BK-16 Saber grind or flat grind?

SALTY

SALTY

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OK, not to cross-comingulate (is that even a word?), cross polinate or otherwise borrow threads or anything but ...

I've been thinking lately about our beloved Tweeners and, in this moment, the BK16 in particular. Because of my love affair with the BK5 and it's Mini Me Tweener, the BK 15, I have been somewhat spoiled by its grind.

Now, my ever wandering eye has caught glimpse of this thread : http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1286600-Sabery-16-Sweetness

What sayeth the Brain-Trust in regards to the Saber ground variety compared to the flat grind?
 
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I like the full flat better. It seems slicier. But both are good. If it means anything to you Ethan was always wanting it to be a full flat, but KaBar needed that flat spot on the blade to put the KaBar Stamp and that's why Kabar made it Saber. Then after a few hundred ish of those Saber 16's were made, KaBar bought a laser engraver and let ethan know that they can do now do them in full flat. Ethan " big smile, thumbs up"
 
Easy.... Both
I just wanted a saber cuz it's out there and I didn't have one. But yeah, I likem both.
 
I agree with the both solution, but saber 16s aren't near as easy to acquire as flats.
 
I think a full flat is slicier as well, hence my appreciation for the 5 and the 15 but as a bushcraft knife, slicing oftentimes gives way to tasks for which, the perception at least, is to favor more steel at the spline.

Your enlightening history about the flat spot for a stamping compared to the eventual availability of a laser etching machine brings to mind a conversation Terrio and I had last weekend about chisel ground folders being made backwards for the majority of users - right handed folk. The way most chisel ground folders are made, it would favor a left-handed user but given the way just about all folders are depicted in ad media and brochures, etc., they are made backwards for right handers. I didn't make sense to me when I heard the explanation but some pondering, some brochure perusing and some web surfing of knife content (who would do that??) bore out what James was saying.

Weird how some things make their way into the marketplace for the darnedest reasons.:eek:
 
SALTY said:
Weird how some things make their way into the marketplace for the darnedest reasons.:eek:
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full flat is awesome. I got over the saber thing once I owned a good axe. Try to cut an apple with a saber-ground knife and you'll be terribly frustrated.

I like chisel-ground (single-side ground, anyway) pocket knives to be the reverse of the traditional kitchen blade handedness because they are used quite differently.
 
daizee said:
full flat is awesome. I got over the saber thing once I owned a good axe. Try to cut an apple with a saber-ground knife and you'll be terribly frustrated.

I like chisel-ground (single-side ground, anyway) pocket knives to be the reverse of the traditional kitchen blade handedness because they are used quite differently.
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I'm thinking about what you said in regards to pocket knives and realize that when pulling the knife towards me through whatever media is being cut, the waste falls to the left side of the blade which is on top - great if you are slicing an apple as one can flip the knife over, grasp the piece of apple with one's teeth from the spine side of the knife; it works for that scenario. Those other times, where the knife is in your right hand and the cur is a push or a slice downwards, the waste is pushed to the left of the blade - not so handy for a right handed person. Think of cutting pepperoni or sausage holding the meat in your left hand and trying to cut with the right - bass akwards me thinks.:(

Did I just drift/hijack my own thread???:eek::confused:
 
disclaimer: I'm not a big fan of sabre grinds in general. They're meant for, well, sabres... not bushcraft knives. So take all this with a grain of salt, SALTY. (ho ho!)

I say if you find a sabre 16 at a fair price, go ahead and snag it just because they're cool and rare. They seem to make excellent trading fodder; if you don't want it, someone else around here will.

For actual use, the FFG cuts much better, and for a blade that short and thick, the sabre-grind's greater lateral strength is really not an issue. We're talking about a mere couple/few grams of "extra" steel here... If you manage to fool around way beyond normal use and actually break a FFG 16, you'd almost certainly break a sabre 16 in the same situation.

SALTY said:
I didn't make sense to me when I heard the explanation but some pondering, some brochure perusing and some web surfing of knife content (who would do that??) bore out what James was saying.
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Like a blind squirrel finding an acorn, every now and then I manage to string words together in a fashion that makes something resembling sense :p
 
I like the look of a saber grind but on knives with 4" blades give or take then the flat grind is good.
I favor large knives and like a high saber on them.
 
bigghoss said:
Saber if you are collecting


Flat if you are using


BK9 if you think you're man enough :p
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i bolted three BK9s together with a handle

the first blade lifts

the second blade cuts

and the third blade is because i'm man enough :D

i hear someone tried 5 blades...

they haven't heard from him since
 


I've got both FFG and Saber 16's, and either knife is fantastic. My Saber 16 is my most used tweener, I think just because the thicker Tommythewho scales I have on it, combined with the thicker blade, gives me a nice, tough bushcraft beater I can use comfortably all day without worry. I've Fisked the edge, making it thinner than factory stock, and I really don't notice a difference, slicing-wise, between the FFG and Saber aside from food prep jobs, where the FFG 16 is better and the 15 is king. Matter of fact, I actually think I prefer the saber just for batoning purposes, since the Sabered 16's half height grind makes splitting wood easier than the FFG's full height grind, in my experience.

Either way you win. The FFG 16 is still way tougher than you'd probably ever need. Not that you have to worry about the toughness of any of the tweeners. Hell, I've cross-batoned through hardwood with my BK-15 and done no damage to the blade. They're great knives.

 
You guys made me do it! That's my story and i'm sticking to it! The gifted Sabre-grind is special and was caressed with mineral oil on the exposed steel, carefully avoiding the areas with gold Sharpie marker ink and placed to rest in the safe.

Today's big brown truck of happiness delivered my new user BK16 and, unbeknownst to me when I ordered it, it is a full flat grind.

Not that very long ago, a mere matter of weeks, I was entirely content with my BK15 for the Tweener of the quiver. I even had a back-up once rumors of their demise floated. I still like the 15 but that darned bagging itch got to me in TN and then when the 16 appeared - it was a joyful occasion. Some Sharpie marker and some education later and I'm hittin' BUY NOW and yet another Becker knife, a 16 and, as it turned out when I opened the box today - FFG.

At least for now, I am once again HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY! Just like I was with my 15s until you bums went and ruined that feeling for me.:o:rolleyes::):)
 
so you going to straight clip that 16 to make it more pointy - and strip it or polish the finish so it cuts smoother?
 
Likin' it just the way it is - for now.;)

That said, The World's Best Steak Knife, my BK15, is stripped and smooth. This 16, at least for now, will be my small camp knife and while mods would be cool, she's fine as it.

Now, this all pre-supposes that I don't get a third 16, lest of course you enabling bastids make me pull the trigger - again.:rolleyes:
 
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