Still the Best Chopper

Joined
Apr 3, 2006
Messages
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I've spent a big portion of my free time outdoors and I've played with a variety of blades. I think the BK9 is still the best chopper. I have a new job which cramps my style a bit, but last week I got out to set some traps after the landowner reported some fresh hog sign. I didn't get any hogs, but setting and checking the traps gave me a couple of good sessions in the scrub. As always, I needed some stakes for my snare sets. The stake in the picture is made from kanuka - one of our toughest woods. The BK9 sharpened it with ease. I'm still grateful for these knives.
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Still my favorite chopper as well. Price to quality ratio, as well as the weight versus chopping ability. Has always been my go to.

 
The BK9 is awesome!!! One of my favorite knives! Iโ€™ve always liked how well it can be used as an actual knife. Many blades this big are great choppers but not real useful when there are smaller cutting chores. The BK9 chops and cuts well.
 
Ya know, I know I'm the dissenting opinion, but I MUCH prefer the BK4 as a chopper. So much so, that I sold my Bk9. I sold two BK9s actually.

Weight to utility ratio, the 4 performs better for me, and I love it as a draw knife, and for keeping the part of the edge closer to the handle screaming sharp for good wood shavings.

At first, I wasn't sure about the 4. Funky offset handle, kinda kukri-ish shape but not really, not a thin knife but not very thick... it was unusual. But the more I used it, the further I came to appreciate it, and before long it supplanted my other chopping knives, and now it's THE knife on my hip if I expect to chop anything.

It's an acquired taste, for sure. But I have acquired the taste for it and now I can't imagine a better or more generally capable big knife.

I know others disagree. Snark me if you must.
 
The 4 is a kick ass blade as well. Love the 4. As you can see, I use it often:

 
The 9 is a good multi-tool but I find the 4 is becoming more multi-toolish than the 9.

Straight wood whacking and hacking for them I still find I like the 9 better probably because I'm use to straight edge blades for it, but the 4's learning curve for me is making more adept with it. And the other Kukri type blade I got.

My 9 and 4 usually do more camp type knifey things since I got more dedicated wood processing blades I use. But they sure do them other jobs very goodly!
 
The 4 intrigues me. It was Doc Canada who enthusiastically introduced me to it.

I often need to chop, and I went through a khukuri stage. I owned four of them. They could certainly chop, but I never really liked the 'bent' blade. I don't have any khukuris now. Any big knife that I carry should be able to dispatch a pig, and the '9 is better suited to this... the way I do it anyway.
 
image.jpeg I like the 9 better.
I would love to see kabar make this variant of the 4 though.
 
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