I Love This Knife! Ka Bar BK2: Unboxing, Testing, and Mods
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- čas přidán 7. 09. 2024
- I finally got ahold of a Ka Bar BK2. 5.25" blade, 10.5" overall with a 1095 Cro-Van blade. I'll unbox this knife, give it a test, and talk about what I love and....didn't love that much. I made a few modifications that make it better, overall.
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I love my KABAR BECKER BK2 Campanion
A delight to work with wood with this knife, it eats up everything, very functional despite its weight.
I have 2 of these. My favourite knife.
I bought 2 of them. One for each vehicle, I particularly love the description, “Pry bar with an edge.” And that’s it’s role; to do all the dirty work around the vehicles. I drilled out the rivets and removed the factory (Flimsy and weak weave) nylon hanger strap. The I removed the rivet securing the top strap and snap assembly. I found some scuba diving webbing and using Chicago screws, rebuilt the hanger strap and then installed the factory thumb snap assembly on that scuba diving nylon .....Now I’m ready for the zombies from the Covid Pandemic.... but , alas.... no zombies on this pandemic. Hahahahaha Cheers and peace be to journey...
So bizarre. Been looking at this blade for over a year now. I had the same concern with the handle and wonder about stippling. My knife was delivered as I watched this video. Now I am certainly going to stipple the handle. Beats buying new scales. I also have to agree, this knife is a beast and fell right at the top of my collection. Best vid on this knife thus far!!
I love the BK2 which I ordered and got it last month and love it so far. The sheath isn't the best, but it will last for what I will be using the knife for. The knife should last me a lifetime and another person also under normal conditions. The knife is harder to get out of the sheath than others I own and have used, but the knife does what I want for camping, hunting, and general use.
whoaaaa...thats so simple and creative fix you did there..and also you actually did the fine jobs on the handle..thaks man thats so inspirative.
Glad it helped. Thanks for watching!
inspirational, you dingbat.
I have the same BK2, got it about 4 years ago. Great Knife, and I Love it. Really have to keep that bare edge lubed!. Had mine in the trunk of my car, in the kydex sheath, and well oiled, took it out in a couple of months and the edge had rust on it. Got 90% off but still have a couple of small spots... Now it stays inside, and stays well oiled. Nice review, and a GREAT Stippling job....A+
Great job on the stippling. I have the same knife. Love it, it's a work horse for sure. I am going to stipple my handle as well. I love the look. Thanks for the video. Great job.
Thanks for watching! I definitely found the stippling to be preferable
Paid too much but I don’t regret it at all. Had it for 10 years and it is essential for my needs. Indestructible and takes and holds an edge. A work horse. Far from my only knife but it is a good to 9 times out of 10 for what it does… does very well.
Damn dude! Nice job on the handle, im gonna copy that idea for sure! Good review, tested what i neede to see, like the tip test. Keep up the good work. 👍👍 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Hockey tape is WAY better lol.
Say Heah Yup, I love my BK-2, my Ranger Afghan in the 5160 Steel because of the Choil, also my Ranger T. F. I. (TACTICAL FORCE INFIDEL). From my experience with knives, I sort of designed a 5 1/4" knife from modifying a Battle Horse Attitude. I had it Slightly Curved, and I had the Drop Point Lowered similar to Iz Turley Gasconade. Because of the thickness, I had a High Scandi Grind with a White G-10 Handle with Blue Liners. They surprised me with a Beautiful Square Bottom Dangler Black Leather Sheath. A lovely piece of kit. Infact it's my Fav's Survival Bushcraft Knife. Every modification equal a ten fold in using it, from the taking off the high peak on the Pommel that allows for better chopping to making feathersticks with enough Belly because the tip is pointer also. Yeah, it's one hell of a tough knife that works wood, Dilly, Dilly.,,.p
I think you are correct about stippling the handle scales.
It definitely made a difference
Prepped For Life were you trying to dull your point or what? Loved the video but why?
I love mine. I've stripped it and put a patina on it's the best camp knife imo.
good ol sports tape from any chemist or department store gives excellent grip and can be replaced esily when dirty or worn. I use it on my BK9 and swear by it
As a bk2 owner, I can say you won't be happy until you replace the original scales with Micarta or G10. Problem solved. Enjoy your badass knife, brother. Cheers from Montreal QC.
I have this knife. I love it but... for batoning, you might want the next longer BK7 (2" longer blade) for processing the bigger stuff.
I agree 100% about the handle. I'd like flatter sides. I think I might experiment with some hardwood mockups.
No one can deny the toughness of a Becker knife, but it doesn’t make a lot of sense that we have to give such an expensive price for a knife and then change it sheath. It’s handles, and in some cases even recoat the blade.
I love it just the way it is. Mine is un modded essentially and I would not change the sheath for any reason other than failure. 10 years and like the day I got it.
Agreed, 550 cord wrap isn't the best solution, since the handle is already substantial. The stippling you did looks great, but takes a fair bit of patience, and I wonder at how it would affect bare-handed operation over a longer handling period. The simplest solution to the slick handle that I have seen, and works well with gloves or bare-hands, is an inner tube (i.e. a long ranger band). Cut a bike tube long enough to run up onto the swells at the front and back of the grip, turn it inside out and do a reverse-snake-skinning to get it up on the handle. You will have a less slippery grip in about 30 seconds. Bonus -- heavy batoning may loosen your scale screws, but the tube will keep you from losing the screws and nuts.
I just owned 1 from US, fell this knife is well designed with strength, it's can be use as survival or camping, love you idea bro
Small ranger bands. Works perfectly
I know this was 3 years ago but just in case you are still rocking that 5 fiddy cord handle, thats got to be way to thick now. Take some black hockey tape. What i like to do, is twist a ling piece of hockey tape into a tight "cord" with the sticky side outwards. Take that rin a spiral from top of handle to bottom about 1in spacing. The take hockey tape and wrap 1 layer around entire handle. It is flat out the best fix for anything you need a better grip on. Learned this simple fix from larping (live action role playing) when i was young and it only takes like 3 minutes. That bk2 handle is thick already, could not imagine it feels great with 550 cord as well... and im 240lbs and dont have small hands. Maybe that helps you out 🤷🏻♂️
Again they're both beautiful knives I mean looks like you can't go wrong with either
great looking stipple job man. i’ve held off getting one for the handles alone. reconsidering now. great vid thx!
Thanks! I'm still loving the stipple
SMART IDEA, waisting money on $45 scales is ridiculous. I always hear people talking about upgrading the Beckers, its hilarious cause Becker could easily slap micarta scales on their knives with NO cost hike but they don't. I wouldn't either knowing that 95% of those who buy their knives will fork over another $45 on most likely scales made or sold by Kbar.
You should look at the Becker BK 10, I love the Gerber Prodigy and LMF 2 the BK 10 has a thinner blade but is still highly robust and has a killer design. I think the grips on the Beckers are awesome and burning in the traction is perfect, those scales will last for ever a d ya don't have to worry about cracking micarta or wood scales.
Nice stippling job , excellent work!
I always figured I'd just buy an Esee-5 instead a BK2 with aftermarket scales. Same price.
Very nice stippling. Great idea. Thanks
The only downside of BK2 is that sheath,
KA-BAR addressed that issue with BK22, same knife with a much better sheath.
They both look like amazing knives
I like what ya did to the handle (stiffling). I've also use tennis racquet tape.
Great review. Been looking for a new knife. Like the thickness of this knife and what you did to handle..
use tennis racket grip it works awesome to give a tacky not slip grip
I have a bk7 and I put tennis racket wrap on it and it works great.
I didn't like the grips either, and rather than pay for the fancy ones, I used a section of bicycle inner tube. It grips fine, and can be made into ranger bands if need be.
Where did you get the clip for horizontal carry
I really enjoyed your video on the BK2. I'm going see if you have a video on how to modify the handles before purchasing this knife. Also new subscriber! Thanks!
I have a number of beckers, I plan on stippling them as well. Not forking over 45 dollars for handle scales, no way. Stippling isn't hard though, and you can be creative with your designs.
i would check the K-BAR JAROZ TUROK, MUCH SUPERIOR SHEATH AND THE handle has same issues im just trying to decide what i want to do. Your stimpling is quite nice.i use a lanyard and have not even had a close call. for under $100 it's a WORKHORSE BEAST. NICE Review, and Happy Holidays
alot of guys use grip tape for like hockey sticks or tennis wrackets whatever your preference. you can use electrical tape but its not reliable
Could maybe take the core out of the para cord and it would shave some thickness and the outer layer would flatten out.
Also I've put a piece of bike tire tube on the handle.
Thats a good idea, thanks.
5 years ago. Do you know where your Becker BK2 is hiding? Is it still a favorite or have you moved on to another design?
With steels getting better all the time and blades becoming thinner . You will now find the Becker BK2 has some decent competition considering their recent price increase yet again. By time you get new scales and in many cases a new sheath you are now getting close to the price range of a Swamp Rat. Which is a better knife I can assure you.
I also own a early Becker BK2 and I have changed the scales and kept the original sheath but added a QSP Neckmuk to the Becker sheath and a ferro rod.
I however have moved onto other knives such as the Swamp Rat Rodent series.
The Bk2 is still a beast and still a good starter knife for eager outdoorsmen.
One thing many people do is removed that finish as it tends to kinda offer too much resistance when trying to do some tasks.
I should have done the same to my original scales. Great idea and job there! It looks awesome!
I did exactly the same thing with the handle.
I'm getting one for the new year.
For the handle use the micro paracord or some waxed sinew
Ok wow I'm found that with my handle that's great
For sure Gerber makes him really good knives
ok I was like what is stippling, and hey I like that! I may do that to mine
i agréé , les années passe , mais ce couteau reste et restera toujours un modèle comme le ESEE5 , ce sont 2 couteaux absolument incroyables ... LEGEND'S
Used black hockey tape for grip.
once you put a loop on the handle it will help with the chopping.
Scout carry (tracker style)
If it gets the job done that's all that matters
Just found your channel. Great stuff!
Great Looking Job in the Knife 💯🔥💪👌
Try a piece of bicycle tire on the handle. That's what I do on my knife and gun grip
Great review and Nice knife, love what you did to the handle, and on a different note, has anyone ever told you that your voice sounds like Joe Rogan ;-)
Just for lulz I wish they made a 5/16 version. Maybe a 6 inch blade.
Thank you for the review. Do you have a link for that Tek Lok?
Really that paracord is not needed on the handle. The handle is beefy.. oh you mentioned it. I took the paracord off of my bk2. I put paracord around the sheath.
i hope you see that! what gloves did you wear in this video?
Say Heah, Oh, Yeah, I forgot to mention this about the BL-2. I have a friend that can carve a spoon with his BK-2, Yup, I got mine just as sharp, I just need to use it like he does his. He uses his alot, Dilly, Dilly.,,.p
Was that a soldering iron you used for the stippling?
Just a cheap one I picked up at Walmart
where did you get the part to make it a tracker carry?
Tony Collins I just ordered a Blade-Tech Tek Lok on Amazon
FYI, you drill out the rivets holding the strap belt loop. For vertical carry, you can use two of the rivet holes to attach the Tek Lok (comes with the screws and spacers). For scout (horizontal carry) you can use two of the rivets along the edge of the sheath. Don't obsess over how many holes are in the 'Lok -- you only need two holes to line up to make a secure fit.
"when you grip that thing in your hands, it is just a tank" that's what she said!
But she was Asian. :(
0:45
*sigh* the only knife I want and I’m flat broke.
Knife test on youtube : batonning....?.
Thicc!
I love Ka-Bar knives, but I don't think the Becker line is anywhere near as good as the classic Ka-Bar in any way, for anything. The Becker is too thick.
I know CZcams tells everyone that beating a knife with a club is fine, and that a survival knife needs to be thick, sturdy, and chunky, bot both things are amateurish and wrong. But even if you do these things, the classic Ka-Bar is better at doing them than the Becker line.
It's funny. When you get away from the CZcams bushcraft and survival communities and look at what the world as a whole does, you find that the most used bushcraft knife in the world is a Swiss Army Knife. You also find that the most used survival knife for wilderness that wilder than anything we have in America is also the Swiss Army Knife.
This shouldn't be a surprise because the same was true here before the internet came along. Longhunters, frontiersmen, and woodsmen never used their big fixed blade as a survival knife unless it was for self-defense. The fixed blade skinned large game and processed the meat, and that was about it. The pocketknife, one with at least two blade, the Barlow very early on, then the Hunter, then the Trapper and the Stockman, did all the work.
Every woodsman I knew when I was young, and I knew dozens and dozens, did everything with a pocketknife. But, of course, they didn't beat their knives with clubs, either. They carried the same tools woodsmen have carried for at least a thousand years, knife, saw, and axe blade, whether the axe blade was a hatchet, a well-designed tomahawk, a camp axe, or a full size axe, they always carried one.
But even if they had only a knife because of a mishap with the other tools, they still didn't beat their knives with a club because they knew how to process wood the correct way, knew enough about nature to find and use wood that didn't need split, and no wood except logs ever needs to be slip for a fire.
Even militaries around the world use a pocketknife, usually a Swiss Army Knife, as their survival knife, unless they need to kill enemy soldiers, or dig a foxhole because they have no shovel. But for everything we call bushcraft or survival, they use a pocketknife. Even the U.S. military is about to issue Swiss Army Knives to the troops, if they haven't already done so.
Don't you find it odd that people like Nessmuk and Kephart, who lived in real wilderness like we no longer have never once mention the need for a large, thick knife for anything? That both said small knives were the best for everything. The knives they said are perfect were pretty small. Kephart said the best knife had a four and a half inch blade, was one inch high, and an eighth of an inch thick. This was the knife he used to skin large game, and to process meat. He used a pocketknife with two blades, a Hunter pattern,for everything else.
The simple fact is that when fighting with a knife is not part of survival, a large, thick knife is a horrible choice for taking into the wild. Real woodsmen stop carrying large knives as soon as repeating firearms made using a knife for self-defense unnecessary.
I suppose it's the Rambo effect, and the fact that a lot of ex-military people don't know why they were issued a large knife, and can't get away from playing Rambo in the woods.
A fixed blade knife isn't even a good carving knife, when compared to a pocketknife. One blade can't compete with two or three blades, especially when those two or three blades are not only sized for carving, but have different shapes and specialties. The Stockman has three blades, and even professional woodcarvers the world over use it. I've never seen any of them use a Mora.
The only cultures I've found around the world that don't use a pocketknife for all normal survival tasks are those cultures that never had the ability to make pocketknives. Even at that, they almost always have a large blade for the same reason woodsmen here did at one time, which is to skin large animal, process mean, and to use in self-defense. Almost every culture uses a very small fixed blade for everything else.
I once spent a (monitored) month in the wilderness with only a knife. The knife was the classic Ka-Bar fighting and utility knife. Honestly, after the first four days, it was pretty easy, but the Ka-Bar, great as it is, was cumbersome and unwieldy for small tasks.
I also spent a month using the same gear the average hiker would likely have with him. This was a lot easier, and so was the knife use because this time the knife was a SAK that had two blades and a saw. It worked far better for everything I had to do than the Ka-Bar did.
Then, with free time and no close family, I spent almost an entire year in the wilderness by myself, going to town three times to buy a few pounds of flour, sugar, coffee, tobacco, ammunition. I ate at restaurants and slept in a real bed for two nights, then went back out. This time I had the Ka-Bar, a large Stockman, a tomahawk, and a small saw.
I killed three deer that year, and used the Ka-Bar to process them, and to cut up what I didn't eat in strips for making jerky. I never needed the Ka-Bar for anything else the entire year.
And the thinner a knife is, the better it cuts, and knives, all of them, are made for cutting. A Ka-Bar classic is not going to break, whatever you do to it, but it's so disturbing to watch people torture and abuse a knife when there is no reason to do so, ever, makes me wonder where all the nonsense about "survival" knives and even bushcraft knives, comes from?
It doesn't come from woodsmen, it doesn't come from the great majority of the world outside of CZcams, and it does even come from most militaries, if any. It sure didn't come from people like Nessmuk and Kephart. I also don't think it came from anyone who has actually live din the wilderness. It absolutely didn't come from anyone who carries and knows how to use the same tools woodsmen have carried in one form or another for at least a thousand years.
I know it didn't come from all the people in the last three hundred and forty-seven years of history who wandered through the wilderness doing everything from surveying, and map making, to trapping and hunting , with only a Barlow for a knife.
James Ritchie I couldn’t read past Swiss Army knife. If it’s number 1 it’s because it’s cheap. The Swiss Army knife has many abilities and fails in all of them.