The Ka-Bar Becker BK9 is designed as a backwoods work horse. As soon as I unboxed this knife and picked it up I knew that I was dealing with a tool that is made to be used hard, and abused on a daily basis.
The ergonomics are extremely nice and the handle fits my hand perfectly with room to spare for those of you will giant paws. The overall knife is very well constructed and detailed for the price. The grinds are even, the exposed tang is even with the handles, the handles are smooth and the finish is very nice as well.
A Becker BK9 Review would not be complete without some stats so here we go:
- Made : Knife USA - Sheath China
- Steel: 1095 Cro-Van
- Weight: 1.05 lbs
- Overall Length: 14.75 in
- Blade Length: 9 in
- Blade Thickness : 3/16
- Handle Length : 5.75 in
- Edge Angle : 20 Degrees
- Price: $80-$100
Becker BK9 Review -The Blade
The blade shape is a traditional American style Bowie with a flat grind at a 20 degree angle. The blade is long, measuring in at 9 inches and 3/16 of an inch thick however it is extremely well balanced. Most of my survival knives are some form of drop point but the clip point is a nice feature for drilling. I did some testing with it and it is definitely a more efficient driller then my BK2. That could be because it is thinner at the tip then the BK2 or because of the shape I have not totally determined which one is the factor.
The blade is powder coated as you can see in the above picture. The powder coating is slightly textured unlike the coating on the Becker BK2 which is smooth as you can see below.
The weight of the overall knife is slightly "weight forward" the pivot point is about an inch above the handle. This makes the Becker BK9 and ridiculously comfortable and effective chopper. In the chop tests that I put this knife through it out-preformed my Becker BK2 and out-preformed a small Gerber hatchet that I have. I would much rather take this knife in the woods with me then a small hatchet. For me, the BK9 and a Mora is a complete kit.
Another nice feature of the blade is the jimping on the spine of the knife blade. the jimping is raised and angled which makes it very comfortable to use when you need more stability on the blade such as using the BK9 as a draw knife for making feather sticks.
Becker BK9 Review - The Handles
The handles on the BK9 are slab handles that are bolted to the tang with recessed Allen bolts. The recessed areas containing the bolts are very smooth and do not cause hot spots or issues when you are chopping. In fact I really never notice that they are there. The handles themselves are made of Grivory which is a smooth polymer material. They are VERY comfortable. Some people prefer Micarta scales (which are available after market) however I am totally fine with the Grivory scales that come with the knife. The butt of the BK9 has a flattened pummel for hammering that is part of the tang, and protrudes from the handles.
All-in-all, the grip is extremely ergonomic and fits in my hands better then most survival knives that I own. In my opinion this is one of the Best Survival Knife choices you could make for a large knife.
Becker BK9 Review - The Sheath
The Becker BK9 sheath is made of a heavy- duty Polyester nylon with polymer blade sleeves. The sheath is designed to either be attached to your belt via a Velcro / snap belt loop or attached to a pack with the provided MOLLE attachment on the back of the scabbard as can be seen below. The belt carry option opens up with Velcro and a snap so that you can put it on your belt without having to take your belt off. The MOLLE can be seen on the rest of the sheath back.
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The front of the sheath features a handle snap for to secure the knife in the scabbard and a additional sheath to hold a BK13. The BK13 previously came with the kit as a promotion however they moved the manufacturing of the BK13 from china to the US and stopped providing it as a set. None-the-less the BK9 sheath still has a scabbard for the BK13. In front of the sheath for the BK13 there is also an additional pouch that you can use for fire steel , mini survival kits or any other small items that you want to carry. The sheath on this knife is better then I expected but still nothing to write home about.
Overall this is an awesome knife, I would recommend it to my friends and anyone that is looking for a very high quality durable large blade for under 90 bucks. The value that you get with the Becker BK series is phenomenal.
If you are interested in my other Best Survival Knife choices check out my review site. It has 15 other knives that are all top survivalist choices and that won't break the bank. http://www.squidoo.com/best-survival-knife-for-the-money
If you are looking at purchasing a BK 9, Amazon has some great deals right now and fast shipping. See below.
Becker BK 9 Chop Test, Battoning Test and Cutting Test
