Dave Markowitz
Member
I received my new Becker Combat Utility 7 knife today. Here are just my initial impressions since I haven't had the chance to use it yet.
I have a few large lockbacks, but I've been looking for a good sheath knife and this one appealed to me. When I was in Civil Air Patrol I carried a Camillus Air Force Survival knife for awhile, then a Schrade Bearpaw locking folder. I never really warmed up to the USMC Fighting Knife.
Becker Knife & Tool seems to have a good reputation from what I've seen (they're owned by Camillus). And the price was right: $49 + shipping from from the Cutlery Shoppe. This was my second order from them; I bought a Victorinox Cyber Tool 41 from TCS last year. The Becker can be seen at:
http://store.cutleryshoppe.com/cs/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Product_ID=471&CATID=5.
This is one nice knife. Specs are as follows:
* Blade steel 0170-6C
* RC hardness 58-59
* Blade length 7 1/4"
* Length Overall 12 3/4"
* Blade thickness3/16" Weight, knife13.4 oz
* Weight, sheath 4.2 oz
The knife is comparable in size to a K-Bar but the handle is much more comfortable and it seems better balanced to me than a K-Bar. The flat-ground blade is your basic 7-1/4" clip point Bowie style with a false edge, which is not sharpened, which is fine for me. The cutting edge, however, is very sharp. The synthetic scales are attached to the full tang with three hex-head bolts.
The end of the tang protrudes from the pommel and is flatened a bit so it can be used for pounding things, but since it's the same thickness as the rest of the blade and tang, it won't be all that useful as a hammer, IMO.
The carbon steel blade, including the tang and pommel, is finished in a black epoxy crinkle coating reminiscent of the one found on a Remington Model 870 Express. Hopefully it's more durable than the Remington finish.
I like the ambidextrous sheath. It's OD green ballistic nylon with black nylon trim. It has a snapping strap to hold the knife in the sheath and is line with hard plastic (Kydex?). The strap must be fastened to keep the knife in, since it's a loose fit otherwise. There's also a pocket secured with a Velcro flap on the sheath for a sharpening stone or other stuff. Finally, the sheath has four gromets which can be used to tie it and the knife down so it's "jump ready." The belt loop is big enough to fit on a GI pistol belt, and there are slots sewn onto the back of it to accept ALICE clips.
Obviously, the proof will be in the cutting, but I like what I see so far.
I have a few large lockbacks, but I've been looking for a good sheath knife and this one appealed to me. When I was in Civil Air Patrol I carried a Camillus Air Force Survival knife for awhile, then a Schrade Bearpaw locking folder. I never really warmed up to the USMC Fighting Knife.
Becker Knife & Tool seems to have a good reputation from what I've seen (they're owned by Camillus). And the price was right: $49 + shipping from from the Cutlery Shoppe. This was my second order from them; I bought a Victorinox Cyber Tool 41 from TCS last year. The Becker can be seen at:
http://store.cutleryshoppe.com/cs/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Product_ID=471&CATID=5.
This is one nice knife. Specs are as follows:
* Blade steel 0170-6C
* RC hardness 58-59
* Blade length 7 1/4"
* Length Overall 12 3/4"
* Blade thickness3/16" Weight, knife13.4 oz
* Weight, sheath 4.2 oz
The knife is comparable in size to a K-Bar but the handle is much more comfortable and it seems better balanced to me than a K-Bar. The flat-ground blade is your basic 7-1/4" clip point Bowie style with a false edge, which is not sharpened, which is fine for me. The cutting edge, however, is very sharp. The synthetic scales are attached to the full tang with three hex-head bolts.
The end of the tang protrudes from the pommel and is flatened a bit so it can be used for pounding things, but since it's the same thickness as the rest of the blade and tang, it won't be all that useful as a hammer, IMO.
The carbon steel blade, including the tang and pommel, is finished in a black epoxy crinkle coating reminiscent of the one found on a Remington Model 870 Express. Hopefully it's more durable than the Remington finish.
I like the ambidextrous sheath. It's OD green ballistic nylon with black nylon trim. It has a snapping strap to hold the knife in the sheath and is line with hard plastic (Kydex?). The strap must be fastened to keep the knife in, since it's a loose fit otherwise. There's also a pocket secured with a Velcro flap on the sheath for a sharpening stone or other stuff. Finally, the sheath has four gromets which can be used to tie it and the knife down so it's "jump ready." The belt loop is big enough to fit on a GI pistol belt, and there are slots sewn onto the back of it to accept ALICE clips.
Obviously, the proof will be in the cutting, but I like what I see so far.
