BK2 freed from the snow

L

Long.Rider

Joined
Dec 10, 2008
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281
Here is a brief review of my BK2 Companion. I was finally able to get it out of the post office. Out of the box like the 1095 Carbon steel it is made of the BK2 Companion is an unpretentious nothing fancy quarter inch thick at the spine drop point blade with with a single plain jane flat bevel. Fit and finish is decent with a slight ding on the spine. It feels substantial well balanced but not at all heavy. The BK2 has a decent factory edge I washed it off and sliced some rib roast not paper thin but good enough for a french dip. Touching up the blade some should get me those paper thin slices. It handled well in my hand. I stabbed a phone book a bit over 2.25 inches deep without effort. Out the door is a four plus inch diameter branch the wind and snow knocked down. I was able to chop it in half and remove the bark in under a minute with no effort and no effect on the edge or finish. Than off to the task at hand which was clearing my driveway so I could get a good ice free run through water over my driveway. I used my Companion on some ice four to six inches the shovel could not break up. The BK2 did so with no problem. Again without any noticeable effect on the edge or the finish.
Not an extensive torture test more like an average use day, well not really I do not use my EDC Kershaw to chop up branches or hack through ice. The BK2 impressed me as exactly what it appears to be a working mans knife more than capable doing whatever it is called upon to do.

I bought the BK2 to pair up with Kershaw Outcast (because the Becker Brute is no longer available) as a general use camp knives. So folks would leave my knives alone. Instead it may end up on my hip, my EDC camp knife (it will be less cumbersome than my MercWorx Equatorian) and into my trunk as my go to car knife when I am not off in the woods. I may make a custom wood handle for it and have a leather sheath made if I opt to EDC when I am out and about doing chores with having that tactical mall ninja look

Ethan
A couple of questions if I may. Promise none about the Brute.
First off is the BK2 made of 1095 Carbon steel or Ka_Bars 1095 Cro-Van Steel. I would guess that 1095 Carbon would lack Chromiumand Vanadium What performance differences can I expect?

As 1095 is not stainless steel should I be concerned about the tang? Should I remove the handles periodically and oil or grease the tang?

What do you think about convexing the blade on the BK2 Companion? I am doing it on the Kershaw Outcast as the blade edge was far to steep for a general purpose knife. It was about 40-45 degrees I am reprofiling it to 30 degrees and than I will convex it. OMG D2 steel is brutal I have over 15 hours reprofiling the edge and have completely worn out my Gatco course stone. Anyway the BK2 does not look like it needs to be reprofiled and 1095 won't be as hard to work with. So do you think that convexing the BK2 Companion it will be worth the effort?

Last, Mr Becker thank you very much for producing affordable good quality working mans knives. The BK2 Companion is a well made, well designed knife made from good steel that can do everything it is intended to that we average working stiffs can actually afford to use it without cringing for fear that it will get scratched, scraped, broken or stolen. A true working knife for the workingman
 
As I understand it, they're being made in KaBar's 1095 which IMO is probably the best 1095 on the planet.

1095 is a good tough steel and KaBar's treatment of it gives you a steel which takes and holds a very good edge. I think the steel previously used in the Camillus models is a little better for edge quality and retention, but KaBar's 1095 will do the job just fine while giving you a tougher blade.

I'm eager to get one of the new KaBar BK&T 7's and try it out.
 
Ethan's at or heading to the SHOT Show, but here's my attempt to answer his questions:

The Becker Knives from Ka-Bar are made from the CroVan 1095. That small amount of chromium lets the steel do things 1095 can do, but would need an exceedingly difficult heat-treat to do (and would lose the affordable price tag as a result). If Phil Gibbs is around, he might be able to tell you about 1095 CroVan and marquenching.
The way Ethan described it, the KaBar-made Beckers are riddled with steel crystals called bainite. Lower bainite; the kind you mostly get from a knife with 0.8% or higher carbon; is a very tough and flexible crystal which offsets the brittleness which can sometimes be found with martensite (the most knifey of steel crystals).

More later.
 
More, but not much more:

The coating covers the knife except for the edge. If your replacement scales mar the finish of the screwholes and if there's even a minute chance of moisture finding its way there, adding some of anti-corrosive would be prudent.

A note about the scales: Grivory is quite shock-resistant and likely to be harder, tougher, and more resistant to chemicals and the weather than even stabilized wood. If you're adding the scales to make it prettier, that's one thing, but if you're choosing weaker scales because you're worried folks think you use weird knives, that ship might have sailed with some other knives you mentioned. ;)

A note about edges: Thick, thin, coarse, and polished are all that matter as far as fussing goes. If you're better at sharpening convex edges, go with those. If your skill lies with flat edges, go with those. The thin amount of steel that makes up the edge and the materials you use it to cut won't care two bits whether it's kind of curved or kind of flat, so why should you?

Hope that helps until Ethan gets back and you can get the straight dope.
 
Wolf_1989 said:
As I understand it, they're being made in KaBar's 1095 which IMO is probably the best 1095 on the planet.

1095 is a good tough steel and KaBar's treatment of it gives you a steel which takes and holds a very good edge. I think the steel previously used in the Camillus models is a little better for edge quality and retention, but KaBar's 1095 will do the job just fine while giving you a tougher blade.

I'm eager to get one of the new KaBar BK&T 7's and try it out.
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I am really liking my Companion what a great knife !! I like it as much if not more than some of my higher end knives. That has me wondering why so many other similar knives cost so much.

I am not looking to disparage anyones product. So please do not include brands names or comments like brand XX is so much better or worst than a BK2 in your replies. That is not what I am asking or looking for

That said. Why are so many other knives similar to the BK2 , drop point blade made from 1095 with similar blade size and dimensions that often cost two three even eight times as much? Excluding one off customs I get why they cost what the do. But why do other manufactures charge so much for their blade? In your opinion is it all hype? Or are there genuine reasons the others cost so much more?

As I said in my review this is a working blade and I am confident that it can do everything a knife of this type can be called on to do. So I am not sure how it could be much if any better. So what if anything makes the others worth so much more?

That is not to say I do not have and want more high end knives. Of course I do. I do not own any high end, one off, 1K + customs, though I would love too. I do have more than a couple of knives in the $400 range and want more but I am starting to question my reasons for that. In the past I have always said well because they are better sharper stronger more efficient better handling. Now I am thinking it is something less tangible than that. What do you all think?
 
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I believe the answer is "Economy of scale."

Becker's knives were made by Camillus and are now made by Ka-Bar (they lived before Camillus, too). Both of these companies have the capacity to supply the US military (amongst other customers) with all of the Ka-Bar fighting knives they could ever hope to want and turned some of that capacity towards supplying the wants of other customers as well in numbers that most companies can't imagine.

Ka-Bar can afford order more 1095 or 1095CroVan steel than other competitors and steel mills often give good discounts to their higher volume customers.

Ka-Bar can afford larger machines for cutting, grinding, heat-treating, and finishing their knives than other competitors, thus getting more knives made per unit of time per laborer. Labor will always be the most expensive factor in an operation and anything that makes it more productive reduces costs to the maker and buyer without reducing wages for the worker (capitalism - yay!).

Ka-Bar's distribution channels have been refined and honed over 100 years as well. If they can survive the beauracracy of the military, distribution isn't their weak point.

So that's why some knives of comparable quality end up having a much higher pricetag even before we get into explanations that resemble accusations.
 
thombrogan said:
I believe the answer is "Economy of scale."
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Good answer and definitely a big part of the equation. But there is often a big disparity in price between large manufactures for like products, hell I'm not sure but suspect even within Ka-Bar there are other knives similar in form, function and quality of manufacture that cost more, alot more. I know that is the case with some other manufactures I think I will start another thread as this is not just about the BK2 and more of a general knife question. Other than I got to thinking about that because the BK2 is an such exceptional knife equal to other knives costing hundreds more.

If I could only have one knife to bet my life on the BK2 would be an excellent choice and Companion. Its been my EDC around the homestead as I've gone about doing chores, fixing up some of the mess from our storms be it chopping clearing broken & fallen branches cutting wire chopping ice making lunch. Cleaning with solvents and 3M pads does not effect the finish and it is holding its original factory edge just fine.

As I said in my first post it is not as sharp as I would like but am unsure what kind of edge it will work best on .25 inch thick 1095. That is something we seem to disagree on. IMO the edge profile is as important as the steel and temper of the knife. The steel and temper determines what edge works best on a blade how thin and sharp it can be and how well it will hold its edge. There is no reason to put a razor edge on a knife that won't hold it with normal use
 
I'm sure there's more to the prices, too. I think part of the philosophy is price the knives so they may be bought and used by those who need them most versus made so cheaply as to be worthless or so expensive as to be indestructible wall-art. Like the stoned guru at the seance; it's a happy medium.

As for the edges, I agree with you that sharpness shouldn't be at the expense of strength, but since everyone's uses are different, there's no one proper edge for any knife, not even a power-house 5" workhorse knife.

Jimmy Fikes used to make knives with similar steel going to a similar-thickness above the edge (0.015" to 0.02") and he'd raise a burr with a 600 or 1200 grit diamond stone moving haphazardly up and down the blade (looks like fiddle playing) and then clean it up with a leather strop loaded with "white diamond" buffing compound. A convexed, not-too-thin edge worked great for him and might work for you, too.
 
Been 2 months now since the BK2 was adopted into our home. In that time I've learned how to spell Campanion. Sharpened mine with a 22 degree edge with Gatco system, it has been holding it's edge well with daily use and only a quick touch up every week or two. Completely satisfied that I will get a life time of service out of this knife. I'm completely sold on Beckers. It is really nice to have such a well made American product at an honest price
 
Long.Rider said:
Completely satisfied that I will get a life time of service out of this knife. I'm completely sold on Beckers. It is really nice to have such a well made American product at an honest price
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Amen. I have one in each of my vehicles. Brute strong, yet still cuts well.
 
Hey Longrider...

Thank you for for appreciating the CAMPANION.and thank you for your post....I always like to think that I am building knives for people like you, who USE them and use them a lot....I really appreciate it when a USER posts such a laudatory post....Please tell me as time passes if you can suggest improvements of any kind....Thanks again, I really got a great big happy out of your post...

All Best...

ethan
 
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