I was a bit hesitant to try out the new Becker line, but my fears were alleviated when I got my BK11. I've still got some of the ol Camillus Beckers, so I'm only going to buy the ones that I don't have. This is one of them; the BK9 Combat Bowie. It's a well-made piece of cutlery, and I find it hard to distinguish from the original. You can find the BK9 in stores for around $75-$80, which is a fair amount for this great tool. It's American-made. It also comes with a smaller fixed blade (see later in the review). Here we go...
The Handle: The BK9 has a full, exposed tang. It's covered with black handle slabs that are made of Grivory, and they are bolted on with three 5/32" (I think) bolts that go into hex nuts on the other side. The BK9's handle is 5-1/2" long, with 4" of it being inside the gripping area. It's 1-1/16" wide, and fills the hand nicely. It's very comfortable in use, and is contoured in a different (I think better) way than the Camillus BK9s were. By this, I mean that the handle swells a bit in the center, whereas the Camillus handles weren't as pronounced. There's a lanyard hole in the butt of the knife, and it will accomodate a doubled-over strand of non-gutted 550 cord. The butt is also exposed about 1/8" from the handle, presumably so you can hammer with it or crack things. There is a nice groove in front of the handle so your fingers don't slip up on to the blade, and it's effective. There's heavy jimping on the rear at the tang, and this jimping is on a thumb ramp. Great for control.
Taking the handles off, I'm glad they didn't make the handle slabs solid. One of the cool things I liked about the Camillus Beckers is that you can stash a mini survival kit in the hollow handles and just screw them back on; that remains here. The handle is skeletonized under the scales, much like a Necker is. If you choose, you can remove the handle scales and use a cord wrap.
While I don't have a lot of use with the BK9, I can tell you that it's comfortable during chopping, slicing, and batoning.
The Blade: Again, this is a full tang knife. The entire blade, except the grind line, is coated with a black epoxy powder coating. The blade itself is 9" long and 3/16" thick, and it's saber ground (flat grind, but not full flat). This blade came out of the box razor sharp and needed no stropping. It's made of 1095 CroVan, Kabar's brand of carbon steel. There's a swedge on the rear, and it's 2" long. I'm still debating on whether or not I'll sharpen mine. The blade, overall, is just great for camp chores and as a general survival knife. In terms of combat (afterall, it's called the Combat Bowie) it will do just fine. It's not too heavy or large to be unwieldly, and the blade gives you a great advantage (length) if you're in combat.
As far as markings, the left side tang is stamped with the BK&T KABAR logo above OLEAN, NY USA. The right side tang simply has BK-9 stamped in. This is just a great camping knife; it slices very well, chops extremely well, and will pierce rather easily. The steel is highly regarded as a great outdoors choice, and many of the W&SS people swear by it (myself included).
The Sheath: The BK9 comes with a black nylon sheath, which is 17" long. It has a Kydex liner in it to prevent the blade form cutting through, and is secured via snap fastener. The knife will fit into the sheath either left or right-handed. You can carry the sheath on your belt, up to 2-1/4" wide, or use the ALICE / MALICE slots in the back (clips not provided). The bottom of the sheath has riveted holes for a leg tie-down, and the same type of riveted holes are at the top of the sheath so you can add some cordage for more assurance that the blade won't come out. The sheath also has two pockets; one is Kydex-lined and holds an included mini knife (see that in the next section), and the other is an elasticised pouch. It can hold a handgun magazine or knife, although I prefer to keep my Leatherman Surge in it. The pouches are piggyback-style, with the small knife slot behind the magazine pouch. They are secured by a Velcro flap.
The only differences between the new sheaths and the Camillus sheaths appears to be the color; the Camillus sheaths were green with black trim and black pouch flap, while the Kabar sheaths are all black. The quality is there, and it's great. I'd be just as comfortable jumping out of a helicopter with the BK9 as I would carrying it on my hip, but only if I had a leg tie while doing it. The length of the sheath makes it floppy a bit, especially when running, so I recommend using something to tie it down.
The BK13: The BK9 also comes with a smaller fixed blade in a stainless finish, called the BK13. It's 3Cr13 stainless steel. The BK13 is a one-piece skeletonized knife, and it slightly resembles a Necker (BK11). It's lasered KA-BAR and the left side tang and BK13 above China on the right side tang. It's 5-1/4" long with a 2-1/4" blade, and it's 1/8" thick. It's a drop point design, and is full flat ground. There are three lanyard holes; one near the blade and two in the butt, as well as two cut-outs in the middle. I wrapped mine with cord to improve grip; the stainless finish is slick when wet or sweaty and the handle was a bit too sharp at the corners.
EDITED: If you're going to wrap the handle on the BK13, either wrap it very tight or wrap just the portion closest to the butt after the brace in the middle of the handle. The snugness of the Kydex liner tends to pull the wrapping and loosening it with all but the tightest wraps. So wrap tight, wrap halfway, or superglue.
A photo of the BK13 might help (Bladite's photo)...
I wouldn't mind getting a few more of this knife (the BK13) to stash in my kits, although I don't think they're available for sale individually. Gotta buy a BK7 or BK9 if you want the BK13, but hopefully that changes soon. The BK13 is a good addition to the BK9, and makes a great food knife.
So, I love the BK9. Kabar did a great job in making the BK9 as well as Camillus did, and Ethan Becker did a great job of designing it. This has become my new "SHTF knife" and will accompany me on many outdoor experiments. Pick one up at your local knife shop and see what all the fuss is about.
EDITED: I received an E-mail asking if you could remove the handle scales and stick the BK13 inside, then screw the handles back on. You can't; the BK13 is too large and even if it were smaller, it needs more holes drilled into it to fit in the handle scales. Nice idea though :thumbup:
The Handle: The BK9 has a full, exposed tang. It's covered with black handle slabs that are made of Grivory, and they are bolted on with three 5/32" (I think) bolts that go into hex nuts on the other side. The BK9's handle is 5-1/2" long, with 4" of it being inside the gripping area. It's 1-1/16" wide, and fills the hand nicely. It's very comfortable in use, and is contoured in a different (I think better) way than the Camillus BK9s were. By this, I mean that the handle swells a bit in the center, whereas the Camillus handles weren't as pronounced. There's a lanyard hole in the butt of the knife, and it will accomodate a doubled-over strand of non-gutted 550 cord. The butt is also exposed about 1/8" from the handle, presumably so you can hammer with it or crack things. There is a nice groove in front of the handle so your fingers don't slip up on to the blade, and it's effective. There's heavy jimping on the rear at the tang, and this jimping is on a thumb ramp. Great for control.
Taking the handles off, I'm glad they didn't make the handle slabs solid. One of the cool things I liked about the Camillus Beckers is that you can stash a mini survival kit in the hollow handles and just screw them back on; that remains here. The handle is skeletonized under the scales, much like a Necker is. If you choose, you can remove the handle scales and use a cord wrap.
While I don't have a lot of use with the BK9, I can tell you that it's comfortable during chopping, slicing, and batoning.
The Blade: Again, this is a full tang knife. The entire blade, except the grind line, is coated with a black epoxy powder coating. The blade itself is 9" long and 3/16" thick, and it's saber ground (flat grind, but not full flat). This blade came out of the box razor sharp and needed no stropping. It's made of 1095 CroVan, Kabar's brand of carbon steel. There's a swedge on the rear, and it's 2" long. I'm still debating on whether or not I'll sharpen mine. The blade, overall, is just great for camp chores and as a general survival knife. In terms of combat (afterall, it's called the Combat Bowie) it will do just fine. It's not too heavy or large to be unwieldly, and the blade gives you a great advantage (length) if you're in combat.
As far as markings, the left side tang is stamped with the BK&T KABAR logo above OLEAN, NY USA. The right side tang simply has BK-9 stamped in. This is just a great camping knife; it slices very well, chops extremely well, and will pierce rather easily. The steel is highly regarded as a great outdoors choice, and many of the W&SS people swear by it (myself included).
The Sheath: The BK9 comes with a black nylon sheath, which is 17" long. It has a Kydex liner in it to prevent the blade form cutting through, and is secured via snap fastener. The knife will fit into the sheath either left or right-handed. You can carry the sheath on your belt, up to 2-1/4" wide, or use the ALICE / MALICE slots in the back (clips not provided). The bottom of the sheath has riveted holes for a leg tie-down, and the same type of riveted holes are at the top of the sheath so you can add some cordage for more assurance that the blade won't come out. The sheath also has two pockets; one is Kydex-lined and holds an included mini knife (see that in the next section), and the other is an elasticised pouch. It can hold a handgun magazine or knife, although I prefer to keep my Leatherman Surge in it. The pouches are piggyback-style, with the small knife slot behind the magazine pouch. They are secured by a Velcro flap.
The only differences between the new sheaths and the Camillus sheaths appears to be the color; the Camillus sheaths were green with black trim and black pouch flap, while the Kabar sheaths are all black. The quality is there, and it's great. I'd be just as comfortable jumping out of a helicopter with the BK9 as I would carrying it on my hip, but only if I had a leg tie while doing it. The length of the sheath makes it floppy a bit, especially when running, so I recommend using something to tie it down.
The BK13: The BK9 also comes with a smaller fixed blade in a stainless finish, called the BK13. It's 3Cr13 stainless steel. The BK13 is a one-piece skeletonized knife, and it slightly resembles a Necker (BK11). It's lasered KA-BAR and the left side tang and BK13 above China on the right side tang. It's 5-1/4" long with a 2-1/4" blade, and it's 1/8" thick. It's a drop point design, and is full flat ground. There are three lanyard holes; one near the blade and two in the butt, as well as two cut-outs in the middle. I wrapped mine with cord to improve grip; the stainless finish is slick when wet or sweaty and the handle was a bit too sharp at the corners.
EDITED: If you're going to wrap the handle on the BK13, either wrap it very tight or wrap just the portion closest to the butt after the brace in the middle of the handle. The snugness of the Kydex liner tends to pull the wrapping and loosening it with all but the tightest wraps. So wrap tight, wrap halfway, or superglue.
A photo of the BK13 might help (Bladite's photo)...
I wouldn't mind getting a few more of this knife (the BK13) to stash in my kits, although I don't think they're available for sale individually. Gotta buy a BK7 or BK9 if you want the BK13, but hopefully that changes soon. The BK13 is a good addition to the BK9, and makes a great food knife.
So, I love the BK9. Kabar did a great job in making the BK9 as well as Camillus did, and Ethan Becker did a great job of designing it. This has become my new "SHTF knife" and will accompany me on many outdoor experiments. Pick one up at your local knife shop and see what all the fuss is about.
EDITED: I received an E-mail asking if you could remove the handle scales and stick the BK13 inside, then screw the handles back on. You can't; the BK13 is too large and even if it were smaller, it needs more holes drilled into it to fit in the handle scales. Nice idea though :thumbup:
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