BK9 vs BK20 as a Chopper

jmclfrsh

jmclfrsh

Joined
Dec 1, 2012
Messages
1,379
I have misplaced my BK9 with micarta handles which I really love.

I also have a BK20 NIB I was going to put in the exchange because I had the King, don’t need two choppers, and could use the money for other things.

I do need a chopper pretty badly on the farm here, and since I cannot find the 9, am reluctantly thinking of putting the 20 into service.

For those whom have both, how do they compare?

I know I’d have longer reach with the 20 and since it’s thorny bushes I need to be whacking, the length might be important.

These weeds I need to start attacking are mostly thumb-to-small-wrist in diameter and not hard wood by any means, mostly softwood and vines.
 
I am fond of both knives - but if you are wanting a straight chopper, the BK-20 is a hard one to beat.

The King(BK-9) is a great all-around camp knife. Big enough to handle most (if not all) work but not too large that you can't do the finer tasks - it beats a majority of the Becker lineup in sheer versatility. The 20 is just a joy to work with when clearing limbs, processing firewood, clearing brush, etc. - but I am not going to be doing a whole lot of the little tasks with it, it's just too cumbersome in that regard.

In true BF fashion, I'd say keep the 20 and get yourself another 9. Two different knives and you can replace the 9 easily enough where you would be pretty hard pressed to get another 20 if the fancy strikes you in the future.

For what it's worth, since I got my 20, I haven't used my 9 nearly as much - it really is a superb workhorse.

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Id get a machette or machette-like knife for the branches.....

I always wanted a 20.
but now that I have other Big choppers, I see that the "Proper Tool" rule falls into play.
all those people aren't wrong. :/
The 20 sounds a little Clunky for your job

What Becker needs is a modern, ramped up version of the BK6 patrol machete. Make it so it wont break.
I modified a Kabar Parangatang and it will outchop most other knives. And it's cheap. If you can live with the handle, I'd go that route.
 
Pàdruig said:
For what it's worth, since I got my 20, I haven't used my 9 nearly as much - it really is a superb workhorse.
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^This!!

Crag the Brewer said:
Id get a machette or machette-like knife for the branches
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That too. An 18" Tramontina for $20 is great for clearing thin thorny stuff...but not the most efficient for wrist sized stuff especially if it's dead/dry.
 
hhmoore said:
^This!!


That too. An 18" Tramontina for $20 is great for clearing thin thorny stuff...but not the most efficient for wrist sized stuff especially if it's dead/dry.
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Yeah, the dry stuff is hard....

I hope I didn't come across as not thinking it wasn't going to be good?

I know I'd have fun Swinging It....but the Tram would be better for the small stuff..... Just not as cool to do so.
 
Thanks guys, appreciate the reply!

I decided to put it in service. So I used it in conjunction with my Milwaukee M18 Hackzall with a carbide pruning blade to start clearing brush this morning and the two of them work pretty well together.

I was having a hard time with dry, harder stuff with the 20 but the M18 handles it easily.

Alternatively, the M18 would struggle with things with roots as it would just move them back and forth a lot where the 20 would slice it off cleanly.

I watched Uncle Ethan’s BK20 interview video last night again, and the wrist-flick motion really does do wonders getting the blade speed up and slice through the thorny matter more easily.

So I guess I’ll just have to put the time in now. And will put a good edge on the 20 to help it out as much as I can.

It is great being a member of this forum, and thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it.

Carry On!
 
Ethan talked about the snap cut using the 4. It definitely increases the speed. Like most things, takes a little practice.
 
The 20 definitely hits harder as a chopper. The 9’s a better all-around jack of all trades.
 
I hear that, I hate losing something.
 
I thought i had misplaced my bk9 once but then i realized it was with my camping gear. And furthermore, its always with my camping gear so why would i think it would be someplace else.
 
I have begun only using my BK9 for everything out doors, gonna find out if its the only tool I have how works. Building traps, shelters, splitting camp fire wood, taking down some small size trees. going to put it through some paces. so far it hasn't skipped a beat. Love this knife more every time I take it out.
 
Everyone is making me nervous.........is there something in the water ? All this knife misplacing. Lol

The absolute best way for me to find ANYTHING I have misplaced is to enlist the help of my "tracker wife extraordinaire" !!! That woman is the best. LOL, not kidding.

You either get it or you don't. Wives are the absolute champions of finding stuff we thought we lost. Lol

Except Bigfoot, but my wife hasn't tried yet ! Lol
 
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