Why the BK-17 Clip point may be the very best of the Tweeners..

[jim62]

I want to preface this little prediction by saying first of all I will be buying ALL THREE tweeners sometime this year, god willing. They all three look like superb Beckeresque examples of their respective blade styles- sort of a Holy Trinity of working Belt knives..

I just turned 50 the other day and came of age about the same time as Mr Loveless' wonderful drop point design. I have used and liked drop point knives all my life. So what I am about to say surprises even me, but the truth is hard to ignore ..

I have come to conclusion that the BK 17 Clip point is actaully Mr Becker's TRUE Tweener masterpiece. I think it will prove to be the very best of it's type. IMHO, it's a landmark design.

Why?

Just from the specs and pics, I can tell you it's probably the best full tang Clip point belt knife design of the last 40 years. Part of it is Bob Loveless' fault (God Bless him). The Drop point knife has been so good and so popular for so long that development of working Clip point knives has been pretty stagnant except for Bowie sized blades or historical designs such as the USMC knives etc. The clip point hunting knife has been to post war sporting knifes what the lever action rifle is to the bolt gun - sort of a antiqued throwback overshadowed by the popularity of it's younger cousin..

This is evidenced by the fact that 90% of the clip point knives made since the 1960s have either been too long, had hidden tangs with crude small handles or have too much upsweep to their points . By "upsweep" I mean that the points are way too far above the horizinal centerline of the handle for proper control. Just about every model of Buck fixed blade clip point for example, suffers from nearly every one of those ills.

The BK-17 does not have those problems. No other moderately sized, full tang clip point knives have their handles shaped that well AND the points placed in the correct relationship to the handle centerline for proper control.. Basicially , the BK -17 it has all the advantages of a clip point and many of the advantages of the very best drop points with practically none of their respective faults. No other factory clip point belt knife out there is even close.


It's a damn fine design and if KABAR is not careful it's going to outsell the other two tweeners once it gets enough word of mouth reviews....

 

[thrillbilly]

ALL HAIL!!!







nicely written post!



the Clip is the one I want (at least at first). I like the drop-point in a Hunting Only knife, but for a all around blade I like the Clip. Awesome looking blade, cant wait. If it is released on time, I should get mine almost exactly on my birthday. Fingers Securely Crossed.

 

[jim62]

nicely written post!



the Clip is the one I want (at least at first). I like the drop-point in a Hunting Only knife, but for a all around blade I like the Clip. Awesome looking blade, cant wait. If it is released on time, I should get mine almost exactly on my birthday. Fingers Securely Crossed.

Thank you .. I spent a bit of time composing it so folks would understand my view point better. It makes the dumb mistake I made on the title even more painfull..I never have been a very good typist.

 

[thrillbilly]

Thank you .. I spent a bit of time composing it so folks would understand my view point better. It makes the dumb mistake I made on the title even more painfull..I never have been a very good typist.

Never worried about the package, its the product inside that counts IMO.


Lord knows my fat fingers make enough mistakes onna keyboard too LOL

 

[The Warrior]

If you go on advanced editor on the OP, you can change the title.

 

[s7brad]

Great post indeed! I agree with your prediction and the points made on the Bucks. Anxious to grab my own and put her to work.

 

[jim62]

If you go on advanced editor on the OP, you can change the title.

Thank you kind Sir. I just did that. All is now right with the world..

Thanks for the tip.

 

[Ethan Becker]

Hey Mr. Jim.........

The final blade design on this was tuned up by The Tooj.........He has ived with America's quintessential clip point, the Ka--Bar Marine Combat every working day through THREE jobs...........First at Camillus, then Ontario and now at Ka-Bar....He is a very smart fellow to boot.......and a damn good knife designer.........One of the reasons he is good is that he is an outdoorsman, blade collector, and above all a knife USER.......He has, I agree, done a bang up job......

As most of you know I am a drop, semi clip or spear point guy, purely from an aesthetic point of view, mind........I am extremely thankfull that Tooj was keeping a close eye on both the clip and what I tend to think of as the Fisk MiniMag....

My big emotional investment is in the drop point......In my humble opinion Mr. Loveless had a true stroke of genius with the drop point......I think it most usefull and frankly it is the most appealing to my eye....

I had not thought very much about the other "clips" out there lately and I want to thank you for drawing my attention to Tooj's good work.....

All Best....

Ethan

 

[The Warrior]

I'm a drop point man myself, but this model does kick some major ass. I love the looks of it.

 

[scruffuk]

Great thread and OP, very succinct.

I have to agree its an incredibly appealing design.
Tooj (& Mr B) look to have given the clip point a new breath of life.

 

[ocnLogan]

This is for sure the first model that I am going to buy. It looks freaking amazing, and I've never had any problem slicing the things I need to with a saber grind so I'll be quite happy with it.

I may get the BK16 at some point, and the BK15 will be one of those "if I win one" kind of knives. I appreciate the design, but feel the others would serve me better.

 

[jim62]

Hey Mr. Jim.........

The final blade design on this was tuned up by The Tooj.........He has ived with America's quintessential clip point, the Ka--Bar Marine Combat every working day through THREE jobs...........First at Camillus, then Ontario and now at Ka-Bar....He is a very smart fellow to boot.......and a damn good knife designer.........One of the reasons he is good is that he is an outdoorsman, blade collector, and above all a knife USER.......He has, I agree, done a bang up job......

As most of you know I am a drop, semi clip or spear point guy, purely from an aesthetic point of view, mind........I am extremely thankfull that Tooj was keeping a close eye on both the clip and what I tend to think of as the Fisk MiniMag....

My big emotional investment is in the drop point......In my humble opinion Mr. Loveless had a true stroke of genius with the drop point......I think it most usefull and frankly it is the most appealing to my eye....

I had not thought very much about the other "clips" out there lately and I want to thank you for drawing my attention to Tooj's good work.....

All Best....

Ethan

Ethan,

As someone who has been involved with creative design projects most of my adult life, I fully understand what you went though on that Drop point . I am sure the longer you worked on it, the more you realized how important it was to get it "just right".

In your interviews I have always found you to be a very gracious and honest man who was more that willing to give credit where it is due. Your acknowledgement of Tooj's involvement with the Tweeners is more of the same and I thank you for that..

One question- who's idea was it to use the same the cutting edge profile of the BK16 drop point and apply it to the Clip?

That decision and the resulting placement of the tip in relationship to the grip angle is truly what makes the BK-17 great ,IMHO.

It's done of the few clip points truly done "right".

 

[Ethan Becker]

Hey Mr. Jim..........

This was the first time I tried to come up with a planned family of knives based from the git-go on the new handle.......I wanted to use the same blade "envelope" in order to use a common sheath......It sorta worked out and it sorta didn't......

There was, ta da, the drop and full clip points with the same lower blade profile (very similar to the Necker for some strange reason), a tanto(one of my least faves) a recurve and a semi clip (think chute knife) and a mini tactul.......Dummy that I am I did not even think of a Mini Fisk..I think that was John Stitt's idea, and a damn good one too.....Recurves are really out of fashion and , I fear, deservedly so.....As well as they work on the big guys they just do not translate well on the little blades......The tanto and "chute" knives are still possibilites.....The Mini Tac was an awkward club.........As you might expect I do have some ideas for a family expansion.......

Thanks for the question.....

All Best....

Ethan

 

[jim62]

Ethan,

Thanks for that answer. I had no idea that many different blade styles had been panned for the Tweeners. Pretty ambitious and that alone sure put a premium on getting the handle ergos just right.

It is interesting that a desire to cut production costs through sheath commonality resulted in a superior clip point design. That is what Norman Rockwell referred to as "a Happy accident" in the creative process. And a wonderfull one for the world of clip point knives..

I sure do agree with you about the upswept trailing points being better on large blades .. But I am still going to get a BK-15 as well.

It will be interesting to see the Tweener Family expand down the road.

 

[ol_sc]

Great post, Jim! I think I'm going to have to agree with you when I get my 16/17 combo. I'm sure each will have its advantages, but I just love the look of that clip point!

 

[Wolf_1989]

The BK-15 is the one for me. The other two look great but the '15 has a slightly longer blade and after using the dickens out of my '5 for so long, I love that blade design. Just enough curve and not too much; just right. The '15 is a smaller and more agile version of that same great design.

I like clip points just fine, but I like traditional bowies and they're as rare as unicorns anymore.

 

[wasatchdan]

Great thread, Jim. I'm with you on the BK-17. I'll be getting all three, but the clip point is the one that's going to live on my belt for EDC. The other two are going to be my outdoor blades.

 

[Skystorm]

I like all three of them but really really want the 16. I could see a short ten but no mini tactul please. Actually a small form brute would look pretty good....

 

[orangish ducktape]

I like all three of them but really really want the 16. I could see a short ten but no mini tactul please. Actually a small form brute would look pretty good....

Mini brute would be bad ass
and a mini 10 would just be great,
but i dont think it would be much different from the 17

and i think a mini tactul would be good for military officers, that dont want to lug around a 7in version,
but i agree i have no personnel interest in one

-orangish ducktape

 

[CCMI]

Although you stated it much more eloquently, I agree wholeheartedly.

This is the best looking clip point I remember seeing. Not too drastic/ weak looking, still plenty sharp looking. I'm guessing it'll perform as nice as it looks too.