I have not had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Becker, though I do certainly hope to some day. I feel like I have spilled the beans in regards to my fondness for Becker knives a few times in the past so if what I have to say seems repetitive, you have my sincerest apologies.
I remember a number of years back when I was beginning to foster a preference for over built sharpened slabs of steel. My knife collection was somewhat nonexistent, my only fixed blades at the time being a Ka-Bar Camp Knife (not the BK-5), a Buck 119, and a couple of Cold Steel Bushman blades. I spent a lot of time on the Internet, saving picture after picture of knives that caught my interest, it wasn't long before I realized that many of those pictures happened to be of various Busse knives. However, further research demonstrated that those blades were generally out of my price range so my search carried on.
All of the sudden, a picture of a BK-9 popped up. It was love at first sight! I had to know what this badass looking beauty was and further digging revealed that it was a Becker BK-9 and was currently being made by Ka-Bar. I continued to research these knives which inevitably led me to these forums. Now this was years ago and all I did was lurk but the enthusiasm for these knives and the respect that everyone seemed to have for Ethan was contagious and I promptly bought my first Becker, a BK-9, the King, there can only be one...
Knowing that I had a trip planned soon after the blade was due to arrive, I scrambled to make my first sheath for it. Not being a big fan of cordura sheaths in general, I thought that the King deserved better pants at the time. I cobbled together a leather scout style sheath that I thought would be ideal and got it finished in time for the 9's first wilderness outing.
Enjoying the finer things on its maiden voyage! Scotch, pipe, and of course, a Becker!
At the time that I purchased the 9, I was actually torn between getting the 9 and the 2. Like I said before, I was enthralled by sharpened prybars and the 2 really beckoned me. However, I chose the 9 as my first and I was very glad I did. But I wasn't content with just the one knife, I needed to start working my way through the lineup. Since my wife was in need of a solid knife for her outdoor kit, I ordered a a BK-2. When it arrived, we welcomed Becker #2 into the family. I liked the sheath just fine, but I replaced the cordura belt loop with one made of stout leather.
My wife insisted on cutting down our Christmas tree with her then brand new BK-2. She was rather excited and successful, as you can see. The knife is in the pocket of her sweatshirt.
I was so impressed with these knives that before I acquired anymore for myself, I gifted a few to some of my close friends. I gifted a BK-5 to a buddy of mine and a BK-10 to his wife. I also sent a BK-11 to a friend who lives abroad. All of them became fast believers in the quality and toughness of these blades and have been enthusiastic owners ever since.
A bit of a lull in my knife purchasing occurred for a couple years while I pursued other hobbies and interests but I eventually came back and with my official joining of these forums last year, I celebrated by purchasing the next blade in my Becker lineup, the Sweet 16. I played with this one some, giving it a unique patina and stippling the handles. My wife soon took a fancy to it and it became her new knife more than mine...
Well, soon after that, the floodgates opened in a sense and not only do I have a lot more Beckers, but a lot more knives in general. A desirable side effect of being involved in the forums here.... A 5 was acquired, soon to be followed by a 14, 11, 7, 10, 4, and a 12. I love them all and am just as enthusiastic about Mr. Becker's designs and Ka-Bar's quality as I was when this fun ride got started.
I have been continuously impressed with Ethan's attentiveness to his fans and customers and Ka-Bar has demonstrated overall excellent service. I am a very proud advocate for these knives and never need a lot of encouragement to demonstrate my enthusiasm. These are tough, no-nonsense knives that surely do "Work for a Living" and can be had for extremely reasonable prices. These are my "go to" knives and likely always will be.
I am honored to be a proud Beckerhead and a shameless fanboy
. Thank you, Ethan, for your terrific design philosophies and thank you, Ka-Bar, for making such excellent knives!