Opinions about ESEE and KA-BAR Becker knives ?

[firiki]

It is a very difficult choice to make for many even when we factor out price ( to a limit ). 

I can say I'm in the same position as you, TG, thinking of investing in a good, full tang, fixed blade knife. I'm considering the Garberg (lovely Sandvik steel) and also the Strongarm by Gerber (420HC stainless). I happened to find both in a shop this past Saturday while looking for something else (no, really ). I like both knives and the steel used respectively but they are quite different. One question is, I think, what do you expect this knife to do? I'm after a decent, small-ish, stand-alone all-rounder of a full-tang knife. And some springles on top   

If you simply want a heavy duty camp knife that'll do most dirty jobs a knife shouldn't be doing, I've solved this with a Glock Feldmesser 81. That's one butch knife but also subtle and understated so you have to see it to know. It can rust easily so I guess some high carbon content and something similar to 1055/95? I'm not a connoisseur in alloys, though I can tell you this is indeed a sharpened -and pointy- prybar that can take a good edge if you work on it. The Feldmesser 81 along with a folding saw/small axe (combo?) and a Mora -and let's be extravagant, some SAK(s) too- will cover almost all my needs in the outdoors.

If I were going into some tropical jungle I might choose differently, a good machete let's say.

Just throwing in some more factors     

[zoidberg]

...Ka-bar Large Heavy Bowie.

(Image removed from quote.)

I know I've said this before, well done for removing the coating I like this knife an awful lot otherwise

I bought it like that.      

[Aloha]

I'm after a decent, small-ish, stand-alone all-rounder of a full-tang knife. And some springles on top   

This is exactly where I'm at these days.  I've carried a couple of my smaller fixed blades and even tried my small neck knives.  None really fill the allrounder role well enough.  I want a knife that is about 3 1/2-4 inch blade length and a handle that is 4-4 1/2 inch.  I don't mind if the blade is carbon or SS but I am heavily leaning towards micarta or desert iron wood handle material. 

 

[SAK Guy]

I'm after a decent, small-ish, stand-alone all-rounder of a full-tang knife. And some springles on top   

This is exactly where I'm at these days.  I've carried a couple of my smaller fixed blades and even tried my small neck knives.  None really fill the allrounder role well enough.  I want a knife that is about 3 1/2-4 inch blade length and a handle that is 4-4 1/2 inch.  I don't mind if the blade is carbon or SS but I am heavily leaning towards micarta or desert iron wood handle material. 

 

As much as I already love my Garberg, don't know how good a hunting knife it would be so my vote for an "all-arounder" would have to go to my Bark River Kephart. It will do everything I would want in the woods, works great for food prep (a super slicer) etc and would be a decent hunting knife as well...this versatility is probably this is what Horace Kephart was trying for in his original design a 100 + years ago. It's not the best in any category but it will do lots of things pretty well I think.

It's just so damn pretty that I am reluctant to do anything too rough with it. 


Oh and Aloha, it come in Micarta and...   



https://www.knivesshipfree.com/bark-river-knives-kephart-cpm-3v-desert-ironwood-burl-red-liners/

https://www.knivesshipfree.com/kephart-cpm-3v/

[styx]

Now that's just mean. You can't give us that sort of a tease

[SAK Guy]

Now that's just mean. You can't give us that sort of a tease

My cut thumb made me do it....... 

[Aloha]

 

SG, Those are exceptional.

 

[SAK Guy]

SG, Those are exceptional.

Thanks!!  They are! I love my green micarta but they really have some exceptional handle choices...Kinda wish I had some nice wood on it but I got a great deal on mine.

They have a new line called a "Modern Kephart" as well. I looks really nice too.  It's the Kephart blade with a border patrol style handle.



https://www.knivesshipfree.com/bark-river-knives-modern-kephart/

I have totally hijacked this thread and am very sorry....   

[styx]

Well TG was asking for opinions and this is MTO so it was basically a given that we'd derail this

[Gerhard Gerber]

Making my own knives, and more importantly while testing them, Bark River knives moved to the tops spot of my favourite manufacturers.

Convex grind  Good usable designs  Tool steel (mostly) and beautiful handles.

I don't own any, will be a bit of a struggle to ever afford & buy one, more's the pity considering what I see on their FB page and read elsewhere.....

Someday 

If there's any doubt, I put the convex edge first with a reason 

[Top-Gear-24]

Ontario RATs were designed by the ESEE folk (Randall to be more precise). When they went into business by themselves, they founded RAT cutlery which was later renamed to ESEE

TG if you want I have a TOPS Overlander that will go as a trade item at some point (when I'll stop being so damn lazy and take pictures) that I can send you to try out at least

Thank you very much for the kind offer my friend, but I could never use somebody else's knife or tool, not even to test it, it just doesn't feel right in my opinion, but again, thank you very much for the offer.

I appreciate all the input you guys gave me, but I'm going to take a step back and think about it for now (that's what I usually do when I can't make up my mind about something  ), when I've decided which one to buy, I'll let you guys know straight away  .

P.S. You can always post opinions and/or new suggestions here, I'll keep checking this topic anyway  .

[Top-Gear-24]

SG, Those are exceptional.

Thanks!!  They are! I love my green micarta but they really have some exceptional handle choices...Kinda wish I had some nice wood on it but I got a great deal on mine.

They have a new line called a "Modern Kephart" as well. I looks really nice too.  It's the Kephart blade with a border patrol style handle.

(Image removed from quote.)

https://www.knivesshipfree.com/bark-river-knives-modern-kephart/

I have totally hijacked this thread and am very sorry....   

No need to be sorry my friend, posting pics like that is not the same as hijacking a topic, enabling on the other hand ... yes, but that's the MTO way  .

[Top-Gear-24]

Just wanted to let you guys know that I've made up my mind, and the order is placed  .

In a couple of days I'll have a brand new ...















































... box filled with goodies, and the best part is, you guys can decide which Leatherman/Swisstool/SAK I need to use to open the box   .

[SAK Guy]

 

[David]

Is it here yet?     

[styx]

in the spirit of civilize the mind, make savage the body - use the most civilized SAK you've got. you know the one for urban carry, fancy situations

[G-Dizzle]

Im sure that there has been a lot of advice given and I may be repeating someone but I just thought Id throw my two cents in even though you have already decided.
For smaller bushcraft knives, I prefer ESSE. For larger ones, I prefer Beckers. The micarta is good for your smaller tasks like feathersticks, carving, etc and to me it feels not "better" but higher precision/quality than the small beckers. That being said, you will get exellent preformance out of both brands with little difference. For bigger knives, I much prefer Becker. The handle shape is much better for chopping and I actually prefer the plasticky stuff because when chopping without gloves, the micarta can be rough on your hands and doesn't "slip" enough if that makes any sense. It does look cool though. You have more choices for blade shape with becker, and honestly I think my BK20 outperforms the Junglas (warning, I am probably bias because I own a BK20) the becker sheaths really depend on which knife you get. The sheath for my 20 and my 4 are ok, but the one for the 5 really sucks. I think the tweener sheaths are a little better too. I really prefer kydex but they do the job. I always carry at least two fixed blades (one big one small) with me when I am in the woods. Either brand is a great knife and both will preform similarly. This is my normal combo. Becker BK20 and ESEE 3


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[Top-Gear-24]

Thanks for the advice and the great pic gdoolittle  .

I must say, I had a hard time deciding which full tang knife I should buy. 

When I started this topic I had a selection of four knives, the ESEE Laser Strike, the BK16, the BK2 (and BK22) and the Mora Garberg.  I knew these four knives where very different, but I picked these knives because I like the looks of them.  The Laser Strike and the BK16 are both in the same "medium sized" class, the BK2 and BK22 are a class on their own, being quite bulky, and the Mora Garberg is ... well ... a Mora ... (but on steroids  ).

In the end I would have liked either one of these knives, but (at the moment) I can only afford one, so I picked the one that best fits my needs, but I'll explain my motivation when I receive my package  .

P.S.: Just checked the webstore and the knife I ordered went from expected days until delivery: 1 to expected days until delivery: 7 ... 

[SAK Guy]

I don't know why but I need a BK-20... 

[SAK Guy]

Thanks for the advice and the great pic gdoolittle  .

I must say, I had a hard time deciding which full tang knife I should buy. 

When I started this topic I had a selection of four knives, the ESEE Laser Strike, the BK16, the BK2 (and BK22) and the Mora Garberg.  I knew these four knives where very different, but I picked these knives because I like the looks of them.  The Laser Strike and the BK16 are both in the same "medium sized" class, the BK2 and BK22 are a class on their own, being quite bulky, and the Mora Garberg is ... well ... a Mora ... (but on steroids  ).

In the end I would have liked either one of these knives, but (at the moment) I can only afford one, so I picked the one that best fits my needs, but I'll explain my motivation when I receive my package  .

P.S.: Just checked the webstore and the knife I ordered went from expected days until delivery: 1 to expected days until delivery: 7 ... 

Wow! a 7X increase!!!

[G-Dizzle]

I don't know why but I need a BK-20... 

It is amazing. Outperforms everything Ive ever handled at big knife tasks and even some of my small knives at small knife tasks


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[G-Dizzle]

Thanks for the advice and the great pic gdoolittle  .

I must say, I had a hard time deciding which full tang knife I should buy. 

When I started this topic I had a selection of four knives, the ESEE Laser Strike, the BK16, the BK2 (and BK22) and the Mora Garberg.  I knew these four knives where very different, but I picked these knives because I like the looks of them.  The Laser Strike and the BK16 are both in the same "medium sized" class, the BK2 and BK22 are a class on their own, being quite bulky, and the Mora Garberg is ... well ... a Mora ... (but on steroids  ).

In the end I would have liked either one of these knives, but (at the moment) I can only afford one, so I picked the one that best fits my needs, but I'll explain my motivation when I receive my package  .

P.S.: Just checked the webstore and the knife I ordered went from expected days until delivery: 1 to expected days until delivery: 7 ... 

Wow what a jump in the eta! Sorry to hear that!!!


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[Top-Gear-24]

I don't know why but I need a BK-20... 

 

Stop checking this thread mate, stop it right now ... 

 

[Top-Gear-24]

Wow! a 7X increase!!!

Wow what a jump in the eta! Sorry to hear that!!!

I know ... I'm hoping they got a batch of them and send them out (to me, among others), and now they are waiting on a new delivery ... (in which case I should've gotten an e-mail saying they've sent out my order)

One can always dream, right ?   

[David]

I don't know why but I need a BK-20... 

Yes you do!!!!!!!!!!!                           


and so do I!!!!!!!!!!!     

[styx]

Robert, everything is bigger in Texas right? So are the steaks probably. Thus you need a big knife like the BK20 to cut up that juicy steak.

David, gimme a location and occupation and I'll give you a reason why you need it, unless Robert's reason can apply to you as well

[SAK Guy]

Robert, everything is bigger in Texas right? So are the steaks probably. Thus you need a big knife like the BK20 to cut up that juicy steak.

David, gimme a location and occupation and I'll give you a reason why you need it, unless Robert's reason can apply to you as well

Don't forget those monster hog ribs!!!!

[Vinjints]

Did he really just not tell us what he ordered?

I went through this about a year+ ago, ESEE v. Becker.  Settled/decided on the Becker but I don't remember the deciding factor.  Maybe just the discontinuation of the 5/15 and possibly 4.

[Top-Gear-24]

Did he really just not tell us what he ordered?

I went through this about a year+ ago, ESEE v. Becker.  Settled/decided on the Becker but I don't remember the deciding factor.  Maybe just the discontinuation of the 5/15 and possibly 4.

Yes, he did   .

All I can say is that I ordered one of the four knives that I mentioned in my opening post, I did have a good look at a Fallkniven F1, a TOPS Knives B.O.B., and even looked at different Enzo and Helle knives (once you start looking at this type of knife, you find a lot of other options apart from the ones you started out with ...  ).   And even now, after placing the order and finding out the delivery date has been delayed, I've been thinking about contacting the webstore and get something else, and I would even consider the Fallkniven F1 with zytel sheath, since this one has also started to grow on me while reading reviews and watching youtube videos about it. 

So, what do you guys think of the Fallkniven F1 ...  .

 

About those youtube reviews, some of them are just hilarious  .  I've seen a chubby bloke in his 40's, standing in a "green environment" with a lot of man made structures in the background, talking about how the Fallkniven F1 could be used in a knife fight, while he switches the knife in his hands along with some tactical moves, ready to stab someone.  After that he started to complain about the lack of tactical sheath carry options, the rattle of the sheath that could give away his position, as well as the fact that the blade is not black coated, which could also give away his position ...  At that point I always try to imagine what the smurf he's going to use it for ... bound to be something very tactical ...  .

[Vinjints]

F1 has great reviews, aside from that one. If I'm not mistaken it's not in the Becker price range.