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The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is $300 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
BK7 Bushcraft Knife
- Thread starter zfJames
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- Dec 6, 2017
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How well have your Ontario knives served you? I thought about the Rat knives, but I'm afraid that I (personal choice) am not a big fan of Ontario knife designs...
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The BK-7 is more of a camp knife when car camping for me, but I think it would work just fine for general woods use/survival/bushcraft applications. (Yes, I own one.) It really depends on what you actually do "bushcrafting" to justify the carry effort. I think it's a great knife for the money, but I seldom want to carry something this large hiking. The BK-15 works for me. However I love big knives.
stabman
Gold Member
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That's funny...the BK7 is one I carry when I want something small.
It is a pretty good knife.
The BK7 is a fine knife and will serve you well! I used one as my primary bush-crafting/outdoor work blade for a couple of years and it served me well. Once I got a BK9, the BK7 lost some of its mojo as an outdoors tool. I know that the BK7 "feels" like a big blade in your hand, especially if you don't have a few other blades to compare it against at the same time, but it realty is mid sized at best. In reality, the BK9 just does everything a bit better than the BK7: it is heavier, it handles chopping and wood processing tasks easier, and can still deliver for finesse stuff like making firesticks with ease. If you just got a 7, trust me that you will eventually want to own a BK9!
My fave combo for bush crafting is a BK9 along with a BK16 or BK11 to handle the lighter stuff.
My fave combo for bush crafting is a BK9 along with a BK16 or BK11 to handle the lighter stuff.
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- Dec 6, 2017
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See that's kind of why I was wondering if the BK7 will make a good bushcraft knife: Is there anything that the BK9 can do that the BK7 cannot do? And yes, I now have a new habit of coloring in key words in my posts...
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- Jul 28, 2003
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Beckers are good knives and if the BK7 floats your boat, then by all means carry on with it. Having said that, in my experience, 7-9" (or even 10-12") blades are no match for a machete when it comes to chopping. I carry a Fallkniven F1 for knife work, and use a Condor Speed Machete for clearing/chopping/splitting etc.
Having said that, if I were stuck in the woods some place and had a BK7 in my pack, I would feel very fortunate and be more focused on the tasks at hand ( shelter/fire building) than what the tool was that I had available.
After being a hard core knife junkie for well over 4 decades, what I've learned is that it is really easy to fall prey to marketing - which leads to always chasing the perfect whatever. If anyone remembers the movie "A Christmas Story" where the kid wanted a "Red Ryder BB gun with a compass in the stock"....you'll see what I mean. He kept having these fantasies about all of the adventures he planned to have if only he could get that bb gun.... Well, even in my 50's I occasionally have to remind myself that the new whatever it is toy that just caught my eye will in all likelihood not have any real impact on my quality of life.
So, the moral of this story is this: get solid basic gear (a BK7 certainly qualifies) and go have fun learning the necessary skills to play outside and even survive an unplanned overnight somewhere. It ain't about the tool - it's all about the skills (and having a little fun along the way).
Having said that, if I were stuck in the woods some place and had a BK7 in my pack, I would feel very fortunate and be more focused on the tasks at hand ( shelter/fire building) than what the tool was that I had available.
After being a hard core knife junkie for well over 4 decades, what I've learned is that it is really easy to fall prey to marketing - which leads to always chasing the perfect whatever. If anyone remembers the movie "A Christmas Story" where the kid wanted a "Red Ryder BB gun with a compass in the stock"....you'll see what I mean. He kept having these fantasies about all of the adventures he planned to have if only he could get that bb gun.... Well, even in my 50's I occasionally have to remind myself that the new whatever it is toy that just caught my eye will in all likelihood not have any real impact on my quality of life.
So, the moral of this story is this: get solid basic gear (a BK7 certainly qualifies) and go have fun learning the necessary skills to play outside and even survive an unplanned overnight somewhere. It ain't about the tool - it's all about the skills (and having a little fun along the way).
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- Dec 6, 2017
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Very wise words... I will certainly keep that in mind and focus on my survival skills!
I carry a falkniven f1 pro as my woods knife, and if I need anything larger it is my BK9. For me the size of the BK7 makes it a mid-range knife and I tend to carry a chopper plus a knife for a more than just a one knife option like most mid-sized knives fill. That being said, I like my ratmandu and carry that as a stand alone knife in the field when on orders.
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The BK-7 or the BK-9 or something else? A 7" knife is generally the minimum for chopping in the woods beyond the occasional limb. You can effectively baton a smaller knife to cut off a limb or split some wood for kindling. I bought the BK-7 as a woods knife. Can't say I'm any kind of expert beyond really crude tools, tent stakes, a support pole for a tarp, a chair, sticks to support a pot, a forked stick for fishing if you like to fish that way, cutting a walking stick, splitting some kindling from bigger stuff (works best with a sawed log to start with).... But frankly, I didn't like to carry it because it was too big and in the seldom used category. Hell, even a 4-5" fixed blade is seldom used for me.... so why would I want to carry the larger BK-7? The answer is it's a little easier to carry than the BK-9 (don't own a '9' and don't intend to buy one). But if chopping is your thing in the woods, I would go larger than the BK-9. For lower priced knives, the Condor Kumunga works as does the Condor Moonshiner (sort of BK-9 sized), or one of the larger Condor machetes like the Pack Golok or Village Parang.
The test I apply is what do I grab to chop up a fallen limb (big one) in my yard to break it down to a more manageable size? Machetes mostly and I have fun with the Kumunga. I don't go for the BK-7 or really even consider it. So, what's it good for? It is a large knife betweener... not small and not large even though it feels large in your hand. You can do everything you want to do with it, but would be better to have another smaller knife with you for the small stuff.
That leads to the question... when do you ever use the big knife? For me... almost never unless I know ahead of time I am going to be doing trail maintenance along the way. But not for splitting kindling or chopping up logs as in my woods there is usually plenty of smaller dead stuff around for a fire if I want to build one. Gee, I'm such a stick in the mud.
If I got stranded out in the woods over night or for a few days, would the BK-7 be good. Yep. I would be glad I had it with me since I often only have a folder with me.
The test I apply is what do I grab to chop up a fallen limb (big one) in my yard to break it down to a more manageable size? Machetes mostly and I have fun with the Kumunga. I don't go for the BK-7 or really even consider it. So, what's it good for? It is a large knife betweener... not small and not large even though it feels large in your hand. You can do everything you want to do with it, but would be better to have another smaller knife with you for the small stuff.
That leads to the question... when do you ever use the big knife? For me... almost never unless I know ahead of time I am going to be doing trail maintenance along the way. But not for splitting kindling or chopping up logs as in my woods there is usually plenty of smaller dead stuff around for a fire if I want to build one. Gee, I'm such a stick in the mud.
If I got stranded out in the woods over night or for a few days, would the BK-7 be good. Yep. I would be glad I had it with me since I often only have a folder with me.
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The 7 is an excellent knife that is as reliable as an iron skillet. It will take some abuse and do what you ask it to do. It is a very good general purpose fixed blade. Enjoy it !!
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It's the knife i bring backpacking with me too, it just does everything well. I dedicated a year to it, there's a post somewhere in the becker forums on it
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- Dec 6, 2017
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Sorry, just got down to your post! I’m planning on using mine backpacking too, and I will definitely look for your post in the Becker forums!
Bushcraft/Survival is a inclusive term that's really hard to define, between different people it could end up requiring completely different knives to do the job.
So I will just give you my setup.
Kellum Slasher-257 grams including sheath(Image is from Google)
+
Bahco Laplander Saw about 185grams
+
Opinel Garden Knife ~45 grams.
My system works for me and works great, but someone who likes to carve often is going to find it rather ineffective, they would want a different setup. I feel my kit is a better option over all then one knife like bk7/bk9, giving me greater adaptability and function then just one heavy knife could ever do. I do own a bk9 and it weighs as much as all 3 and thats not counting the sheath.
Is the Bk7 a good bushcraft/survival knife for you? that's a question I feel the only person who can honestly answer that is you.
So I will just give you my setup.
Kellum Slasher-257 grams including sheath(Image is from Google)
+
Bahco Laplander Saw about 185grams
+
Opinel Garden Knife ~45 grams.
My system works for me and works great, but someone who likes to carve often is going to find it rather ineffective, they would want a different setup. I feel my kit is a better option over all then one knife like bk7/bk9, giving me greater adaptability and function then just one heavy knife could ever do. I do own a bk9 and it weighs as much as all 3 and thats not counting the sheath.
Is the Bk7 a good bushcraft/survival knife for you? that's a question I feel the only person who can honestly answer that is you.
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2017
- Messages
- 273
Beautiful knives, Phoynix! I would never think of building a survival kit that lacked a good saw (mine is a Wicked Hand Saw and has served me well). Nice Opinel! Is that just for hand-work?Bushcraft/Survival is a inclusive term that's really hard to define, between different people it could end up requiring completely different knives to do the job.
So I will just give you my setup.
Kellum Slasher-257 grams including sheath(Image is from Google)
+
Bahco Laplander Saw about 185grams
+
Opinel Garden Knife ~45 grams.
My system works for me and works great, but someone who likes to carve often is going to find it rather ineffective, they would want a different setup. I feel my kit is a better option over all then one knife like bk7/bk9, giving me greater adaptability and function then just one heavy knife could ever do. I do own a bk9 and it weighs as much as all 3 and thats not counting the sheath.
Is the Bk7 a good bushcraft/survival knife for you? that's a question I feel the only person who can honestly answer that is you.
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2014
- Messages
- 937
The critical thing with a bushcraft knife is not the knife itself but the skill with which it is wielded.
My bushcraft tools are a mora and a 3/4 axe, or boy's axe. One for chopping, one for everything else. The mora gets about 99% of the work when I'm out bush.
A bk7 is a fantastic knife and will serve you well provided the way you bushcraft lends itself to the use of a heavy medium size knife. However if your methods of bush crafting resemble mine then a good quality folding saw or a light axe may be a better set up when used in conjunction with a smaller fixed blade.
Either way the bk7 is a very very nice knife in my opinion. Well made and well designed, it just doesn't suit my particular purposes.
My bushcraft tools are a mora and a 3/4 axe, or boy's axe. One for chopping, one for everything else. The mora gets about 99% of the work when I'm out bush.
A bk7 is a fantastic knife and will serve you well provided the way you bushcraft lends itself to the use of a heavy medium size knife. However if your methods of bush crafting resemble mine then a good quality folding saw or a light axe may be a better set up when used in conjunction with a smaller fixed blade.
Either way the bk7 is a very very nice knife in my opinion. Well made and well designed, it just doesn't suit my particular purposes.