Is the Becker BK2 Campanion too heavy?

C

collecter

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Does anyone find the BK2 Campanion knife too heavy?

Mine is the newest generation with the hollows in the tag. I've had it for some time but I'm still looking for a lighter weight replacement. I recently tried the Cold Steel SRK and it's decent but it does't cut wood like my BK2.

What other lighter weight knives are out there that could give the BK2 a spanking?

Collecter
 
In what sense do you find it too heavy? Wielding it? Carrying it on your hip? Hiking/carrying it in a bag where you want to cut as much weight from your pack as possible?
 
For the performance that the blade offers, no, I don't think it's too heavy.

I've never been concerned with weight on a big knife. IMO, if my knife is wearing on me that bad, it's not the knifes fault.

YMMV.
 
It is a heavy knife, but it is a huge workhorse of a knife. I put mine in my back pack and off we go.
 
No, I have mine on an old military surplus pistol belt and forget that it's there. Actually the BK-2 is the only Becker model that I wish DIDN'T have the weight reducing tang cut outs. I actually emailed Ka-Bar requesting two semi finished BK-2 blades (everything done except the cut outs) and was denied, as they only send out ''finished'' knives. I love my 2nd gen. BK-2, but you would think that no cut outs would be an easy option to request. I know that it costs Ka-Bar $ for the laser cut out work. Hell I'd pay an extra handling fee just to have the original.
 
collecter said:
Does anyone find the BK2 Campanion knife too heavy?
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For me? Yes, but I don't ask my knives to replace an axe or machete or a pry-bar. And when I say "too heavy" I am referring more to weight in the hand, rather than on my belt or in my pack.

If you want a knife for chopping underbrush or battoning wood it's a first-rate choice. I find it too thick and heavy for perparing meals, making fuzz sticks, whittling tarp pegs or the 101 other uses I find for a knife in the woods. Oh, it will do all those things, just not as well or as easily as another knife might.

What other lighter weight knives are out there that could give the BK2 a spanking?
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Again, for the uses that I put a knife to in the woods, the traditional Mora "spanks" the BK2 quite handily. Strong, light, easily sharpened, it does just about everything I need a knife to in the woods. I also have a couple of the currently popular "Bushcraft" style blades (like the BRKT Aurora) which are quite good too, but don't really do anything that a good Mora couldn't do for 1/10 the price. ;)
 
It's not too heavy or too light.

It's really just what it is.

It's a solid, stout, outdoors knife. It depends on what you value, your intentions and your skillset.
 
Nope - for me, it's just about right. I did notice that it carries a bit lighter when I wear it horizontally across the front of my belt rather than vertically on the side. Maybe that's just me but I hardly know it's there til it's time to use it.
 
I was refering to weight on the belt. I prefer something lighter on my belt but still want a knife that feels substantial. I used to carry a Kabar but replaced it with the BK2. I like the Kabar but the BK2 is much better wood cutting bushcraft type knife. I have the Cold Steel SRK and it's lighter but just not as impressive as the BK2, in my hands that is.

I'm looking for something in the same price range as the Becker and SRK. Is there anything else out there?

Thanks,
 
So you want something that costs the same as a BK-2 and functions the same as a BK-2 but weighs less than the BK-2. Um, a BK-7 is lighter and will do many of the same things for a little more money. An ESEE RC-4 is lighter and will do many of the same things for a lot more money.

I think part of the reason a BK-2 does what it does with the size it has is it's weight. Know what I mean? Maybe you could get some sort of super light-weight sheath for the BK-2 you already have?


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Beckerhead #42
 
GingivitisKahn said:
So you want something that costs the same as a BK-2 and functions the same as a BK-2 but weighs less than the BK-2. Um, a BK-7 is lighter and will do many of the same things for a little more money. An ESEE RC-4 is lighter and will do many of the same things for a lot more money.

Beckerhead #42
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+1 on the BK7 :thumbup:

I think in a lot of ways the BK7 has more utility than the BK2 as a general use woods knife.

It's a great knife (well, they both are). I particularly like the value that they represent. I haven't been able to find similar quality for the same money elsewhere. Some of the Ontario Knife Company stuff comes close.

pete
 
I agree with mdauben.
A Mora is more of a knife.

I would take an axe over a BK-2(I had one but sold it).
The axe has awesome leverage.

The Condor Rodan ain't a bad knife either(understatement).
It cuts like the best,and holds an edge good too.Very good.

The weight is much better=Lighter.

And ... it is tough
 
noviomagus said:
I agree with mdauben.
A Mora is more of a knife.

I would take an axe over a BK-2(I had one but sold it).
The axe has awesome leverage.

The Condor Rodan ain't a bad knife either(understatement).
It cuts like the best,and holds an edge good too.Very good.

The weight is much better=Lighter.

And ... it is tough
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And we are back to the weight issue again by carrying an axe. I see a knife like the BK-2 as a happy compromise in a compact size. Considering that I have it hair shaving sharp, I can see it doing whatever a Mora can in regard to cutting\slicing. It can be battoned without fear of breakage. And battoned through reasonable sized green living trees\branches fairly quickly for shelter making. Is it a dainty little pen knife to be used to whittle poetry into wooden match sticks ? No. It's a mans knife that is tough enough to be beaten to hell, survive it repeatedly, and still get you out of the bush alive. I packed a BK-2 all fall day in and day out while metal detecting in the bush and forgot that it was on my belt until I bent down and it touched the ground or whatever. Then I just shoved it around back on the belt. I previously had a snot-on that the 2nd gen had cut outs so I decided to be brutal to mine and see if it would break. It didn't, and I'm now a believer. No it's not an axe, it's a knife that happens to do a dandy job of filling both roles in a pinch, without all the extra gear and weight.
 
upnorth said:
No it's not an axe, it's a knife that happens to do a dandy job of filling both roles in a pinch, without all the extra gear and weight.
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Preferences for the BK-2 ok ,i understand that.

But in my book a Mora and an axe is more effective and more practical.

And that is no extra gear and weight compared to the also heavy BK-2.

I'm not taking your fun with the BK-2 away you know.

If for the Becker I would then prefer the 7.More length to chop with.Slices better.

And still take a Mora with me.For as a Mora weight is practically nothing.

I just dont have the hots for those short stubby knives.

But if it fills the bill for you,all power to you.
 
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Too heavy ? No. Just needs a stiffer sheath from the factory. It's a little tank of a knife.

Another knife to give it a "spanking" ? In that price range you'd be hard pressed to find one.

I was a little leary of the handles, but not bad at all. No blisters yet. (LOL)

Keep it. Use it. It'll grow on you. Loved mine right out of the box.
 
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