KA-BAR KaBar Becker Crewman

The Becker Crewman is my primary knife and tool for my bug out bag, which is accompanied by a folder and a multi-tool. Superb blade construction, with the heft that's necessary to baton wood, yet the sharpness to feather twigs. Full tang construction, comfortable handle, and nice balance. Feels good in the hand. For my application, this knife replaces the need to carry an axe as well, which saves you precious space and weight in a B.O.B. For large diameter limbs and trees, consider getting a high quality chain saw, such as the 36" Chainmate sold on Amazon. An important requirement for me was the exposed tang at the base of the handle to use as a glass breaker, hammer, striker, and skull cracker should the need ever arise. Give it a very lite coating of knife, gun, or mineral oil after use, and before storage, to protect the blade, even though it has the protective black coating applied at the factory. Use paracord, preferably a reflective/high visibility color, to attach to the hole at the base of the handle to help to locate it easier if dropped or lost. The nylon sheath is just OK in my opinion. It does have the nice feature of a pocket attached to the front of the sheath, which can store a multi-tool or fire starter. Molle compatible for easy mounting options. The sheath has a plastic blade insert which is a bit noisy. When the blade is inserted, the knife rattles back and forth. However, the knife does secure well in the sheath, and the strap snaps used are much preferred over velcro straps. You may want to consider a Kydex sheath upgrade at some point if the noise bothers you. I wouldn't base my decision to purchase this knife on the sheath alone, so don't let it sway you one way or the other. This is a great knife with an optimum size, and should take just about any abuse you can give it. I wanted a knife that I could beat the heck out of and have no worries that I would still be able to rely on it for years to come. This knife fits the bill quite well, and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for the perfect B.O.B. or camping knife.

I happen to love the kabar Becker line. 1095 crovan steel, a plethora of models to choose from, you name it. I’ve owned the bk2,7,9,16 and 11. I was looking for something smaller than the 7 or 9, but slightly larger than the 16 for chopping. The 2 is great but it’s like carrying a 2x4 with a sharp edge. It’s too heavy to have for most camping/hiking treks. I got the 10 as it was basically a lighter 2. I’ve held off for years and I do not know why. It came out of the box shaving sharp. Already beat the hell out of it and it’s only been a couple hours. Still has a great edge, but is easy to sharpen when you’ll need to. It’s relatively light for its size, and the tip is strong but gives you a ton of penetration. The Becker line isn’t known for its super amazing sheaths, but it works just fine and is sturdy. It will do exactly why you need it to. The Molle compatibility, belt snap/Velcro so you don’t have to remove your belt to put it on, as well as the pouch are nice touches. Also, like the other Beckers, the scales are a bit slick but the micarta scales are a good upgrade.

The KA-BAR BK-10 is an excellent product. I have used it extremely vigorously and it has perform without fail. The blades thickness give it a good amount of weight for a good chop. I have used it multiple times as a throwing knife and the tip has not bent nor broken. When it arrived the blade came extremely sharp and could shave hair off a person. The handle is very comfortable in hand and doesn't scratch skin or anything of the sort with extensive holding and use. It is exceptional at chopping and carving wood. It is a full tang knife and had some weight to it. The thumb grip is nice and I feel in complete control of the knife at all times. I have used objects to hit the reverse side of blade to split wood and the knife has retained no damage. It's sheath had worked well. The double snap straps and never allowed my knife to unsheath unknowingly. Its front pocket fits a small stone or other tools. It's connects well to any belt or strap, and had webbing on the back to connect to a military vest or back pack. I use this knife and case for a wide range of application and they have shown minimal wear.

I am very impressed with the sturdiness of this knife. It didn't arrive terribly sharp and was difficult to trim a branch with until I sharpened it, but once sharp it cut smoothly. I keep it in the front door of my car because I use it for so many tasks. I read the reviews about the sheath being substandard, but it seems fine for me. Update: This is my go to bushcraft tool now for any hikes or outdoor exploration. I keep a Lansky sharpener in the pouch now, and as long as I have this knife and my firesteel with me, I'm only minutes away from a life-saving fire at all times. I used to carry a Gerber hatchet with me for splitting branches for firewood, but discovered when properly sharpened, this knife can baton the wood in practically half the time. I don't carry the Gerber hatchet anymore. Even after batoning, the blade maintains enough of an edge to get smooth, feather sticks for fire starting in wet and cold weather. Clean up the blade after and I can slice, chop, mince, or crush food for dinner. So far, I've only had to sharpen it on a sharpening stone once to correct a ding I put in the edge. That's it though. One time, and then minor honing on the Lansky. It's held up like a champ.

I never had a quality knife and knew that it was time to get one. I put a lot of research into my first good knife and was looking to get either the Gerber LMF II, the Ka-Bar Becker BK-2 and the Ka-Bar Becker BK-10. I decided to purchase the BK-10 after reading and watching many reviews that praised it so much. Amazon delivered it two days later as promised and as soon as I picked it up I said to myself "Wow!" I knew that instant what a quality knife felt like and am a little mad at myself that I waited this long to get one. The knife is solid and comfortable. The blade and tang is thick and feels very strong. The blade of the knife is very sharp. I have yet to pt it to any serious use, but the little cutting I did with it was perfect. There is no doubt in my mind that this knife can handle everything I will throw at it and will pay for itself in no time. The quality and the feel of the BK-10 convinces me to purchase the BK-2 next. If you are looking for a lot of bang for your buck or are on the fence about this knife just buy it - You will not be disappointed. It is worth every penny.

First off, I have made 2 modifications/additions to this knife before I ever really used it, and I personally feel they are relatively necessary. 1. I added a lanyard appropriately sized for my own hands out of 550 paracord(it did not come with one). A lanyard used CORRECTLY (there are several ways) is essential in my own opinion for safely handling and utilizing a knife like this to its full potential. 2. I surrounded the handle with a piece of rubber from an old bike tire inner tube for extra grip and a slight increase in overall handle bulk. After handling the knife for a few seconds/minutes I realized the Zytel/Grivory grip was a bit too hard/slippery for my liking for making a journey into the woods. Apparently the Micarta handles are a terrific upgrade, but for $40 I was able to accomplish what I suspect those handles would do for my purposes, and save $40 on the upgrade. Now... this knife is fantastic! and here are a few of the reasons why: 1. I have very large hands, and this knife feels incredibly comfortable in them (10 inch tip of thumb to tip of pinky outstretched, 8 inch bottom of palm to tip of middle finger ~4 inch knuckle span) The flaring of the grip allows my hand to sit very nicely on the handle, not squished, or like it will easily slip out due to being too small. 2. Despite what some youtube videos say, this knife works great for chopping, but will never be a replacement for a true machete or bushwhacker. No knife ever will if that's what you need it for. Though it probably works better than my $4 bargain bin machete. Again, proper use of a lanyard here is key, and makes for easy work of green, or nearly green wood. (I chopped a 2-3incher down without much in the way of resistance) 3. Factory sharp blade. 4. Plenty thick with the full tang to do any but the absolute heaviest of duty camp chores, including batoning, but lighter than the BK-2, with a slightly longer blade. BTW with my modifications the weight without the sheath is 357 grams or 12.58 oz. With the sheath is 487 grams or 17.17 oz and to save you the trouble of doing the math, that means the sheath alone is 130 grams or 4.59 oz a bit heavy, but solid. 5. I am a personal fan of spear point knives, and this comes close with the blade design to have the tip near the center line of the handle. 6. The Sheath is solidly constructed and is comfortable on the hip, with heavy duty snaps. and multiple attachment points to adjust as you see fit. It also has a nicely sized front pocket to hold something small, like a Leatherman Charge Ti which fits nicely, with some room to spare, but is not large enough for an Altoids tin. 7. After using it for a number of different tasks, it feels like I have owned the knife for a while already, and feels intuitive for most tasks, including fine work, like making feather sticks, and heavy duty work, like chopping or batoning. 8. It looks mean, and tough (if that's something you care about, for me it's just icing on the cake) My only gripe so far is that with the slight added bulk of the rubber on the handle, makes it very difficult to snap the buttons to secure the knife in the sheath, but I suspect they will stretch some as I use it, and the straps fit the factory handle size snugly, without being too much of a hard time to snap them shut. Some additional information: The sheath can be used for either left hand or right hand carry as the plastic insert is symmetrical, which means it does not hold the knife firm without the nylon straps/snaps, but makes it easy to switch back and forth if need be, or place the knife in backwards if for whatever reason you wanted to. After a number of different tasks, I see no noticeable wear in the black blade coating, though all coatings will eventually wear away with use. I did my research before hand and came to the conclusion this was the best knife to suit my needs without spending upwards of $200 (mostly outdoors/camping/bushcraft/survival) and I am NOT disappointed. I will admit I do not have very much experience using a large knife like this outside of the kitchen, but for how well this knife feels like an extension of my hand, and is a useful tool, I am very pleased so far. I will try to update in a few months after more testing/regular use. UPDATE: Aug, 25th 2014 After some extensive use, I have come to a few conclusions and realizations about this knife 1. It's still amazing and still feels very natural to use, I love it, and it was the right choice for me and my needs. 2. After extended use, I still find the Grivory handles to be a little bit too hard, as I have since removed the Rubber bike tube because it slipped too much when it got wet, however, I am looking to try coating them with Plastidip to see if this solves my problem, it just needs a little more give, and a little more grip. There is always the ~$40 option of getting the Micarta handles, but they are cost prohibitive. 3. The black coating is starting to come off the knife near the blade edge, but I have had no problems with any rust, I do make a point to take care of my knife though and try to clean it/oil it when possible. 4. The snap straps across the handle of the blade in the sheath have stretched enough to work well and easy even with the added rubber coating I put on the knife handle. 5. I would trust this blade(along with my knowledge of how to use it) to get the job done and help me through, even with nothing else, in a survival situation. I have done many fine camp chores as well as not so fine ones, and this blade has stayed surprisingly sharp, even with heavy use. 6. I wish the sheath was just ever so slightly more snug around the blade, but I have had no problems with the knife coming loose as long as the straps are properly snapped down.

Product not as shown in the picture. Product is not stamped made in “USA” but does reference Olean, NY. Sheath is laughable and does not appear to be truly designed for the product. The knife does not lock or latch into the sheath. It jiggles around and makes a lot of noise (despite 2?!?!? Handle snaps). The sheath also came with a secondary attachment area for either a smaller knife or maybe a multitool or something of that nature that was not included. Overall compared to other Ka-bar knives and Bedkers this appears to be significantly below quality. Would not purchase again. Do not recommend.

Truthfully I have not done much in the way of field testing this knife. I can tell you the sheath is standard and works well enough. I can also tell you it came razor sharp out of the box. I like the size of it and the feel of the stock handle in my hand. I have small hands and it is not too large, it fits well. I will say that it is on the heavier side. I kind of wanted something a little lighter. I am looking at an Esee 4 I think. But this did come at a fair price and is definitely of solid construction as far as I can tell. After some real field use I will really know. But honestly I would imagine that this knife will do most tasks well. I think it could be used as a chopper in a pinch, but batoning it would probably be the better way to go. Good knife, but beware that it is a little heavy. Seems to be what I hear about KaBars in general. Not necessarily a bad thing, depends on your preferences and needs.