you're going into the woods and you have to choose...

I have no use for an ax or hatchet most of the time. If everything isn't soaking wet there's no reason to split wood, so I'd be better off with my BK2.
 
Fanglekai said:
I have no use for an ax or hatchet most of the time. If everything isn't soaking wet there's no reason to split wood, so I'd be better off with my BK2.
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To be honest I don't see the need for a BK2 at all. I'm really not sure what all the fuss is about. 1/4" thick knives of that length are useless IMO. Batoning, if needed, can be done with a 1/8" thick knife reliably. You can do it with a 1/16" thick knife if the knife is made right so I'm not sure why people choose this knife. It baffles me. People balk at the weight of a hatchet and then turn around and carry this? Why? Why not carry something in the 8 oz category or even lighter. You'd save calories carrying it and it would perform better in slicing and carving. Is it because the BK2 is "cool?"

And before I get flamed I'm not bashing the BK2, I really just don't get it.
 
Shotgun said:
To be honest I don't see the need for a BK2 at all. I'm really not sure what all the fuss is about. 1/4" thick knives of that length are useless IMO. Batoning, if needed, can be done with a 1/8" thick knife reliably. You can do it with a 1/16" thick knife if the knife is made right so I'm not sure why people choose this knife. It baffles me. People balk at the weight of a hatchet and then turn around and carry this? Why? Why not carry something in the 8 oz category or even lighter. You'd save calories carrying it and it would perform better in slicing and carving. Is it because the BK2 is "cool?"

And before I get flamed I'm not bashing the BK2, I really just don't get it.
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Thats exactly what i'm confused about. If a hatchet is the lighter and better chopper, what's the BK2 even made for? Its too thick to carve or prepare game. Are "survival knives" specifically made for if they were your only tool? I think Mr. Becker makes great knives but i'm just confused. I would agree with you all that the hatchet is better, but why is it that i see more people talking about what their BK2 chops and batons and etc?
 
Too many variables to pick one definite winner so ill play devils advocate and pick the bk2. A hatchet for me splits wood. a bk2 can chop and carve and be more useful building shelter, small fires, camp chores that just a hatchet. And to answer your question OP, the bk2 is desgned to be an all around knife. a jack of all trades/master of none. Ive owned several and love them all. It can chop if you NEED it to, but of course a hatchet is better, so is a chainsaw or a gas powered log splitter but neither of those fits in my edc pack (thats right i edc a bk2 in my pack in my truck ALWAYS). Of course a small thin blade is gonna slice and skin better, but so do ceramic knives or filet knives thinner than my finger nail, but you arent taking those into the woods with you right? its meant to just be able to do it all if it has to. i have tons of blades that can do things better, but they CANT DO IT ALL. thats the bk2s job
 
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Went fishing in the Sawtooths a few weeks ago to slay some high mountain rainbow trout. Spent a day cleaning 11-21 inch rainbows with my RC5 just to see if it could be done efficiently. I wouldn't say 1/5 inch 5 inch knives are useless, it did a fine job. It wasn't as clean as a Mora, but it's more than capable of doing finer tasks.
 
clich said:
Too many variables to pick one definite winner so ill play devils advocate and pick the bk2. A hatchet for me splits wood. a bk2 can chop and carve and be more useful building shelter, small fires, camp chores that just a hatchet. And to answer your question OP, the bk2 is desgned to be an all around knife. a jack of all trades/master of none. Ive owned several and love them all. It can chop if you NEED it to, but of course a hatchet is better, so is a chainsaw or a gas powered log splitter but neither of those fits in my edc pack (thats right i edc a bk2 in my pack in my truck ALWAYS). Of course a small thin blade is gonna slice and skin better, but so do ceramic knives or filet knives thinner than my finger nail, but you arent taking those into the woods with you right? its meant to just be able to do it all if it has to. i have tons of blades that can do things better, but they CANT DO IT ALL. thats the bk2s job
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Ah that makes more sense. I'll stick with a hatchet and a mora
 
PayetteRucker said:
Went fishing in the Sawtooths a few weeks ago to slay some high mountain rainbow trout. Spent a day cleaning 11-21 inch rainbows with my RC5 just to see if it could be done efficiently. I wouldn't say 1/5 inch 5 inch knives are useless, it did a fine job. It wasn't as clean as a Mora, but it's more than capable of doing finer tasks.
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Not arguing that it can't do the finer things. I'm just saying that a smaller lighter blade would do them better AND be capable of the dreaded...batoning. :D I'm just not sure why someone would choose a heavier knife.
 
OzarkCreekWalker said:
I would agree with you all that the hatchet is better, but why is it that i see more people talking about what their BK2 chops and batons and etc?
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To be honest I think that's the point. People don't talk about hatchets cuz they're boring. They just work.
 
PayetteRucker said:
This is so completely variable... for what situation? Winter, spring, summer, fall, desert, alpine mountains...? With winter coming up my go to tool will be a 26 inch Wetterlings SFA. Even pine when frozen is just too much for a knife-your joints will look like the spine of your blade by the time you get anything accomplished. Went up into the mountains today to play an epic round of Capture the Flag with some school buddies. The girl I drove up with lost her keys, and everyone else had left. We were 8 miles from the nearest person through some gnarly pine scratch and high desert. She took a pen light and a radio and went looking over the square mile where we had been playing, in vein hope of finding her keys. I set to work with the Condor Hudson Bay Camp Knife in my daypack splitting wood for kindling and making a bow-drill kit. By the time I'd finished carving my notch she comes skipping over the ridge dangling her keys, but in a situation where 15 minutes out of town means some serious country, you'd be stupid not to carry a good knife in your backpack. A hatchet however, in that case, is a little too big for the intended purposes. It really depends on the situation-the application of common sense is enough to answer your question.
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you should have hidden the keys better!
 
Shotgun said:
Not arguing that it can't do the finer things. I'm just saying that a smaller lighter blade would do them better AND be capable of the dreaded...batoning. :D I'm just not sure why someone would choose a heavier knife.
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Hey Shotgun, can your smaller lighter knife handle cutting it's way through a fridge, steel drum or lawn mower then still do the finer things? People have done such things with their BK2 and shown it over in the Becker forum. The only things that I've done with mine was carve a fuzz stick on a hike, cut up some cardboard boxes and split some wood for kindling. Maybe some people like the fact that they can attack steel objects with a knife that can also make fuzz sticks.

The BK2 is a jack of all trades knife, it will carve and slice, split wood and handle some chopping. Sure my Western F48A at 1/16" thin with a full flat grind will slice better, a wedge will split wood better and a hatchet will chop better, but thats 3 tools to the BK2's 1 tool. And I think that is the reason why people like the BK2 so much. It's one persons take on the do it all camp/survival knife. I tend to carry multiple blades each for different tasks, some people want one knife to do it all. Thats the BK2. Different strokes for different folks. Ever seen someone chop wood with an axe or hatchet then process game with it including skinning and cutting the meat? I have. I wouldn't do it, but others will, again different strokes for different folks. :)

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To answer the OP's question, If I was going into the woods with a smaller knife and had the option to take the BK2 or a Hatchet I'd take the hatchet. My smaller knife would be one of my 4" to 5" hunting knives (western F48A, L36 or SOG Hunter Revolver) and a 1.75 to 2 pound headed axe with a 24 to 26" Handle. Since to me the BK2 is a jack of all trades and I'm already bringing a slicer I might as well bring a dedicated chopper. By the way, the SOG Hunter Revolver has a 4.75" long, 3/32nd in thick full flat main blade with a gut hook. I say main blade because you depress a botton on the handle, rotate the blade and it switches to a wood/bone saw. It's a different take on a camp/survival do it all knife and it only weights about 5.5oz according to my postage scale. :)
 
I'll take my hatchet.


Ohhh... and yes a hatchet is capable of doing fine work as well.

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wildmanh said:
Hey Shotgun, can your smaller lighter knife handle cutting it's way through a fridge, steel drum or lawn mower then still do the finer things? People have done such things with their BK2 and shown it over in the Becker forum. The only things that I've done with mine was carve a fuzz stick on a hike, cut up some cardboard boxes and split some wood for kindling. Maybe some people like the fact that they can attack steel objects with a knife that can also make fuzz sticks.
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I've never tried. I don't see the point of it. This guy has though and the knife pictured is 1/8" thick.

Myal said:
hmmm
this knife cost me $3 IIRC to make ( yeah , a little more than the $2 bracket that dont impress ya )

Karlsbaby.jpg


This knife has been used to cut open a car hood ( with help from a bleeding great shifter spanner as baton ) and cut battery cables to save a guys life who was in the wreck . in the years since I first posted this and now , it has done the same thing at least another 4x .
I know its not really a big deal its just a beater I made in my backyard .It has no blade coating to be worried about damaging , it has no problem with loss of resale value , and it actually gets used . Owned now by a towie who is regularly at the accident scene ahead of police and ambulance , and used with reckless abandon doing unknifelike duty .

I would love to be impressed by more than recycled sales blurb and a price tag that is more than I paid for my car tho .
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Like I said I'm not bashing. For those that love the BK2 that's awesome. Nothing like finding a knife you love. I just don't get it.

Edit: Just realized my go to woods blade has done it. Check out the vid. LOL[video=youtube;Hlly6TyXdec]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hlly6TyXdec&feature=player_detailpage[/video]
 
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SA Wetterlings/Gransfors Bruks axe... knife hardness and edge retention.. don't even need a knife really.
 
TheGame said:
I have used the BK2 before, just never owned one. I felt they did pretty much the same in use. There wasn't a big enough advantage either way for me to say one did that much better in anything. That may be because of the RC5 having a more comfortable handle, and me being used to it, or the fact that there just isn't a big enough difference overall. Either way, my point stands as far as I am concerned. Neither are a great chopper overall. (Not even good, really)
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Didn't realize that you've used one before.:foot: But I would be interested to why you didn't mention that in your first post, instead of saying that you didn't own one, but a RC5 instead.

BTW, love your picture in your signature. Plus, I think my favorite college team, plays your favorite college team this weekend. Go Hawks!:D
 
a hatchet ,i think people like those biggish knives....well because there is no learning curve...just giver till shes done....a hatchet /axe requires some learning,,,once learned its infintely more effective,the calories saved in the usage,offset the calories used in carrying, vice versa to the biggish blades.cutting through fridges,lawn mowers,and all those other practical things you do in the great outdoors aside
 
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if you were going into the woods with your nice sharp Swedish-made camp axe or favorite tomahawk to process fatwood, or if you're dealing with really gnarly knotty woods, I'd much rather beat a knife that's intended for abuse than destroy a keen bushcrafting axe's edge. Again, they have their purposes, the beauty with the BK2 is you can afford one in addition to a Mora and a Hultafors hatchet, so again I really don't see what all the debate is about. Use the right tool for the intended job.
 
Well, since i already had some other edged cutting tool(s), between the too-small-for-chopping bk2 and a hatchet, i'd choose the hatchet. Since i already have other cutting knives, a chopping/splitting specific implement would be a nice addition to the tool box.

Hatchets can indeed be used for many things, though i'd prefer a larger chopping-length/weighted knife.
 
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