~6" outdoor knife: Ontario RBS-6? BK15? BK2?

A

amp281

Joined
Sep 17, 2012
Messages
82
I am looking at knives under $70 that are good in the bush. I like the look of the RBS-6 but I am not super thrilled with the Ontario Spec Plus I have which came very dull and didn't want to keep an edge for long. On the other hand I've heard good things about the BK2 and BK15 but that they are both rather heavy and if I am not using it to split huge logs, its kind of a waste to carry something that heavy.

Any thoughts?


http://www2.knifecenter.com/item/ON...BS-6-Knife-6-inch-Blade-Black-Micarta-Handles

http://www2.knifecenter.com/item/KA...rbon-Steel-Blade-Zytel-Handles-Cordura-Sheath
http://www2.knifecenter.com/item/KA...xed-525-inch-Carbon-Steel-Blade-Hunting-Knife
 
BK7 is what you're looking for. Fantastic knife at a good price. Even though I consider myself an "ESEE man" in this game...and not a Becker man...the BK7 outshines the ESEE-6 I think.
 
HoosierQ said:
BK7 is what you're looking for. Fantastic knife at a good price. Even though I consider myself an "ESEE man" in this game...and not a Becker man...the BK7 outshines the ESEE-6 I think.
Click to expand...


Cool, the only concern I have is the length of the 7 but I will take a look at other knives in the becker line up. I didn't like the way the top looked on the bk15 (it narrows)
 
What useage are you seeing for this knife?

You mention that the BK2 is heavy (which it is), but also say that the BK15 is heavy (which is like half of the weight of the bk2). So before I recommend anything else, what are you looking to do with it?
 
ESEE-6?
BK7
BK15
ESEE-Laser Strike <----- This is replacing everything else for me


Eli


ocnlogan has a great point on weight, the BK2 is really heavy and it's all towards the handle.... totally different than the BK16
 
ocnLogan said:
What useage are you seeing for this knife?

You mention that the BK2 is heavy (which it is), but also say that the BK15 is heavy (which is like half of the weight of the bk2). So before I recommend anything else, what are you looking to do with it?
Click to expand...

I wasn't aware that it was half the weight, that is good to know. I am looking for a general camping, backpacking and workhorse toolbox knife. Full tang is a must. 1095 or greater not stainless. Between 5 and 7 inches.
 
Yep, the BK2 is a .25in thick 5.25 long knife blade with a total weight of 13.34oz. The Bk15 has a .165in thick 5.65in long blade, and weighs a whole 6.2oz. The Bk7 is longer than the Bk2, but it is actually lighter because of the thinner blade stock.

The blade shape on the BK15 is called a trailing point, which gives it a great belly. This means that it excels in things like cleaning game and other food prep chores.

Sadly, the 5-7 in blade length area is a bit of a no-mans land. There is the ESEE 6 and Becker Bk12 that are out of your price range (~$120) but both with 6in blades. There is a Fallkniven in that size range, but once again too expensive.

The Cold steel SRK is the right size, but its AUS8. It might work out for you, so you might as well take a look.

I would say that in this budget range, the Beckers are looking like your best bet. The Bk15 if you don't see yourself hacking at things much, and the BK7 if you think you might be doing more chopping and splitting.

Good luck man :).
 
ocnLogan said:
Yep, the BK2 is a .25in thick 5.25 long knife blade with a total weight of 13.34oz. The Bk15 has a .165in thick 5.65in long blade, and weighs a whole 6.2oz. The Bk7 is longer than the Bk2, but it is actually lighter because of the thinner blade stock.

The blade shape on the BK15 is called a trailing point, which gives it a great belly. This means that it excels in things like cleaning game and other food prep chores.

Sadly, the 5-7 in blade length area is a bit of a no-mans land. There is the ESEE 6 and Becker Bk12 that are out of your price range (~$120) but both with 6in blades. There is a Fallkniven in that size range, but once again too expensive.

The Cold steel SRK is the right size, but its AUS8. It might work out for you, so you might as well take a look.

I would say that in this budget range, the Beckers are looking like your best bet. The Bk15 if you don't see yourself hacking at things much, and the BK7 if you think you might be doing more chopping and splitting.

Good luck man :).
Click to expand...
Thanks that was a very informative post. I am leaning towards the 15 now, I found it for $56 + shipping on cheaper than dirt.
 
you might also consider the Condor Rodan or Varan -- very much no-frills/bargain type knives, but made well and decent heat treat.
BK15 has nicer feeling handles, though.
 
I just ordered the BK2. I was concerned about the strength of the BK15's tip (kind of resembled a steak knife) and I heard so many good things about the BK2 that even if it doesn't fit my nitch I'd want one around in case the design is ever discontinued.
 
I personally suggest the BK15 for your purposes. However I will add that I have not owned the ontario. I have both Beckers and while all Becker lovers hold a special place in thier heart for the BK2 (it was my first Becker), I think the BK15 is a better knife. While the BK2 is unbreakable for all pratical purposes, the BK15 is a better slicer/bushcrafter and more than tough enough. The stock sheath on the tweeners is also much better than on previous Beckers.
 
I own a boatload of Beckers & Ontario Spec-Plus series knives. I love them all. I have pounded the living snot out of all of them. They are ALL solid knives i would trust my life with.

I am not saying this to be sarcastic at all: You REALLY need to learn how to sharpen your blades to your own specs. Yes, it certainly is a bonus when they come hair popping sharp, but they can also be made sharper & can be thinned a little too. I have a 1"x30" HFreight belt sander, double sided stone, butchers steel, ceramic sticks, Gatco Deluxe Diamond sharpening kit w/ceramic honing stone, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500, 2000, 2500 grit wetsand cloth paper, etc., etc... . The edge on a blade i buy now, does not have to be perfect because 99x out of 100, i will touch it up, hone it, thin it, or polish it or convex it anyways, so it is no big deal. My SP-8 was a perfect example---the saw did not work at all, was not sharp & clogged with wood on the first push/pull & the grind was perfect on one side but wayyy off on the other. If i was still sharpening by hand, it would have took forever to fix. Took me 10 min on the belt sander, then i took my Dremel tool & sharpend the sawback teeth, then cut angled notches in them at different spots. It now saws AWESOME & does not plug up & the blade is scary sharp ALL the way around. I can use it as a chisel & shave wood with it. It ain't pretty looking but it sure is pretty functional.

Get you a 1"x30" belt sander when they are on sale (& don't forget your 20% off coupon). Get you a couple packs of "Diablo" belts from HDepot. Get some old stuff from family & friends to practice on (axes, knives, machetes, kitchen knives, etc). Go slow. For me, it took less than 1 day to get the hang of it. It sure is rewarding to be able to "do-what-you-gotta-do" to any blade, to get to be right where you want it. I may also get the small disc/belt sander, to remove larger amounts of metal & do it faster, when raising the grind higher up.

Looking forward to your review on the BK2, it was also my first Becker. It is a tank. :D

BK-15 is an AWESOME knife. REALLY, everyone needs a BK-5/BK-15 set, simply awesome. Kitchen duty & dressing/butchering animals is NOT the only areas they excell in.

BK&T------BK-2, BK-4, BK-5, BK-7, BK-9x2, BK-10LE, BK-11x3, BK13x4, BK-14x2, BK-15,16,17 First Production Run, BK-15, BK-16 Sabre Grind (non-FPR :thumbup: THANKS TOOOJ :D) BK-17. To come---another BK10, BK1, BK6.

Ontario Spec-Plus-----SP-2, SP-8, SP-10, SP-17, SP-47, SP-51, SP-53, SP-kukri.
 
Last edited:
My first beckers were the BK2 and the BK9, great stuff. I just heard of the schrade SCHF9 which is .25" and about 6.5" long I think.I found them for just a hair over $30 so maybe I'll score one for myself and see how it stacks up to my BK2.
 
Okay so I got the BK2 and it is excellent. It was shaving arm hair and paper out of the box. Then I batoned a piece (log) of firewood in half with the grain and it was STILL about as sharp as it was out of the box. My Ontario SP2 did not hold an edge like that (really wondering if the heat treating was off or something).

So far I cut grooves on the handle for grip and attempted to cut a thumb grip/jimping notches but my hacksaw wasn't doing much to this metal so I'll need to use a dremel next time I'm around one. The sheath really sucks. It has no rigidity in the strap so it just dangles loose. The retention is absurdly strong (in a bad way). I added a smith's Arkansas stone pouch to the front side by hooking it in like MOLLE using paracord wound through the slots. It's also really heavy as expected, I'll probably carry this in a pack rather than on my side, as someone who is fit but has back issues, I could see the weight getting annoying after a while.

06CJWl.jpg


pdqvDl.jpg


The notches on the handle were done by wrapping a piece of tape evenly spaced and aligned around it and then cutting along the edge of the tape.
 
Last edited:
Hope you like the BK-2. I bought one about 6-months ago. What a tank! I keep thinking what is the attraction of these sharpened prybars? I like them too, but to be honest, I really prefer to use a lighter knife for cutting, but can make do with the BK-2. Been carrying a Condor Pack Golok as my chopper of late and don't really have a niche presently for the BK-2, or the ESSE-4 for that matter. But folks liked them so much, that I wanted to own one of each. But I am not having dreams about owning a BK-9; at least not yet. :)

But I have to admit that I am a little uncomfortable with the Pack Golok on my belt hiking trails in a park when I can carry the BK-2 without fan fair. I think I just found the niche!

Of course this niche has been filled at least 10x times. Variety is fun however.
 
Glad you like it. I think you may have gotten a bad heat treat on your SP-2. The one i bought for my daughter holds a razors edge even after batoning. Call em up & talk to them, see if they will exchange it for a new one. Can't hurt to ask. You will have to pay shipping at least one way though.

Cheers
 
22-rimfire said:
Hope you like the BK-2. I bought one about 6-months ago. What a tank! I keep thinking what is the attraction of these sharpened prybars? I like them too, but to be honest, I really prefer to use a lighter knife for cutting, but can make do with the BK-2. Been carrying a Condor Pack Golok as my chopper of late and don't really have a niche presently for the BK-2, or the ESSE-4 for that matter. But folks liked them so much, that I wanted to own one of each. But I am not having dreams about owning a BK-9; at least not yet. :)

But I have to admit that I am a little uncomfortable with the Pack Golok on my belt hiking trails in a park when I can carry the BK-2 without fan fair. I think I just found the niche!

Of course this niche has been filled at least 10x times. Variety is fun however.
Click to expand...


I see where you are coming from, the Golok does look like an intimidating "sword", the BK2 just looks like a garden tool. How has that Golok treated you? I started reading about the condor brand and it seems like a pretty good budget setup.


TwinStick said:
Glad you like it. I think you may have gotten a bad heat treat on your SP-2. The one i bought for my daughter holds a razors edge even after batoning. Call em up & talk to them, see if they will exchange it for a new one. Can't hurt to ask. You will have to pay shipping at least one way though.

Cheers
Click to expand...

I ended up removing the kraton just because I never saw any pics of it like that online and it was only $35. I was going to rehandle it. Not sure if I'll bother in retrospect. I can get pics of the stick tang if anyone is interested. The tang is better than I expected, it looks larger than the leather handled variety I think. The blade came super dull and even with hours of sharpening it would dull instantly. My 440A CRKT sharpened in half the time and batoned through wood while still being sharp so I don't think my technique is terrible.
 
I am very pleased with the Pack Golok. It chops really well. The biggest negative I see with it is the weight hiking. The positives are the weight when you use it, the price, and the handle which I find to be very comfortable for even extended use. It sharpens up pretty easily also. Technically in State and National Parks, you aren't supposed to be cutting anything which is in part why the Pack Golok is a bit overkill in these situations and gives the wrong appearance to other hikers. That is where a knife like the BK-2 comes in handy along with a pocket knife.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top