking trail or a tarp shelter. The BK2 loses a lot of it's luster once you reach that point because you then are either after a bigger knife, or a smaller one. The BK2 is a compromise in that it can very easily be a one knife solution, but if you don't have that problem, then as a solution it is lacking. When the 16 came out, my 2 went in the pack, then the car, and it sees very little love now because it has been replaced by a tool that is now much more suitable to my level of knowledge and skill. I can do less with more. That knowledge weighs less thing they always talk about, well, there it is. I know I can do almost everything I need to with a BK16, and therefore the BK2 is for all intents and purposes overkill.

So while my BK2 sits unused, I do take solace in the knowledge that if the gates of hell opened up outside my door, and I only had time to grab 1 knife, the BK2 would be that knife, simply because while it isn't the master of anything, it is certainly capable of everything.
 
It is, indeed, a very interesting knife, and difficult to classify; small chopper or big utility blade?
It fits a niche, for me, in that it is big enough to do heavy chores (reasonably) and small enough to get-by with the detail work, while being somewhat unobtrusive; this is important for me as I live in CA, and people have a tendency to look at you crooked whith a chopper on your belt, even in a campground or the boonies.
As a bug-out blade, it works; it's robust, and easily concealable. I don't like to advertise.
BTW, jimh0220, how much?
 
Since the day I got mine I have liked it, but I wanted something thinner (I'm getting a bk10 when they come out). I look at it kind of like an emergency knife or a true "survival" knife. Something to bring on a hike when you don't expect to be out a long time or need to cut much of anything but it could get you through a night or two if it came to that. Not really a go-to knife for any particular task but good at a lot of things. Great when backed up by a multi-tool or SAK.
 
The BK2 is still my favorite batoning knife. The 4 and the 9 are longer which is good for bigger logs, but for most of the baton-size logs I like the 2 best because it's thicker and doesn't have the swedge.

I also use the 2 to process things like chaga, which I often baton through as well.
 
I'm still fanatical about my 2. I love it so....I agree with everything said here.


But, I am in the process of getting a family of 14s, 16s a new 10 (and yes.....probably a 9)
 
Used one of my 2's last weekend to bust up some wood for a campfire.

It still holds its hallowed spot as my go to knife. When in doubt, I bring the Campanion out.

I do see what you are saying, but for me, as the proud owner of well over a hundred knives and growing, even my expensive customs and cheap beaters lose out to the 2 when I head out.

Moose
 
There's just something about holding and using a BK-2 that is special. When you use it to do something it feels like you tackled the task with your good old reliable friend. I love my 7 and my 9 and my 16 and my 14, but there's just something about that BK-2...
 
Another thing is that it's not very expensive but it's a good quality and the thickness make it very strong so you can abuse the crap out of it and not worry. It can pretty much take anything you can throw at it.
 
For me, it fits in perfect, in the bottom of my pack. BK9- BK14 FTW. I like working with my 9 so much more but I like the comfort of knowing if anything ever happens to my 9, I have the bullet proof BK2 there as back up.
 
I don't know how you guys feel, but to me the BK2 makes me think of home. Noble and strong, and wise with its years. The BK2 may not be the cool guy like the BK9 or his little brother BK7, it may not be that sexy curvy girl(BK5) that you love to have by your side, but when you need a COMPANION, someone to stick by your side and get through the tough times no matter what the challenge may be, the humble BK2 will be there, your best friend.
 
I think it has a place, the right tool for the right job. When we're out of car camping the thickness of this knife makes it have a small but important role. After the felling axe and the log splitter comes the bk2 (my brother) and the esee 5 (myself) for further splitting of the quartered wood into thinner more manageable pieces for starting fresh fires. Thet dont really have a place in our bags on hikes or kayaking trips but when we have the luxury to use them.... we sure do, and enjoy every minute of it!
 
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I think your conundrum is precisely why I haven't bought a bk2. It looks great, I've been tempted multiple times, but I just can't think of a task or job I need it for that I don't already have a blade better suited for.

It's sort of like the old "jack of all trades, master of none" saying IMHO.

One thing I think it's incredible at is gettin people hooked on beckers though :D
 
All knives have a specialty..you just have to find it. The Bk-2 is thick, .250... With a full flat grind..essentially a V...it's more or less a small wedge. It's a splitter. :-) A sharpened splitter with a handle.. ;-)
 
The 3 is a better rescue/pry bar
The 9 is a better Chopper/ Baton/splitter
The 5 is a better cutting / prpparing foods
The 11 is a better precision
The 16 is a better carver

But the only that can do it all is the 2. I have lots of knives the one i would take independent of where what when why how is the 2. If you know what you are doing get another one 100% of times but if maybe? Maybe 2...
 
Never understood these type of knives really. Too heavy to carry and use for the small stuff and too small to make use of that weight for the heavy tasks. My Scrapyard 711 is actually less weight and more capable but I still prefer a mora or an Izula 2 with a Silky. Less weight and infinitely more useful for the types of things you actually use these things for. With the tweeners out I'm actually surprised that the 2 is still selling. 3/16" thick is already overkill for every real purpose out there.
 
It was the first becker that caught my attention because of the .25 thickness- in other words, because of its indestructibility. I had read and seen a few of the extreme destruction tests for the BK2 and they played a big part in why I decided I wanted it.

Next up, the King :)
 
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